Egyptian Creation Doctrines
Ancient Egyptian Beliefs about Creation, the Soul, and the Afterlife
The Doctrine of Memphis
The people of Memphis wished to make their god Ptah a creator god of the universe. They therefore put forward a doctrine to the effect that the creation of the universe goes back to a wise, commanding, thinking power represented in their god Ptah, of whom they stated that he created himself by himself, and that he is the author of the creation in the universe and of its living creatures, and that his means of creation was the heart and the tongue – that is, the mind (thought) and the word: an idea conceived by his mind and issued from his tongue, which was in the nature of a command for the creation of the universe. It is clear that this doctrine differs from the other doctrines in that it did not turn towards embodiment and materialism, but rather turned towards thought and the spiritual.
The Doctrine of Thebes
The adherents of this doctrine made the god Amun a creator god on the consideration that he was a member of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis that created the universe according to the doctrine of Hermopolis. The adherents of this doctrine hold that the god Amun – who later became the god of Thebes – is the one who created the universe, and that he was begotten and born in the form of a serpent known as “the Creator of the Earth.” He is the one who in turn created the eight gods and goddesses of Hermopolis. After the creation of these eight they were swept along with the current of the primordial waters until they reached Hermopolis, and there the sun was created. Then the Ogdoad proceeded to Thebes, where they rested in the mountains of Thebes near Medinet Habu, and Amun used to visit them in order to present offerings to them. These deities had an important role in the other world; they are the ones who drive the sun to its rising and the Nile across the Egyptian land in order to bring life into it.
The Components of Man in Egyptian Belief
The Egyptians believed that man is composed of seven material and spiritual elements: the body (khet), the spirit (ba), the double (ka), the heart (ib), the shadow (shut), the name (ren), and the spiritual essence (akh). Each of these elements depends upon the others, even though each of them has an independent existence.
They also held that the deceased cannot enjoy a second life unless his body is preserved intact.
The Egyptians represented the spirit in the form of a being with the body of a bird and the head of a human being. They considered that the ka is an image of its owner, exists with him and dies with him, and carries above its head a sign representing two upraised arms; it accompanies him after death.
In the beginning the spirit and the ka were restricted to the gods and the kings, but it was not long before individuals also became entitled to them.
The Other World and the Judgement
The other world, or the world of the dead, represents in the view of the ancient Egyptian the world to which he will pass after his death and in which he will be resurrected anew. The Egyptian imagined the tomb as an entrance to the region inhabited by the dead beneath the earth, which the sun visits by night. The pyramid, for example, was not merely a tomb in which the body of the deceased is preserved; rather it was in the nature of a house of eternity, the house in which the deceased will dwell eternally in the other world.
The Egyptians imagined the stars of the sky as an abode for the spirits of their kings and the righteous dead, chosen for them by the goddess of the sky so that they might take their place among them and share immortality with her.
The deceased was presented before a divine court in the other world, whose task was to pass judgement upon him: either paradise would be his destiny, or a ravenous creature would seize him, tear his body to pieces, or swallow his heart – a creature known as Ammit.
If the scale of the heart outweighed the symbol of justice, this meant that the owner of the heart was evil and unjust in his life, and his case was handed over to the ravenous creature, as we indicated earlier, where his body was torn to pieces. By this the dead man finally lost all hope of a new life in the other world. But if the scale of the symbol of justice outweighed, this meant that the deceased had been a just and good man in his life, and thereby he was entitled to pass to a place in which he would find rivers, fruit and plants, in order to live his eternal life therein.
Mummification
The Egyptians believed that in order for the spirit to recognise the body of its owner, and in order that life might return to it in the other world, it was necessary to preserve it by means of mummification. The process of mummification remains a secret that we do not know to this day – a secret that the Egyptians never revealed to anyone and never recorded upon the walls of their temples or tombs, or upon sheets of papyrus.
There is no doubt that the visitor to the Mummy Room in the Egyptian Museum will stand in astonishment before the progress of the Egyptians in this field, and his astonishment will increase when he finds the mummies intact, even the linen bandages that wrap them, and when he learns that the age of these mummies and bandages is thousands of years.
The process of mummification may be summarised as follows: the Egyptian used to open the belly of the deceased and extract the entrails from it, and after treating them he placed them in four vessels known as the canopic jars, which had deities who undertook their protection – namely the four sons of Horus.
The heart remained with the body awaiting its role in the judgement, which we indicated earlier. The body was placed in various solutions and was exposed to the sun in certain stages; when it had dried completely the part that had been opened was sewn up, then the body was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in its coffin thereafter in preparation for burial.
The Funerary Furniture
One may ask why the Egyptians placed furniture in the tombs of their dead. The answer comes simply: the Egyptian believed that he would live again, and that the tomb would be his eternal abode in the other world; therefore he took care to take with him into his tomb everything that he had used in his life, in the hope that he would use it after he was resurrected anew.
From the prehistoric ages the Egyptian provided the deceased with the furniture he needed, which in the beginning did not go beyond a few pottery vessels for food and drink, and some jewellery and weapons. With the increase of prosperity the number of the objects that were placed with the deceased increased, and their quality improved; we find the tombs containing beds, chests, stools, statues of servants, vessels of metal or stone, and models of fishing or pleasure boats. Perhaps the contents of the tomb of Tutankhamun are the clearest example of this.
The Funerary Rituals
It was necessary that certain funerary rituals should be performed for the deceased at the time of his burial, and on particular occasions thereafter.
Among these rituals is the ritual of the Opening of the Mouth, with a symbolic instrument, so that the deceased might recover his ability to speak and to take food and drink in the other world.
Then there is the ritual of the presentation of the offering, which in the beginning was merely a loaf of bread placed upon a mat, over which water was then poured. With the passage of time what was presented as an offering increased and its varieties multiplied.
The kings took care that abundant and good offerings should be presented to them, and the men of their entourage had a share of them. The presentation of the offerings was accompanied by special recitations that did not differ in the temples of the gods from those in the tombs of high officials.
The Egyptians regarded the performance of these rituals as among the most sacred duties of the eldest son, who was obliged to perform them continually, and especially at the festivals. However, the burdens of life and the requirements of time led sons and grandsons to neglect them, which was regarded as a great danger to the dead man; this led to the appointment of funerary priests who were hired to perform these rituals on behalf of the sons.
Module Key Takeaways
- Memphis and Thebes creation doctrines: Ptah created through thought and word; Amun and the Ogdoad brought forth the sun and cosmic order.
- Seven components of man: body (khet), spirit (ba), double (ka), heart (ib), shadow (shut), name (ren), spiritual essence (akh); mummification preserved the body for recognition.
- Judgement of the dead: the heart was weighed against Maat; a just life led to paradise, while an evil heart was devoured by Ammit, ending existence.