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into close personal contact, and thought was stimulated by the constant clash of opinions. It was an age of
change and marked progress. Knowledge was being rapidly accumulated and more widely diffused. Society
had become highly organized, and archaic tribal beliefs could no longer be given practical application under
the new conditions that obtained throughout the land. A new religion became a necessity-at any rate existing
beliefs had to be unified and systematized in the interests of peace and order, especially in a city like
Memphis with its large and cosmopolitan population.
The cult which began to mummify the dead had evidently formulated a creed which appealed to the
intellectualclasses. Beliefs regarding the after-life took definite shape. The "land of shades" was organized
like the land of Egypt. Ideas of right living and good government prevailed, and the growth of ethical thought
was reflected in the conception of a Judge of the Dead who justified or condemned men after consideration of
their actions during life. The attributes of the principal gods were defined; their powers and their places were
adjusted; they were grouped in triads and families; and from the mass of divergent beliefs was evolving a
complex mythology which was intended not only to instruct but to unite the rival beliefs prevailing in a
community.
Egyptian religion as a whole, however, was never completely systematized at this or any subsequent period.
Each locality had its own theological system. The old tribal gods remained supreme in their nomes, and when
they were grouped with others; the influence at work was more political than intellectual in character. The
growth of culture did not permeate all classes of society, and the common people, especially in rural districts,
clung to the folk beliefs and practices of their ancestors. A provincial nobleman, supported by the priests,
secured the loyalty of his followers therefore by upholding the prestige of their ancient god, who could be
linked, if needs be, with the deity of another tribe with whom a union had been effected. If the doctrines of a
rival creed influenced the beliefs of the people of a particular district the attributes of the rival god were then
attached to their own. When Ptah, for instance, ceased to make intellectual appeal as a creation artificer he
was exalted above Ra and the other gods, whom he was supposed to have called into existence by uttering
magical words.
Ptah, as we have seen, was linked with Osiris. The combined deity was at once the god of the industrial
andagricultural classes, and the Judge of the Dead. He was the chief deity of the new religion which
controlled the everyday life of the people. He was the Revealer who made city life possible by promoting law
and order as a religious necessity, and by instructing the people how to live honourably and well. He ordained
the fate of all men; he rewarded the virtuous and punished the sinners. Masters were required to deal
humanely with their servants, and servants to perform their duties with diligence and obedience. Children
were counselled to honour their parents lest they might complain to the god and he should hear them.
The supremacy of Ptah was not yet seriously threatened by the sun god Ra, whose cult was gathering strength
at Heliopolis. For a full century the ascendancy of the Memphite cult was complete and unassailable. The
influence of the north was thus predominant. The Horite religion, which was a form of sun worship, had been
displaced; it was overshadowed by the Ptah Osiris creed. Apparently the people of Lower Egypt had achieved
an intellectual conquest of their conquerors. The Osirian Paradise was a duplicate of the Delta region, and the
new creed was strongly influenced by Osirian beliefs which had prevailed before Mena's day.
Although great rivalry existed between the various cults throughout the land, the people were united in
reverencing the Pharaoh. He was exalted as a god; indeed he was regarded as an incarnation of the ruling
deity. Until the Fourth Dynasty the monarch was the living Osiris; then he became the earthly manifestation
of Ra, the sun god. The people believed that a deity must needs take human form to associate with mankind.
His Ka, therefore, entered the king's body as the king's Ka entered his statue. In temple scenes we find
CHAPTER VIII. The Religion of the Stone Workers 61
 EGYPTIAN MYTH AND LEGEND
thepeople engaged in worshipping Pharaoh; in fact, the Pharaoh might worship himself he made offerings to
his Ka, which was the Ka of a god.
The idea of the divinity of kings was, no doubt, a survival of ancestor worship. Families worshipped the spirit
of their dead sire, and tribes that of their departed leader. But the Pharaoh was not like other men, who
became divine after death; he was divine from birth. His father had been the ruling god and his mother the
god's wife. On the walls of temples elaborate scenes were carved to remind the people of the divine origin of
their ruler. At the marriage ceremony the king impersonated the god, and he was accompanied by his divine
attendants. As Ptah Tanen he wore "the high feathers" and two ram's horns, and carried the holy symbols; as
Osiris he appeared with crook and flail.; as Ra he was crowned with the sun disk. The queen was thus
married to the god within his temple. In sculptured scenes depicting royal births we see goddesses in
attendance as midwives, nurses, and foster mothers. This close association with deities was supposed to
continue throughout the Pharaoh's life; he was frequently shown in company of gods and goddesses. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]