Personal Piety, Ethics, and Morals
Egyptian religious texts do not preserve any
details about concepts of personal piety, ethics, and morals; most
information can be gleaned only from education literature such as
the Instructions in Wisdom and the Schoolboy Letters. In addition
there are the prayers of the workmen on the memorial stelae at Deir
el-Medina, which provide some insight into attitudes about humility
and salvation. The Instructions in Wisdom usually take the form of
an older, wise man (king, vizier, or father) addressing his son or
pupils and giving them advice about standards of behavior and rules
for conducting personal relationships. The earliest known examples
date to the Old Kingdom, and it is evident that the Egyptians had
already developed an ethical code that was believed to have been
divinely authorized.
On the “First Occasion” (the time of creation) it was thought that all the elements for a civilized existence, including ethics and laws, had been handed down from the gods. The earliest extant example of a wisdom instruction is accredited to Prince Hardedef, the son of Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid. Hardedef may indeed have been the actual author of the piece, as he was later revered as a sage and probably received a personal cult. The text is addressed to his son, Auib- re, whom he advised to build his life and career wisely for the future. The best-known wisdom text is attributed to Ptah-hotep, a vizier of Dynasty 5. His text includes thirty-seven maxims emphasizing the importance of obedience to one’s father or superior and extolling the virtues of modesty, humility, self-control, truthfulness, tact, and good manners. It also provides guidance on how to deal fairly and generously with superiors, peers, and inferiors. Not only did this text seek to offer advice on good conduct but it was regarded as a model of fine language and literary expression. In the Instruction for Kagemni (which is set in Dynasty 3, although it probably dates to Dynasty 6), King Huni tells his vizier to write down his own wisdom and experience for the benefit of his children, among whom is the future vizier Kagemni. Again it offers advice on how to pursue a successful course in life. By the New Kingdom new instructions were still being composed as an important literary genre, but they reflected the changes in society, particularly the emphasis on middle-class rather than aristocratic values. In the Instruction of Any, a minor official addressed his son; a new element is introduced in the epilogue where the son questions his father’s advice. This would never have occurred in the earlier texts, but here it is used to encourage a discussion between father and son, although the father’s advice is finally accepted. In the Ramesside Period the final stage of development is reached in this type of literature; individual modesty and humility are now considered to be more important than wealth and success. Wisdom texts were still being composed as late as the Ptolemaic Period; one example is the Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy, a priest of Re at Heliopolis. Here the advice is set in the context of a story that relates how Ankhheshonqy, through a series of incidents, became implicated in a plot to kill the king. Although innocent, he was sent to prison, where he had time to consider his thoughts and set down his personal wisdom for his son’s benefit. In addition to the accredited authors of wisdom texts there were also men whom later generations regarded as sages and revered for their knowledge, wisdom, and embodiment of the true values of the society. A famous example was Amenhotep, son of Hapu, who lived in the reign of Amenhotep III. As the royal architect he was responsible for constructing some of the great Theban monuments, including the Temple of Luxor and the king’s own mortuary temple of which only the Colossi of Memnon (the massive statues once flanking its entrance) still survive. Amenhotep was also in charge of the great estates of Princess Sitamun, the king’s daughter and wife. Amenhotep was so important that he received the unique honor of being given his own mortuary temple at Thebes (these were usually built only for kings), which was granted a perpetual royal endowment. He was worshiped there and at other temples and locations. One aspect of his cult is evident at the temple at Deir el-Bahri; there he was regarded as a god of healing, and the sick visited his sanatorium in the hope of obtaining a cure. Thus, although personal piety and ethics were expressed in different ways, it is evident that the Egyptians had a deeply personal awareness of their relationship with the gods and of the need to live according to clearly defined principles and standards. Their “ideal” person not only existed in literature; occasionally he was identified as a living being (for example, the sages Imhotep, Hardedef, and Amenhotep, son of Hapu) and was consequently deified and worshiped. .
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Personal Piety, Ethics, and Morals
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