Polytheism through Egyptian Architecture

POLYTHEISM THROUGH EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
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Polytheism through Egyptian Architecture
Egyptian architecture offers enough evidence of polytheism in the ancient Egypt
Religion is the belief in the existence of supernatural powers that are beyond human capabilities, and it also controls the events of the world. Different human beings have different perceptions of religion which influences their practices and way of life. Therefore, this controls their order of existence. People’s belief can be described as atheism where the individual does not believe in any supernatural being that controls the order of nature. Alternatively, an individual can be termed monotheism where the person believes in a single supernatural being who is the creator and controller of the universe. On the other hand, the third category is polytheism where in this case, the individual believes in supernatural powers but these supernatural powers are many and are divided with each power having different roles in the controlling the order of existence. This paper will concentrate on the polytheism, particularly focusing on the polytheism through Egyptian architecture. The paper will look at a few examples since polytheism in ancient Egypt is so detailed that it is impossible to fit in one book let alone a few pages. This paper will focus on the religious concepts and practices which are evident in the Egyptian architecture.
The concept of polytheism in Egypt is considered as one of the most complex in the ancient religions.

This is because the definition of religion in Egypt was diverse and did not have a standard way of practice as it is today. Egyptians did not have a monolithic concept of religion. Instead, they had a variety of different beliefs and practices, with each culture having different religious myths. However, the gods were all closely related. In its three-millennium existence, Egyptian had worshiped more than two thousand gods with some being local gods while others were national gods.
Consequently, polytheism in Egypt is considered as one of the most complex since each god was attributed to a particular role while some roles of the same god contradicted among different culture. There was also a tendency of associated on god with multiple roles. In explaining the complexity of polytheism in Egypt, the fact that some gods were considered to be more superior with the constant change of superiority among some gods varied from one culture to another, and this makes it complex. Among the most worshiped gods in Egypt was the Amon-Ra who was identified with the sun. Additionally, he was believed to be the creator of the universe, and his major role was to rule the universe after the creation. Secondly, the other god who was considered equal to him was the Osiris, who was deemed to be the god of the underworld. His main role was to guard the soul of the dead Egyptians in the afterlife. Lastly, there were other gods such as the pharaoh whose superiority as god decreased with time. For example, Horus the son of Osiris, Isis who was another sun-god, Set who was a rival to Horus and Amon-Ra were among other gods.
Contrarily, polytheism in Egypt was so deep rooted in the lives of Egyptians that it is contained in the most of their architectural work. This is evident through a variety of facts such as sculptures and carvings of different gods in the temples and places of worship which are different depending on the dynasty that ruled the period. From the sculptures, it can be seen there was a rise in the superiority of a certain god depending on which dynasty ruled and the region it came from. For instance, Amun’s sculptures and images are missing in the old kingdom temples and only start to emerge as superior, middle kingdom whose dynasty were the people of Thebes.
More ever, they were the ones who considered Amun as the most important god. Therefore, these points out that each region had their own gods and treated them differently in each dynasty that took over power promoted their own god. Also, in various temples are symbols of animals which are believed to have represented religion during the pre-dynastic period. Different animals represented different gods. This is according to the perception of the role of a certain god. It is, therefore, important to understand that the animalistic symbols were not the literal interpretation of the Egyptians as they believed that they gods were mysterious and invisible. They only used these symbols according to the rules of the god and chose the animal that they thought would fit the character of that role. Amun who was believed to be mysterious was associated with the different symbols as seen in the architectures as a goose, a ram or a human being wearing a double plumed crown.
From the architecture, it can be seen that as time went on, the number of animal symbols increased in the places of worship further confirming how the Egyptians had a strong belief in polytheism. Therefore, they would ‘create’ new gods with the increase in complexity of the events to serve their purposes. These symbols varied with different regions, and different animal symbols represented different gods. However, the association of gods’ symbols with religion is seen to have shifted with time depending on the rise of one region’s god importance in another region. Apart from drawings, there is also evidence of gods carving on the walls of the sacred places such as tombs.
