The Egyptian Pantheon: Gods and Worship

One of the more fascinating aspects of Egyptian culture and history is its religion. After all, many areas of Egyptian life and beauty that we see today can be linked or associated with the religious practices of the Egyptians. This is not surprising, as many early civilizations work this way as well. As it is, religion and the people's worship comprise a huge aspect of their lives, and until today, we can see the fruits of these practices, beliefs, and traditions. Although Egypt was conquered by a number of nations, most of them forcing their beliefs on to the Egyptians, the worship of the Egyptian Pantheon remained to be a symbol even in these modern times.

Until now, experts cannot agree if the ancient Egyptians were monotheistic or polytheistic. However, the general consensus is that they were mainly polytheistic, as they did worship numerous gods such as Ra, Isis and Amon, Osiris and Anubis, among numerous others. The belief that Egyptians were monotheistic started when E. A. Wallis Budge, a renowned Egyptologist, said that the gods Egyptians worshipped were only several aspects or persona's of one god, the sun god Ra. This isn't a unique belief, as the Christians basically believe that their one god as three persona's

Nevertheless, as of now, the sheer number of the Egyptian gods make it appear to the majority that Budge's theory may not be true, especially since the Egyptians worshipped their gods individually. Also, their religion is mainly focused on the interaction of humans and gods. This is why many Egyptian gods are represented by animals, natural elements, and forces of nature.

For instance, their god Atum, considered to be one of the first beings and gods to emerge, represent the sun. The goddess of homes, Bastet, is represented by a cat (clearly a take on women's domesticity). Osiris is the god of the afterlife, and is represented by a mummified image, much like how people were buried during those times. This leads to their practice of animal worship. Since Bastet is represented as a cat, cats in Ancient Egyptians were considered scared. Since the sun is the main representation of their all mighty god, it is considered to be among the most scared. Interestingly enough, the phases of the sun have different representations. Atum, considered as the creator deity, is the setting sun-so the physical setting sun is scared.

There is no firm theology principle for the Egyptian religion, except that it served as their base for human-god interaction-which lends to much of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. The pharaohs at that time were considered to be the representation of the gods on Earth. This belief is crucial to ancient Egyptian society, as this allows the ruler to have an actual grasp on his subjects. Other ancient cultures have the same belief; in Japan and China, for instance, their emperors were considered to be gods on Earth.

Many nations have clamped their hands on Egypt at some point, making the Egyptians change their religious belief (this is also common when a nation conquers another). When the country was under the Greeks, they worshipped Greek gods (ironically, some people in Athens actually worshipped Isis, the goddess of magic, during this time). Under the Romans, the Egyptians embraced Christianity. Currently, Egypt is mainly an Islam country, but their ancient religious roots remain prominent in history.