EGYPT
but
the
tendency
was
overwhelmic.gly
greater
to
nuiyic,
compelling
the
action
of
the
gods,
or
in
other
ways
producing
the
desired
effect.
Preservative
amulets,
over
which
the
formulse
had
been
spoken
or
on
which
such
were
engraved,
abound
on
the
mummies
of
the
later
dynasties,
and
no
doubt
were
worn
by
living
persons.
The
endless
texts
inscribed
in
the
pyramids
of
the
end
of
the
Old
Kingdom,
on
coffins
of
the
Middle
Kingdom,
and
in
the
Book
of
the
Dead,
are
almost
wholly
magical
formulse
for
the
preservation
of
the
material
mummy,
for
the
divinization
of
the
deceased,
for
taking
him
safely
through
the
perils
of
the
under
world,
and
giving
him
all
that
he
would
wish
to
enjoy
in
the
future
life.
A
papyrus
is
known
of
spells
for
the
use
of
a
mother
nursing
her
child
;
spells
accompanied
the
employment
of
drugs
in
medicine;
and
to
injure
an
enemy
images
were
made
in
wax
and
transformed
by
spells
into
persecuting
demons.
Egyptian
theology
was
very
complex
and
self-con-tradictory;
so
also
were
its
views
about
the
life
after
death.
These
were
the
result
of
the
amalgamation
of
doctrines
originally
belonging
to
different
locaUties;
the
priests
and
people
were
always
willing
to
accept
or
absorb
new
ideas
without
displacing
the
old,
and
to
develop
the
old
ones
by
imagination
in
different
directions.
No
one
attempted
to
reach
a
uniform
system,
or,
if
any
had
done
so,
none
would
abide
long
by
any
system.
Death
evidently
separated
the
elements
of
which
the
living
man
was
composed;
the
corpse
might
be
rejoined
from
time
to
time
by
the
hawk-winged
soul,
while
at
other
times
the
latter
would
be
in
the
heavens
associating
with
gods.
To
the
ka
(life
or
activity
or
genius)
offerings
were
made
at
the
tomb;
we
hear
also
of
the
'shade'
and
'power.'
The
dead
man
was
judged
before
Osiris,
the
king
of
the
dead,
and
if
con-demned,
was
devoured
by
a
demon,
but
if
justified,
fields
of
more
than
earthly
fruitfulness
were
awarded
to
him
in
the
under
world;
or
he
was
received
into
the
bark
of
the
sun
to
traverse
the
heavens
gloriously;
or,
according
to
another
view,
he
passed
a
gloomy
and
feeble
existence
in
the
shadows
of
the
under
world,
cheered
only
for
an
hour
as
the
sun
travelled
nightly
between
two
of
the
hour-gates
of
the
infernal
regions.
No
hint
of
the
Pythagorean
doctrine
of
metempsychosis,
attributed
by
Herodotus
to
the
Egyptians,
has
yet
been
found
in
their
writings;
but
spells
were
given
to
the
dead
man
by
which
he
could
voluntarily
assume
the
form
of
a
lotus,
of
an
ibis
or
a
heron
or
a
serpent,
or
of
the
god
Ftah,
or
'anything
that
he
wished.'
Supplies
for
the
dead
were
deposited
with
him
in
the
grave,
or
secured
to
him
by
magic
formulEe;
offerings
might
be
brought
by
his
family
on
appropriate
occa-sions,
or
might
be
made
more
permanent
by
endowment
;
but
such
would
not
be
kept
up
for
many
generations.
As
to
the
deities,
the
king
was
entitled
the
'good
god,'
was
a
mediator
between
god
and
man
as
the
religious
head
of
the
State
and
chief
of
the
priesthood,
and
his
image
might
be
treated
as
divine
even
during
his
lifetime.
A
dead
man
duly
buried
was
divine
and
identified
with
Osiris,
but
in
few
cases
did
men
pre-serving
their
personaUty
become
acknowledged
gods;
such
was
the
case,
however,
conspicuously
with
two
great
scribes
and
learned
men
—
Imhotep,
architect
of
king
Zoser
of
the
3rd
dynasty,
and
Amenhotp,
son
of
Hap,
of
the
time
of
Amenhotp
iii.
(18th
dynasty),
who
eventually
became
divine
patrons
of
science
and
writing:
the
former
was
considered
to
be
a
son
of
Ptah,
the
god
of
Memphis,
and
was
the
equivalent
of
Asldepios
as
god
of
healing.
Persons
drowned
or
devoured
by
crocodiles
were
accounted
specially
divine,
and
Osiris
from
certain
incidents
in
his
myth
was
sometimes
named
'the
Drowned.'
The
divinities
proper
were
(1)
gods
of
portions
of
the
universe:
the
sun-god
RE
was
the
most
important
of
these;
others
were
the
earth-god
Geb,
the
sky-god
Shoou,
and
the
goddess
Nut,
with
stellar
deities,
etc.
(2)
Gods
of
particular
qualities
or
EGYPT
functions:
as
Thoth
the
god
of
wisdom,
Mel
goddess
of
justice
and
truth,
Mont
the
god
of
war,
Ptah
the
artificer
god.
