Why Did Some Ancient Egyptian Gods Resemble Animals such as Crocodiles and Falcons - Report Example

WHY DID SOME ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODS RESEMBLE ANIMALS SUCH AS CROCODILES AND FALCONS? WHAT IS THE RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FACT? of Submission Why did some ancient Egyptian gods resemble animals such as crocodiles and falcons? What is the religious significance of this fact? Unlike many studies say, the Egyptians did not really worship animals. They did not believe that animals have some mystical powers; however these animals emblematically represented many qualities of God. Not only crocodiles and falcons, but each and every animal personified characteristic that could be induced to achieve a certain job. Egyptians signified a set of traits as animal characteristics and that is the reason they included animals in their rituals.1 Ancient Egyptian Religion There was not a unified, single religion in Ancient Egypt. There were numerous religious beliefs and a collection of these beliefs and ideas dominated the Ancient Egyptian society. These beliefs were very diverse depending on the social class, location, and over a period of more than 3000 years were known as “Ancient Egypt”. Thus different people in Egypt take different animals to represent different gods according to their desires. Certainly, there is sound evidence that religious practice among the poor and the affluent varied to a large extent but the role of animals in Ancient Egypt is of sound importance.2 Religion and Animals As mentioned earlier, animals characterized the attributes of gods in ancient Egypt. However, Egyptians did not literally worship animals but just made statues of their gods depicting animals’ attributes. The idea that Egyptians worshipped animals and made mummies of them is wrong and should be neglected. For instance, Horus’s statue was that of a falcon, not because he was supposed to have falcon-like attributes but because he was considered as a bird. Similarly goddess Bastet was often symbolized as a cat because of her childrearing qualities. For most of the history, the relationship of animal with divines did not make these species sacred or prevented them from being hunted or farmed.3 Egyptians did hunt animals, cooked and ate them but saw the traits of gods in them and thus worshipped only those characteristics. Let’s describe some of the Egyptian gods and goddesses in detail: 1. Sekhmet – She was personified after the fiercest lioness of the jungle. She was a ferocious goddess, in relation to plagues, strength, bravery, rage, healing and valor. There were more than seven hundred statues of Sekhmet goddess alone once found in the temple of Amenhotep III. 2. Sobek- Also referred to as the crocodile god. He was a statute of divines for ancient Egyptians, often found as a man with a crocodile’s head. He was a gigantic, violent creature linked with the idea of going down to sleep at dawn. He was seen as a crocodile going into water at night and reviving in the daytime. Sobek4 3. Horus- Represented as a hawk, Horus was one of the most divine and ancient god of Egypt who is considered as a god of war, sun, and sky. He was not symbolized by just any animal, but with eyes of a falcon and plumage of an eagle by a “Super hawk”. Statue of the God Horus5 4. Serqet- Serqet was an exaltation of the scorpion. She was the goddess of stings and bites- hence quintessence as a scorpion. Most lethal species of scorpions on earth can be found in North Africa, so Serqet was Egyptian’s entity. 5. Meretseger- Ancient Egyptian goddess Meretseger represented cobra-the one who was fond of peace. She was believed to be an unforgiving goddess who was said to spew out her poison into the eyes of scandalous. She was believed to sit on the pyramid-shaped mountain close to the ancient Egyptian graveyard, protecting against candals and tomb robbers. She became an ally of the Valley of the Kings. 6. Khepri- The ancient Egyptian goddess associated with resurrection, revival, renewal, and rebirth of the scarab beetle was known as Khepri. This was due to the fact that bug had a habit of laying eggs in the death bodies of other animals and in manure. Ancient Egyptians believed that these scarab beetles were genuinely made of reborn deceased matter. 7. Tawret- This god was found both as male god and female goddesses. They were associated with male and female hippopotamus. While male hippos were considered as evil animals reason for creating destruction, female were seen to be the most compassionate creatures in the Egyptian mythology as goddess of protection, childbirth and fertility. 8. Thoth- Also known as Ibis, Thoth was an Egyptian god of writing and wisdom. He was related to the long legged bird-Ibis. Ibis has curved, thin beak and looks as sleek as a pen; that is the reason Egyptians connected it with the divines of written word. 9. Set (unknown)- The God of darkness, storms and desert set is a mysterious entity, only because no one was sure what kind of animal he was- he was a mixture of a donkey, jackal and aardvark. He was not really close to any of these animals but a combination of them all. 10. Bastet or Bast- The history of Bastet goddess- one representing cat is an interesting one. Cats were the most sacred of all creatures in Egyptian history. Her capability to kill vermin, snakes and rats is extraordinary. Bast, a war and solar goddess, was the most abundant of divine identities in ancient Egypt and took the form of slinky, graceful cat. The sect of Bubastis was mummified at Bubastis; more than 300,000 mummified cats were found in her temple when it was excavated.6 Bastet7 Cats were associated with many divinely negative or positive human traits and deem importance in ancient Egypt. They were held in more admiration than any other animal. This was due to the fact that ancient Egyptian society was principally an agrarian society and Egyptians were highly concerned with snakes, rats and mice because these animals were a threat to their crops and grain stores. Ancient Egyptian people learned with time that cats feast on rats, mice and snaked and so they started to leave fish heads to lure the cats into visiting their homes on a regular basis. This act of Egyptians was well liked by cats as they were not only given food but were saved against other predators. As this relationship strengthened with time, cats were allowed indoors and they became human friends. Ancient Egyptians used their cats to hunt as well as this co so operation between cats and human beings developed with time. Most notably, human beings loved and respected their cats for being a loving friend and also very intelligent and skilful killer. These cats were used to interpret dreams as well. Seeing a cat in your dream was a sign of happiness and good harvest for Egyptians. All kinds of animals were important to Ancient Egyptians. These were featured in the religious and secular lives of craftsmen, rulers, farmers and priests. Animals were predated for food, while some were kept as pets by people. The dead bodies of some pets and sacred animals were usually mummified and also given complicated burials.8 Numerous animals have been seen to represent one god in ancient Egyptian history. These gods reveal diverse aspects of their nature. For instance, Thoth was revealed as both an Ibis and a baboon. Similarly, one animal could be linked with various gods. For instance, the traits of goddess Sekhmet could also be found in goddess Mut, Hathor and Bastet as calm mothering and sternly defensive. Gods shown in animal forms were also sometimes shown as part-animal, human, inanimate objects, celestial bodies, or were only referred by their names in hieroglyphs.9 Bibliography John H. Taylor. 2001:Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt. London. British Museum Press 200`. Malek, Jaromir. 1993: The Cat in Ancient Egypt. London. British Museum Press 1993. Campos, Thais, 2010: Animal Worship in Ancient Religions J.Malcolm, 2009:Top Ten Animal Gods and Goddesses in Ancient Egypt WorldPress, 2009: Did the Egyptian Gods have animal heads. Return of the space gods. WorldPress.com J.Hill, 2010: Cats in Ancient Egypt. www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk. United Kingdom 2010 P. Robert 2011: Animal Gallery, Ancient Egyptians. BBC News 2011 D. Ollis, 2003: Animal mummification.DCF Court Project 2002-2003 Read More