Religion in Ancient Egypt

In this episode, we try to get a basic overview of the religion that was practiced in Ancient Egypt.

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Music by:
Filip Holm

Sources/Recomended Reading:

Assmann, Jan (2001). "The Search for God in Ancient Egypt". Translated by David Lorton. Cornell University Press.

Dunand, Françoise & Christiane Zivie-Coche (2005). "Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE". Translated by David Lorton. Cornell University Press.

Hornung, Erik (1996). "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many". Translated by John Baines. Cornell University Press.

Hornung, Erik (1999). "Akhenaten and the Religion of Light". Translated by David Lorton. Cornell University Press.

Meeks, D., & Favard-Meeks, C. (1997). Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods (G. M. Goshgarian, Trans.; Pimilco).

Pinch, G. (2002). Handbook of Egyptian Mythology.

Quirke, Stephen (1992). "Ancient Egyptian Religion". British Museum Press.

Teeter, Emily (2011). "Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt". Cambridge University Press.

Wilkinson, R. H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt.

Wilkinson, R. H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
4:02 The Netjer (gods)
6:55 Creation of the world
14:52 Gods & their associations
18:25 Ma'at
20:19 The King & Royal Mythology
24:28 Divine Images & The Temple Cult
33:40 Festivals
37:05 The Royal Cult
40:07 Religion for "regular people"
46:19 Magic & Mysticism (?)
53:28 Henotheism? Monotheism? Pantheism?
1:03:29 Death & The Afterlife
1:13:42 Developments & Syncretisms in the Late Period
1:20:06 Conclusions

#egypt #ancienthistory #religion

[stevetrail]

One of the best YouTube channels out there—historically speaking as well, YouTube being almost 20 years old. God bless.

[Kastelt]

One hour and a half video from let's talk religion?

My movie is ready

[tuomasronnberg]

This video makes me realize that in ancient Egypt having to leave the village or town where you grew up, either through necessity or force, must've been a very terrifying prospect. It would mean that your ancestors tombs would not be maintained, dooming them to life of misery in the afterlife.

[celeri]

i'm a modern polytheist devoted to an egyptian reconstructionist path... making popcorn as we speak! thank you so much for this!

[joelgoldsmith]

Covering the Nubians and their religion / spirituality would've been awe-inspiring also!
They're a neighbouring tribe, still in existence. Most are converted to Islam today,
with some ancient customs / rituals still intact.

[giordy]

Folks a jewel, a movie, truly of the best channel, that's huge, just perfect

[shahmeer-nffj]

You're one of the best channels on religious topics, and I would love to see something on mongolic traditions like tengrism or mongolic shamanism, I find your channel explains most history and religion the best out of most.

[umarahmad]

My fascination with Egypt was sparked by the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and card game as a child.

[MoniBahaa]

Egyptian here and was waiting for this episode ever since the Ancient Mesopotamia one. Thank you for the great work you do!

[Notethos]

Just wanted to comment before watching to say thank you! You sparked my interest in Sufism and I was inspired to read Leyli and Majnun and Conference of the Birds (I haven't read Shahnameh yet). Right now, I'm reading Chinese poets, I've always been interested in different cultures and perspectives so to see a video on Egyptian religion really fires me up! Much appreciated!

[MarioBishara]

I am an Egyptian Copt and I enjoy a lot your videos, thanks Philip!

[banna]

Hi Filip, this comment is from an egyptian,
1st, Thanks for the video! I have had a scattered idea about these already but the structure and depth provided here are invaluable.
2nd, I got surprised you mentioned the "kemetists" xD, I think I may have some input on that. Personally I wouldn't classify them as a religious movement but rather a nationalistic one, their main goal is emphasizing an alternative\superior identity for Egypt away from the "failed" identities that were dominant in the past century's ideologies (i.e. the arab and islamic ones). from what I have seen so far their discussions rarely emphasize authentic religious concepts except for showing how lovely or moral our ancestors used to view their lives in contrast to "invading desert nomads". I would also say that usually it is not easy to know how authentic a social media account that talks about kemitism is, but I guess among the true ones their popularity seems concentrated in younger generations (maybe this would agree with far-right trends in europe? who knows).
Anyway these are mostly social media based impressions, if you are ever keen on exploring things about them in a serious manner and would need help accessing any thing that requires a native I would be happy to help (although from my language you can guess I have some bias with respect to their ideas).

Keep up the great work!

[jacobavners]

Thanks Filip! That's such an awesome topic selection! Even though the video was relatively long, it's one of those that flowed the most nicely in my experience!

[craigdelaney]

Wonderful Documentary!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Beautiful and Full of needful information..!🤔👍🏾 I could of Wished for such info when I was first starting upon my path SO Long Ago.. Thank you for your work and instruction.. May your Work be a beacon to current & future seekers.!!🖖🏾🙏🏾🤝🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[yote]

Hey! Kemetic Polytheist here. Fantastic video! Can't wait to see whats next.

[armandorivas]

Thanks a lot professor, this episode comes out at the right time, a few days ago I was talking with my son (a biologist) upon this issue. Greetings from Mexico City.

[wewantarock]

There are like 5 youtubers who, when I see the push notification, I immediately say 'hell yeah' and save to my watch later. pic related

[abbanjo]

Part of what is so interesting to me about ancient Egypt is that because it sits at the border between the Mediterranean world, the African world, and the Indian Ocean it displays features of all those regions in all aspects of its culture including religion.

[nickshaffer]

i so appreciate that you put sources/recommended reading in your descriptions, as most history related youtube channels inexplicably do not provide any sources. thank you

[isymfs]

Egypt has the most awe inspiring aesthetic of any civilization to me, thats what drew me in.