A message about preparing the dead for eternal life. World of Pyramids

Why are the pyramids considered one of the wonders of the world?

1. Why were the pyramids built? The ancient Egyptians revered the pharaoh as a god. The land of Egypt belonged to him. He, as a god, only allowed his subjects to live on it and cultivate it.

The Egyptians believed that a special vital force emanated from the pharaoh, like light and heat from the sun. It is no coincidence that the title of the pharaoh necessarily included the name of one of the sun gods. The name of the pharaoh himself also necessarily included the name of God. For example, many pharaohs of Egypt bore the name Ramses. It means "born of Ra." Ra was the sun god in Egypt.

The pharaoh, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, was supposed to live forever. Upon ascending the throne, he immediately began to take care of his “life after death” and ordered the construction of a “house of eternity” for himself - a tomb. The pharaohs of the Old Kingdom built themselves tombs in the form of stone pyramids.

The most ancient pyramids were stepped. The steps of such a pyramid formed a staircase along which the pharaoh, as the ancient Egyptians believed, after death could ascend to the sky, where the gods were supposed to reside.

Remember which ancient peoples had stepped temples.

The pyramid was built over decades by many thousands of people. Previously, scientists assumed that slaves did this. But ancient Egypt never had such a large number of slaves. The builders of the pyramids were mainly Egyptian peasants. They worked on the construction of the pyramids in the months free from field work.

The pyramids could not be built without professional craftsmen - architects, masons, who drew up work plans, calculations, and supervised the laying of blocks. The blocks were fitted very tightly to each other without a binding solution. The skill of the pyramid builders was so perfect that their creations have been standing for more than four and a half thousand years. No wonder they said in ancient times: “Everything is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids.” The pyramids were considered the first of the seven wonders of the world.

The peace of the great pyramids is guarded by the sphinx. The Sphinx is a gigantic figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man in the attire of a pharaoh. Later, pharaohs and queens began to be buried in huge tombs carved into the rocks.

Think about what knowledge was required to build the pyramids.

3. How the dead were prepared for eternal life. The Egyptians believed that death opened the way for a person to eternal life in the afterlife. To stay in the kingdom of the dead, a person needs a body into which his soul will again inhabit. To prevent the body from decaying, it was carefully embalmed. To do this, the entrails were removed from the body, kept in a special solution for 70 days, then soaked in balms, resins, incense and wrapped in linen bandages. A mask was placed on the face, reproducing the features of the deceased. The result was a mummy - non-decomposing dead body. The mummy was then placed in a sarcophagus - a coffin made in the shape of a human figure - and buried in the tomb. Objects that a person might need in the afterlife were placed in the tomb.

Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Cheops

A priest in a mask of the god Anubis (the patron saint of embalming) embalms the deceased

^^ In 1922, the English archaeologist Carter discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. Pharaoh died young. Many were found in the tomb beautiful objects- furniture, boat models, jewelry, vessels, weapons. The pharaoh's mummy was enclosed in four sarcophagi. The outer sarcophagus was made of stone. The last, inner sarcophagus was made of pure gold. The face on the sarcophagus is depicted very carefully, and we can imagine what Tutankhamun looked like during his lifetime. When the last sarcophagus was opened, a small bouquet of wildflowers was found on the mummy. This was not part of the burial custom, but perhaps it was a sign of love for the pharaoh’s young wife...

handicrafts. Residents of Egypt were required to participate in public works in the construction of canals and other structures.

To perform the duties of an official, one had to be able to write and read. Scribes in the eyes of the people were very important people. They represented local authorities. Scribes kept records of taxes and duties, and often held court.

Pyramid of the social order of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian inscription about the activities of the vizier

The vizier, listening in his hall, must sit in a high chair during the reception. There should be a carpet on the floor, pillows behind his back, a pillow and under his feet. He has a stick in his hands, 40 leather scrolls of laws are unrolled in front of him. The nobles stand in front of him on both sides, the head of the office on the right,

the speaker is on the left, the secretaries are nearby - everyone is in their place. Each must be heard in turn... the vizier is informed about the fortresses of the south and north. He is reported about everything leaving the royal house and about everything entering there... high officials report to him about their activities. He must enter the pharaoh before the chief treasurer, who must wait for him at the northern façade... The vizier calls local officials and dispatches them...