(3)
Gods
of
particular
localities:
these
included
many
of
classes
(1)
and
(2).
Some
of
them
had
a
wide
vogue
from
political,
mythological,
or
other
reasons:
thus,
through
the
rise
of
Thebes,
Ammon,
its
local
god,
became
the
King
of
the
Gods,
and
the
god
of
the
whole
State
in
the
New
Empire;
and
Osiris,
god
of
Busiris
in
the
Delta,
became
the
universal
King
of
the
Dead,
probably
because
his
myth,
shown
in
Passion
Plays
at
festivals,
made
a
strong
appeal
to
humanity.
Around
the
principal
god
of
a
temple
were
grouped
a
number
of
other
deities,
subordinate
to
him
there
and
forming
his
court,
although
they
might
severally
be
his
superiors
in
other
localities;
nine
was
the
typical
number
in
the
divine
court,
and
thus
the
co-templar
deities
were
called
the
Ennead
of
the
principal
god,
though
the
number
varied
considerably.
Each
principal
god
or
goddess,
too,
had
a
consort
and
their
child,
forming
a
triad
;
these
triads
had
been
gradually
developed
by
analogy
from
one
group
to
another,
as
from
that
ol
Osiris,
Isis,
and
Horus
described
below.
Some
of
the
deities
were
of
human
form,
as
Ptah,
Osiris,
Etom,
Muth,
Neith,
besides
those
which
were
of
human
origin.
Bes,
the
god
of
joy
and
of
children,
was
a
grotesque
dwarf
dancer.
Others
were
in
the
form
of
animals
or
animal-headed
—
canine,
as
Anubis
and
Ophois;
feUne,
as
Mihos
(Miusis)
and
the
goddesses
Sakhmis
and
Bubastis.
Thoth
was
ibis-headed;
Horus,
Re,
and
Mont
had
the
heads
of
falcons.
Besides
the
sacred
animal
whose
head
is
seen
in
the
repre-sentations
of
the
god,
there
were
others
which
did
not
affect
his
normal
form,
although
they
were
considered
as
incarnations
of
him.
Thus
the
bull
Apis
was
sacred
to
Ptah,
Mnevis
to
Etom,
Bacis
to
Mont
;
and
in
addition
to
the
ibis,
the
ape
was,
in
a
more
complete
sense
than
these,
an
embodiment
of
Thoth.
In
the
late
ages
most
mammals,
birds,
reptiles,
fishes,
and
several
insects
were
looked
upon
as
sacred,
—
some
only
in
particular
localities,
others
universally,
such
as
the
cow
sacred
to
Hathor,
Isis,
etc.,
and
the
cat
sacred
to
Bubastis;
after
death,
the
sacred
animals
were
mummified,
fully
or
in
part,
separately
or
in
batches,
according
to
their
size
and
sanctity.
Rg,
the
sun-god,
was
the
ruler
of
heaven
and
the
archetype
of
the
living
king;
other
ruling
gods,
such
as
Ammon,
Suchos
the
crocodile-god,
Mont
the
war-god,
were
identified
with
RB,
whose
name
was
then
generally
added
to
theirs.
The
popular
Osiris
legend
was
the
supreme
factor
in
the
Egyptian
religion,
however,
from
the
26th
Dynasty
and
onwards.
Osiris
was
the
beneficent
Idng
of
Egypt,
slain
and
cut
in
pieces
by
his
wicked
brother
Seth,
sought
for
by
his
sister-wife
Isis,
and
restored
by
her
magic
to
life;
Isis
bore
him
Horus,
who
avenged
his
father
by
overcoming
Seth.
The
dead
Osiris
was
an
emblem
of
the
dead
king
and
of
the
sun
in
the
night,
Horus
of
the
succeeding
or
reigning
king
and
of
the
next
day's
sun;
thus
the
tragedy
and
the
triumph
were
ever
renewed.
Not
only
dead
kings,
but
also
all
the
blessed
dead,
were
assimilated
to
Osiris,
and
triumphed
through
Horus
and
his
helpers.
With
the
Osiris
legend
are
connected
the
best
features
in
the
Book
of
the
Dead,
the
remarkable
judgment
scene,
and
the
negative
confession,
implying
that
felicity
after
death
depended
on
a
meritorious
life.
Seth,
once
god
of
several
localities
and
a
type
of
power,
as
an
element
of
the
myth,
was
the
type
of
darkness
and
wickedness;
and
in
late
times
he,
together
with
his
animals
the
ass
and
the
hippo-potamus,
and
Suchos
the
crocodile-god,
were
execrated,
and
his
worship
hardly
tolerated
even
in
his
own
cities.
Ptah
the
god
of
Memphis
had
an
uninteresting
per-sonality;
the
inhabitants
of
that
populous
capital
reserved
their
emotions
for
the
occasions
when
Apis
died
and
a
new
Apis
was
found,
assimilating
the
former
to
Osiris
and
probably
the
latter
to
Horus.
The
dead
Apis,
which
was
buried
with
such
pomp
and
expenditure,
was
