Links with Other Religions
Foreign Gods
From earliest times the Egyptians incorporated foreign deities into their own pantheon so that they became part of the Egyptian system. It is possible that Osiris, god of vegetation and king of the dead, may have originated as a human ruler who led tribes into Egypt from elsewhere possibly Syria, part of Asia Minor, an area of Africa, or Libya. Similarly Horus may have been the supreme god of a group who perhaps entered Egypt in the Predynastic Period; Punt, Arabia, or Mesopotamia have been suggested as possible homelands. Horus later became the patron and protector of the first rulers of Egypt. The cult of the sun god Re may also have been introduced from elsewhere in the late Predynastic Period, possibly from Arabia, Crete, or western Asia. In later communities, such as the pyramid workmen’s town of Kahun (Dynasty 12), evidence indicates that there was a foreign presence, although the extent of this and the degree to which the local religious beliefs and customs were influenced remains uncertain. LIBYAN AND NUBIAN DEITIES During the New Kingdom, the establishment of an empire brought the Egyptians into direct contact with the religious beliefs and cults of many other lands. Previously religious influences had mainly come from three areas: Libya, Nubia, and lands to the north. Egypt and Libya probably derived a number of common features from a general North African culture, and some early Egyptian deities such as Neith, goddess of hunting, and Ash, the personification of the desert, may have had Libyan origins. In Nubia, where Egypt had always pursued a policy of colonization emphasizing its own superiority and introducing cultural as well as military and political innovation, the deities were nevertheless incorporated within the Egyptian pantheon so that they could be brought under the control of the pharaoh. As early as the Old Kingdom the Nubian bird god Dedun was included among the Egyptian gods and associated with Horus. . ASIATIC DEITIES From the Middle Kingdom onward Egypt’s contact with Palestine, Phoenicia, and Syria increased and by the New Kingdom exerted considerable influence in this area. In religion as in other matters there was a cross-fertilization of ideas, although the pharaoh’s role as protector was now extended to other peoples in Asia who came under his control. The cult of the state god Amen-Re as the creator of all men was promoted by the Egyptians, but the chief gods of other lands and areas retained control over their local populations, and temples that the pharaohs built in Asia Minor were usually dedicated to these gods. Some foreign gods were adopted by the Egyptians in order that the Egyptian worshipers could acquire their additional strengths. Some Syrian gods were now introduced into the Egyptian pantheon and may have been worshiped in Egypt by both foreign residents and Egyptians. These gods were represented with Egyptian clothing and attributes and their temples within Egypt followed the Egyptian pattern. Foreign residents probably also worshiped their own gods at household shrines. Cults of Ba’al, Astarte, and Reshep were established at Memphis, and of ‘Anat, Astarte, Hurun, and Seth at Pi-Ramesse; similarly Hurun was worshiped at Giza and Ba’alaat in the Fayoum. At the royal workmen’s village of Deir el-Medina Asiatic gods included Reshep (a war god) and Qudshu, ‘Anat, and Astarte (fertility goddesses). This may indicate the presence of some foreign residents among the workforce, but by including foreign deities in their own pantheon the Egyptians ensured that their followers could continue to worship their own gods within Egypt without displaying disloyalty to the state gods. Also, once the foreign gods were incorporated they could not provide a rallying point for the immigrants outside the Egyptian system. Selected for their warlike attributes, their fertility, or healing powers, these Asiatic deities had some importance and influence. For example, a statue of the healing goddess Ishtar of Nineveh was sent by the Mitannian king, Tushratta, to the Egyptian court of Amenhotep III in an attempt to cure his ailments. It is difficult to determine the extent to which Egyptian gods penetrated the societies of Syria/Palestine since the source material is limited and fragmentary. Although there is no evidence that Egyptian gods entered the Syrian pantheon, there are some Egyptian forms of local deities, such as Ptah-south-of-his-Wall who was the Great Chief of Askelon. At Byblos in Phoenicia there was a temple dedicated to Hathor as “Lady of Byblos,” and at Gaza there was a temple to Amun. Also, Egyptians visiting Ugarit and Beth-shan set up stelae there to local gods. Contact between Egypt and Syria probably occurred at several different social levels during the New Kingdom. There were marriages and diplomatic alliances between the royal courts and exchanges between diplomats and envoys; also, some ideas may have been spread through itinerant artisans, mercenaries, and even prisoners of war. There is no direct evidence of Egyptian influence on the temple architecture or rituals in Syria/Palestine, and any exchange of deities and religious beliefs probably occurred on a largely superficial level and had little real impact on the customs practiced in either region. .
.
