Ancient Egypt - Gods and Pharaohs
By Ekaterina Zhdanova-Redman 		  
1     Religion appeared in every part of life in ancient Egypt. It included much of what people today would call superstition--belief in the magical effects of some action that would bring good or bad if somebody performs that action. The Egyptians believed that the world in which they lived had been created out of nothingness. Chaos and darkness could return at any time if the proper religious rituals were not followed.
 
2     The Egyptians believed that gods and goddesses took part in every human activity from birth to death. In the earliest period, they worshiped the forces of nature, such as wind and water. Some Egyptian gods appeared as animals--Sebek the water god was a crocodile. Horus, god of sky and protector of the reigning pharaoh, was the falcon (hawk). Gods were also connected with jobs and interests. The hippopotamus goddess Tawaret looked after babies and childbirth.
 
3     As towns grew up, each adopted its own special god. In one part of the Delta, the people worshipped Horus, the god of heaven. In another district, they worshipped Osiris, the god of vegetation. Heliopolis, near Cairo, was the center for the worship of the sun god Re, or Ra. The worship of Re later became the nation's first state religion.
 
4     The Egyptians had a huge pantheon, with over 2,000 gods and several important cults. The great god Osiris was one of the most important gods in ancient Egypt, the master of life and the spirit of the world. He was also god of farming. Egyptian tales told how Osiris was murdered and cut into pieces by his brother Seth, the god of chaos. Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming, gathered the pieces together, and his sister, Isis, brought Osiris back to life.
 
5     Egyptians believed that the spirit of gods lived inside the pharaohs, and on his death the pharaoh became a god in his own right. The pharaoh was the most important person in Egypt. "He is a god by whose dealings one lives, the father and mother of all men, alone by himself, without an equal," wrote an Egyptian servant of the Pharaoh about 1500 BC. For thousands of years, ancient Egypt was ruled by royal families. Pharaohs usually came to the throne by being born in royal families. However, in some cases powerful military commanders became rulers of the country.
 
6     Today we know so much about pharaohs and queens of many Egyptian dynasties because of their magnificent tombs and the public monuments built in their honor. The Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) was the builder of the Great Pyramid--the largest of three pyramids at Giza, a group of the most famous Egyptian pyramids. The Great Pyramid was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Son of Khufu, Pharaoh Khafra, built the Second Pyramid and the Great Sphinx that guards it.
 
7     The Pharaoh Tutankhamen is remembered because of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. This pharaoh came to the throne when he was only nine years old. He died at the age of 18. His reign historically was not very important, but after his death the rooms in his tomb were heaped to the ceilings with thousands of objects, which had belonged to him. All these objects were found by archaeologists and became a priceless treasure for Egyptologists--scientists who study Egypt.
 
8     One of the most famous pharaohs of all was Ramses II. During his long reign, Ramses devoted a lot of his time and energy to a vast building program. He built a new capital in the Nile Delta, completed the Great Hall in temple at Karnak, and built numerous temples in nearly every important city in Egypt. The mummy of Ramses is preserved in the Cairo Museum.
 
9     Although Egypt's rulers were traditionally men, a few very powerful women were made pharaoh. The most famous of these is the Greek queen Cleopatra, who ruled Egypt in 51 BC. In fact, there were several queens named Cleopatra, but the one we are talking about is Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemies dynasty, who ruled Egypt for almost 300 years. Not particularly beautiful, she was very intelligent, witty, and ambitious. She attracted some of the greatest Romans of her day, such as Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian Augustus. She committed suicide in 30 BC. She placed a snake-an asp--on her arm and died from its bite.
 
10     The dramatic story of Cleopatra's life has been told many times in literature by artists of all times, from the Roman poets Virgil and Horace (first century BC) to William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Cleopatra was the last queen of the last Egyptian royal dynasty.
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Ancient Egypt - Gods and Pharaohs

1.   The Egyptians believed that the world was created out of:
  The air
  The sand
  Nothingness
  The water
2.   Some Egyptian gods appeared as animals.
  True
  False
3.   The worship of which god became the Egypt's first state religion?
  Anubis
  Osiris
  Re
  Horus
4.   The ancient Egyptians had a pantheon of only a few gods.
  True
  False
5.   Egyptians believed that on his death the pharaoh became:
  A statue
  A pharaoh of the underworld
  A god
  None of the above
6.   The builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza was:
  Osiris
  The Pharaoh Khufu
  The Pharaoh Khafra
  The Pharaoh Tutankhamen
7.   The Pharaoh Tutankhamen is known for:
  His military talents
  His architectural talents
  His tomb filled with treasures
  His statue in the temple at Karnak
8.   Only men could become pharaohs in ancient Egypt.
  True
  False

 

Ancient Egypt - Gods and Pharaohs - Answer Key


1    Nothingness
2    True
3    Re
4    False
5    A god
6    The Pharaoh Khufu
7    His tomb filled with treasures
8    False