Apart from sculptures and drawings, the other architecture that is a representation of polytheism in Egypt is the famous pyramids. The Egyptians believed that pharaohs were mediators between them and god while they were alive. They also believed that, after death, they became gods and in their deaths, they still helped in guiding and guarding the kingdom. Therefore, they felt that in order to earn favor from the dead pharaoh, there was an important need to preserve their souls. This resulted in the construction of pyramids which served as sacred places and they believed that the pyramids helped in the mummification of the pharaohs’ souls. Also, as a proof of polytheism, these tombs had different hieroglyphic scripts. These hieroglyphic writings were believed to guide the dead pharaoh’s soul through the land of the dead where he would transform into a god. These hieroglyphs were most often used by Egyptians to perform rituals to appease the gods with different hieroglyphs appearing in varying forms depending on the occasions. This shows that the Egyptians had different gods for different occasions. Therefore, different rituals were used to explain the difference in the scripts.
The other architectural evidence of polytheism is the temples. Temples were constructed as places of worship and holy home for the gods. In Egypt, Egyptians constructed different temples for different gods, and the temple size was influenced with the superiority of the god. Inside the each temple, was the sculpture of the god in which it was constructed for. In order to prove the polytheism in the Egyptian religion, there were a variety of temples in one region with different sculptures of gods who were to be worshiped depending on the occasions or time. Each of these temples had priests who were mandated with taking care of the gods every day. It is also believed that some of the gods such as the god of fertility did not have a particular temple. Most of the temples are believed to have been dwelling of the patron gods. The existence of different temples with different symbols of patron gods is evidence that Egyptians valued polytheism and did not practice monotheism. Also, since the duty of performing rituals in the temple for the gods was left to pharaohs. More ever, having different temples of gods in the same period meant that pharaohs were performing different rituals at various gods at the same during his period.
Also, in Egyptian architecture, this includes individual household paintings such as pictures and carvings of different gods. These gods vary in nature with some representing human beings with some characteristics of animals. Evident in these pictures and symbols is the symbols of different gods in one picture. This is to mean that the Egyptians believed in many gods with some of the gods being interlinked. Some of the gods were believed to assist the superior gods and can, therefore, be argued that some of the gods were believed to execute the orders of the patron god.
Simultaneously, some of the images and sculpture carvings found in the ancient Egyptian architectural sites are; the sculpture of the famous Amun. This sculpture is found in different forms which include the image of a human being with different looks as well as the image of a ram. As indicated earlier, Amun (see image annex 1) was the god of the sun and his main role was to rule over his creation. Other sculptures that exist as evidence of polytheism are those of Osiris who was also another god who believed to have been the ruler of the universe and Isis who was worshiped as the goddess of health, wisdom, and marriage (See image of Osiris and Isis in Annex 2). Both Osiris and Isis were husband and wife with three children Horus, Bastet and Ammin who were also gods. Also, existing during the same period was Osiris brother and rival Set. Set was believed to be the god of the underworld and was always jealous of his brother Osiris. At one time, it is believed that he killed him for Osiris to be revived by his wife Isis according to an Egyptian myth.
Apart from images of gods, the other evidence mentioned earlier were the temples which included the temple of Karmak which is also known as Ipet-Isu. This temple is the largest and was constructed by Pharaoh as a place for performing rituals dedicated to Aminus, Khonsu, and Mut. The temple was dedicated to the three since Khonsu was the son of Amun and Mut. Therefore, this was given the same dwelling even though worshiped for different purposes. The temple was used by the Egyptians to appease gods after a harvest in a festival that lasted for twenty-seven days. This temple also served as the link between pharaoh and god Amun whose status was inside. The statue of Amun was bathed every morning and dressed by the priests. The temple is believed to date approximately between 2055 B.C and 100 A.D (see picture annex 3). As seen from the explanation of the dedication, the temple was dedicated to three gods who are a symbol of polytheism in ancient Egypt.
The other architectural symbol is the pyramids. These incorporate the famous Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphynx. The Sphynx is a statue with the head of a human being and the body of a lion. It is believed to be a mythical creature that symbolizes Pharaoh Khafre. The sphinx is the entrance tombs of the valley of Giza the grave site for the pharaohs. The existence of these two is evidence that Egyptians believed that Pharaoh even though believed to be an intermediate between them and god, he was also perceived to be supernatural being (see Annex 4).
In conclusion, Egyptians were religious people and they shaped every aspect of their life. In religion, their symbols being of their polytheism religion being evident even in the present world. These symbols can be seen in the form of buildings such as the pyramids of Giza, temples such the temple of Karnak and Horus to the smallest items in the house such as pictures of ancient gods and goddesses in the museums. These architectures are also proof of the complexity of the polytheism in the Egyptian religion. This is because the definition of religion in Egypt was diverse and did not have a standard way of practice as it is today. Egyptians did not have a monolithic concept of religion.
Annex 1

Carving of gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu
Annex 2

Image of Osiris, Isis and Horus, three Egyptian gods
Annex 3

The Temple of Karnak
Annex 4

The Great Sphynx and Pyramid of Giza
Bibliography
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