Ways of Worshipping
Egyptians had many ways of worshipping the many gods they had. Some gods and goddesses were worshiped in large temples. The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isu. This temple was dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, mut and Khonsu. This was built over 2,00 years and is one of the largest religious buildings ever. The area where the temple stood was about 61 acres. The Karnak temple was built and inhibited from 2055BC to 100 AD. This shows that the Egyptians were very dedicated to the gods as the spent many years going through generations to build the temples in which the gods were worshipped. They viewed the gods as leaders and people to look up to. A large statue stood in the middle of the temple guarded by a priest. The statue was only brought out on feast days. An ordinary civilian could only goes as far as the entrance way, where they were met by the god, in which they would ask them for their help through a prayer. The local population built the temples that were made of mud bricks. Once they were built the town would then select priest in which to serve the god. Egyptians used pallets to document their gods and beliefs. Ancient Egyptians burned incense as a way of worshipping the gods; everyday large quantities were burned. Kapet was known as one of the most popular varieties of incense. A recipe for the incense was recorded in Ebers Papyrus (c. 1500BCE) The first refereance to the Kapet incense was in the fifth and sixth dynasties. The texts do not confirm the recipe for Kyphi. And they don’t list any of the ingredients but they do confirm that Kyphi was one of the luxuries that Pharaoh hoped to enjoy in the afterlife. Another incense used was jb, refereed to the Stele of Sekerkhabau from Saqqara. For a child to understand the incense written down, it was written in hieroglyph for them to understand. It took the form of a young male goat. Certain gods were related to certain incenses so they believed if the incense was there the god was present with them. Resources used to make the substances were often grown at home and Egyptians set out to find resources like wood and herbs. Chief priests had great power and they controlled the vast wealth and the temple treasuries. The priests had titles to indicate their power- for example “chief priests” – highest leader of that temple, “gods servant”, with the addition of “first, second, or third” to show their position. “Gods fathers” would have the responsibility of serving the temple rota system and maintaining the ground of the temple. Among 42 districts of Egyptian culture there were many temples all of which were guarded by a priests. A selection of priests lead the ceremonies in the temples sanctuary. Incense would burn and water from the temples sacred lake would be scattered. The high priest would be approached by a scribe saying “I am pure one”. The priest would then break the seal of the shrine this would reveal the gold statue of the god. He would decorate the god and then put an offering of food. The priests would exit and someone would follow behind sweeping the floor so they did not leave any traces of their presence. Egyptians while they worshipped many gods you can.
This image above shows Egyptians worshipping their gods wearing animal masks.
Image from: https://gizzisgoodies.wikispaces.com/6th+hour+Ancient+Egypt?
Egyptians had many ways of worshipping the many gods they had. Some gods and goddesses were worshiped in large temples. The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isu. This temple was dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, mut and Khonsu. This was built over 2,00 years and is one of the largest religious buildings ever. The area where the temple stood was about 61 acres. The Karnak temple was built and inhibited from 2055BC to 100 AD. This shows that the Egyptians were very dedicated to the gods as the spent many years going through generations to build the temples in which the gods were worshipped. They viewed the gods as leaders and people to look up to. A large statue stood in the middle of the temple guarded by a priest. The statue was only brought out on feast days. An ordinary civilian could only goes as far as the entrance way, where they were met by the god, in which they would ask them for their help through a prayer. The local population built the temples that were made of mud bricks. Once they were built the town would then select priest in which to serve the god. Egyptians used pallets to document their gods and beliefs. Ancient Egyptians burned incense as a way of worshipping the gods; everyday large quantities were burned. Kapet was known as one of the most popular varieties of incense. A recipe for the incense was recorded in Ebers Papyrus (c. 1500BCE) The first refereance to the Kapet incense was in the fifth and sixth dynasties. The texts do not confirm the recipe for Kyphi. And they don’t list any of the ingredients but they do confirm that Kyphi was one of the luxuries that Pharaoh hoped to enjoy in the afterlife. Another incense used was jb, refereed to the Stele of Sekerkhabau from Saqqara. For a child to understand the incense written down, it was written in hieroglyph for them to understand. It took the form of a young male goat. Certain gods were related to certain incenses so they believed if the incense was there the god was present with them. Resources used to make the substances were often grown at home and Egyptians set out to find resources like wood and herbs. Chief priests had great power and they controlled the vast wealth and the temple treasuries. The priests had titles to indicate their power- for example “chief priests” – highest leader of that temple, “gods servant”, with the addition of “first, second, or third” to show their position. “Gods fathers” would have the responsibility of serving the temple rota system and maintaining the ground of the temple. Among 42 districts of Egyptian culture there were many temples all of which were guarded by a priests. A selection of priests lead the ceremonies in the temples sanctuary. Incense would burn and water from the temples sacred lake would be scattered. The high priest would be approached by a scribe saying “I am pure one”. The priest would then break the seal of the shrine this would reveal the gold statue of the god. He would decorate the god and then put an offering of food. The priests would exit and someone would follow behind sweeping the floor so they did not leave any traces of their presence. Egyptians while they worshipped many gods you can.
This image above shows Egyptians worshipping their gods wearing animal masks.
Image from: https://gizzisgoodies.wikispaces.com/6th+hour+Ancient+Egypt?