Ancient Egyptians worshiped more than 100 gods.
The heritage of the Egyptian people spans more than 3,500 years. Egyptians worshiped celestial bodies including the sun, moon and stars. They believed gods ruled the universe and illustrated these beings in human form, as an animal or as a human with an animal head. These depictions signified the multifaceted powers of the gods. Pharaohs, who were thought to have descended from the gods, ruled the northeastern African nation for generations.
Gods and the Universe
Ancient Egypt was governed by rituals and traditions. Egyptians worshiped more than 100 gods and imbued their gods with powers over all occurrences within the universe. These gods represented tangible objects such as the moon, crops and water, as well as intangible attributes like justice, kingship, revenge and truth. Egyptians based their calendar year on observance of celestial bodies and events. They tied the appearance of the star Sirius to the beginning of year. Their calendar started around June 21, initially. Later, Egyptians established a lunar calendar that corresponded with the phases of moon. This calendar had 360 days and three seasons. Egyptians began their day at sunrise and divided their day into 12 hours of day light and 12 hours of nighttime. They used a sundial to measure daylight hours and stars to measure night hours.
Creation of the Universe
Egyptians believed the universe was created as Ra, god of the Sun, emerged from the sea of chaos. Ra, also known as Re, Amon or Amen, is considered the creator of the universe who produced mankind through his tears. Ra is depicted as a man with a hawk head or headdress. He was thought to pass through the cycle of birth and death each day, and was shown as a child in the morning, a grown man at noon and an elderly man at evening. Ra resided in the heavens according to lore.
Shu and Tefnut
Ra birthed Shu and Tefnut. Shu ruled the air and is shown holding up the sky. Tefnut was god of moisture and was depicted as a woman. Shu and Tefnut gave birth to Geb, god of the Earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Get and Nut later married. Egyptian mythology explains that Ra was angered at the marriage and subsequent pregnancy of Nut, and ordained that Nut could not give birth during the 360 days of the year. Thoth, the god of truth, bargained with the moon and won five extra days of light so that Nut could give birth.
Ma'at
The Egyptian people worshiped Ma'at and believed the other gods revered her. Ma'at was depicted as a woman with a crown featuring a large ostrich feather. She represented the perfect order of the universe and is associated with a stone foundation. Pharaohs were entrusted to rule judiciously and maintain order by emphasizing truth and justice. Egyptians believed that if they adhered to the principles of Ma'at, they would reap rewards in the afterlife and become transformed into one of the stars in the universe.
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