Egyptian Texts
and the Bible Egypt dominated the political arena for many centuries, and it is, therefore, not surprising that aspects of this civilization permeated the beliefs and customs of neighboring and successive cultures. Christianity and Judaism were fundamentally different from Egyptian religion in that they are considered to be scriptural religions based on God’s revelation to mankind whereas Egyptian religion was founded on ritual and cultic practices. However, associations between Egyptian texts and the Old and New Testaments have been traced, and it is probable that some biblical elements were derived from Egyptian beliefs. Egyptian wisdom instructions may have directly influenced biblical texts, and some parallels have been drawn between the instructions and the sentiments expressed in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Psalms, and Job. The Instruction of Ptah-hotep may have had an impact on the Book of Proverbs, but the closest parallels in style and content occur in the later instructions (particularly those of Amenemope) and Proverbs. This text was composed in the Ramesside Period (c.1250 BC) when Egyptian influence on the Israelites was probably at its height. The author of Proverbs possibly had direct access to the Instruction of Amenemope, although it is conceivable that they both derive from a lost source. Other similarities have been noted between the Hymn to the Aten (which was inscribed on a wall in the tomb of Ay at Tell el-Amarna) and Psalm 104 in the Bible. The hymn expresses the doctrine of Atenism and emphasizes the king’s attempt to make the god unique in Egypt and other lands. Passages in the hymn and in Psalm 104 underline a close association of ideas, describing the divine role as creative and sustaining. Again it is not clear if direct borrowing occurred between these two texts or if they were both derived from a common source. . Nubia Egypt’s cultural influence on neighboring societies reflected to some extent the pattern of political control. There had always been a policy of direct colonization of Nubia to the south, and Egypt’s religious impact was very strong there. When a line of rulers from the southern city of Napata conquered and briefly ruled Egypt in the eighth century BC (Dynasty 25), they already worshiped the god Amen-Re at Napata who had been introduced from Egypt earlier. When they were driven back to Napata following the Assyrian invasion of Egypt the Nubians continued to practice this religion. With the eventual decline of the Napatan kingdom the rulers established another capital at Meroë (situated between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts on the Nile). Here they inherited and developed elements of the pharaonic culture, and although direct contact between Egypt and the southern kingdom had now ceased the Meroitic civilization displayed many features that were strongly influenced by Egypt. These included their religious beliefs, gods, temples, art, and funerary customs. While pharaonic culture was undergoing profound changes in Egypt, the Meroitic kingdom preserved the final stages of many of these ideas during the period between the sixth century BC and the fourth century AD when Aeizanes of Axum destroyed Meroë. .
.
The Hellenistic
and Roman Worlds In Egypt itself, political institutions and cultural influences underwent profound changes in the period when the country was ruled by the Greeks and then by the Romans following the conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BC (the effect of this change of rule on various religious traditions is considered in the following section). But it is possible that traditional Egyptian beliefs about the divinity and role of the pharaoh may have directly influenced Alexander’s own concepts. Egyptian ideas and images may also have been transmitted through the Old and New Testaments and thus become embedded in early Christian belief. There would probably have been an even more direct route for this transmission to Christianity through Egypt’s influence on the Hellenistic world. The concept of the Trinity, although biblical in origin, may have derived something from the Egyptian divine triads. The ideas of death, rebirth, and resurrection, as well as the Day of Judgment, which occur in the Egyptian Myth of Osiris may have had some association with later beliefs, and links have been suggested between the Isis cult and Mariolatry. Alexandria, the great center of Hellenism, would have provided a channel for Egyptian traditions to come into contact with early Christian beliefs. Apart from Christianity, aspects of Egyptian religion were carried abroad through the Roman Empire. Isis, Egypt’s great mother goddess, received widespread acclaim when the Isis- Osiris Mysteries were celebrated in Rome and Corinth, and she was worshiped as far north as the Danube region, Germania, and Britain. She not only preserved her original role as the devoted wife of Osiris and protective mother of Horus but acquired new aspects as a goddess of seafarers and the controller of destiny. . Surviving Traditions Some ancient traditions still survive in modern Egypt. These include the Festival of Sham el- Nessim which marks the start of spring in the same way that the Festival of Khoiakh did in antiquity. Families celebrate this out-of-doors, exchanging gifts of colored eggs to reassert the renewal of the vegetation and the annual rebirth of life. Another modern festival, Awru el-Nil, takes the form of a national holiday; at this celebration of the inundation of the Nile flowers are thrown into the river. In ancient times a festival was held annually to mark the inundation, and prayers were offered to ask for a good flood (neither too high nor too low) which would ensure ample crops and general prosperity. Other modern ceremonies reflect ancient funerary customs. Forty days after death and burial the family of the deceased will take food to the grave, and this is then distributed among the poor who have gathered there. This occasion, known as el-Arbeiyin, retains elements of the ancient service performed at the time of burial when relatives gathered at the tomb and at the conclusion of the burial rites shared the funerary meal. The forty days that still elapse between death and el-Arbeiyin probably reflect the period that was set aside for mummification procedures in ancient Egypt. Another early tradition is probably preserved in the modern annual family visit to the grave when special food is brought which is then given to the poor. .
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Links with Other Religions
|
||||
