9. KINGS & DEATH; PERSONAL RELIGION

Priests as further intermediaries between people and gods

GODS
KING
Priests
People

Priests: day-to-day, local
King: national, builds temples

Death of king

Parallel of Osiris

Mummification

Mortuary cult of king
Mortuary Temple

Old King (Osiris) has to die for new king (Horus) to succeed

Funerary religion>Afterlife

Netherworld

Kingdom of Osiris

Place where sun goes at night

Death to rebirth

Sun's nighttime voyage through Netherworld

Book of Caverns

Re and Osiris

Early gods of the dead:
-Osiris
-Khentiamentiu
-Sokar

Cult of Osiris at Abydos

Move on to Personal Religion

Readings in Shafer book:

John Baines

Importance of ma'at: order

Threat of disorder

King central to maintaining order (ma'at)

4 categories of beings in society:

GODS

KINGS

“BLESSED DEAD”

HUMAN BEINGS

Outside of society:
-people who act contrary to ma’at
-dead who don’t pass judgment

-non-human, non-divine (animals, plants, etc.)

Morality

Ethics

Ma'at

King

Ruling elite: about 200-300 people

Administration, etc.: about 50,000 people

Population of ancient Egypt: about 1.5 million people

Over 1,000,000 Egyptians poor, illiterate, agricultural
workers

Life expectancy

Death and the family

Elite ideals

Maintaining order

Biographies/Autobiographies

Decorum

Social responsibility

The living and the Dead: offerings to the dead, letters to the dead, stela/stelae (plural

"Effective spirits"

"Ghost" stories

Story of Setna

Magic

HEKA

Rituals, spells, prescriptions

Intermediary of lector-priest

Oracles

“Wise woman”

Dreams

Hathor

“Personal piety”

Votive offerings

Statues

Deir el Medina