Highlight key words in the text that indicate responsibilities

1. Why did the pharaohs build pyramids for themselves during their lifetime?

2. How and who built the pyramids? 3. What is the tradition of mummifying the dead connected with? 4. Why was the power of the pharaoh limitless? 5. What was the main source of state income in Ancient Egypt?

1. Think about what knowledge was required to build the pyramids. 2. What could make the pharaoh resort to punishing the official with a whip or exile? 3. Highlight common features in the administration of Ancient Egypt and Babylon. 4. For the proposed list of words, select a generalizing concept: a) pyramid, temple, palace of the pharaoh; b) Great Sphinx, bust of a queen, ancient Egyptian figurine of a nobleman.

Later, the steps of the pyramids began to be covered with stones. Each side of the pyramid formed a huge smooth triangle. The pyramid was lined with limestone slabs, and its top was covered with shiny stone or gold leaf. The peak shone dazzlingly in the sun. The sides of the pyramid seemed like giant rays with which the sun god connected heaven and earth.

The greatest structures are the three pyramids near the modern capital of Egypt, Cairo. The largest of them is the pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops, about 147 m high. It is made of two million three hundred stone blocks. Each block weighed almost two and a half tons

The pyramid was built over decades by many thousands of people. Previously, scientists assumed that slaves did this. But this never happened in Ancient Egypt large number slaves The builders of the pyramids were mainly Egyptian peasants. They worked on the construction of the pyramids in the months free from field work.

No wonder in ancient times they said: “Everyone is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids.” The pyramids were considered the first of the seven wonders of the world. The peace of the great pyramids is guarded by the sphinx. The Sphinx is a gigantic figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man in the attire of a pharaoh. Later, pharaohs and queens began to be buried in huge tombs carved into the rocks.

The Egyptians believed that death opened the way for a person to eternal life in the afterlife. For a safe stay in the kingdom of the dead, the body of the deceased was embalmed so that it would not be subject to decay. To do this, the entrails were removed from the body. Then he was kept in a special solution for 70 days.

In 1922, the English archaeologist Carter discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. Pharaoh died young. Many beautiful objects were found in the tomb - furniture, boat models, jewelry, vessels, weapons. Enormous wealth accompanied the young pharaoh to the afterlife. The pharaoh's mummy was enclosed in four sarcophagi.

The outer sarcophagus was made of stone. The last, inner, sarcophagus was made of pure gold. The face on the sarcophagus is depicted very carefully, and we can imagine what Tutankhamun looked like during his lifetime. When the last sarcophagus was opened, a small bouquet of wildflowers was found on the mummy. This was not part of the burial custom, but it was a very sign of love. loved one, maybe the young wife of the pharaoh...

All residents of Egypt had to obey the pharaoh unquestioningly. Even the most noble of them fell prostrate before him and glorified his greatness with the words: “May the lord do as he pleases, for we breathe air only by his grace.”

To govern the country, the pharaoh appointed a chief minister - a vizier, and ministers who ruled Upper and Lower Egypt. A special minister was in charge of the country's food reserves. Many officials of different ranks reported to the ministers. Officials managed cities, towns, construction work

They were required to participate in public works in the construction of canals and other structures. To perform the duties of an official, one had to be able to write and read. Scribes were very important people in the eyes of the people. They provided local power. Scribes kept records of taxes and duties, and often held court.

§11, c Work on the questions at the end of the paragraph. Complete the assignment on the topic in your workbook.

And mysterious hieroglyphs describing the rise and fall of their rulers. Egyptian civilization existed in the northeast of the African continent for more than forty centuries from the middle of the 4th millennium BC. e. to the 4th century AD e. Ideas about the afterlife in ancient Egypt differed significantly from modern ones in details. In general, they created a world beyond the threshold of death, similar to the earthly one. The three components of the immaterial soul were closely related to bodily incarnation, so the Egyptians paid a lot of attention to the burial and preservation of the dead body.

Ah, Ba and Ka - the three elements of spirit

IN modern world it is not possible to find an exact correspondence to the ancient Egyptian concepts of the soul. “Ah” is associated with the spiritual powers of a person. This part is in close contact with the physical body. The “Ba” particle was a pure spirit and was capable of leaving the dead person during burial, wandering around the world. "Ka" was considered the most important element of the non-material body of the Egyptian. It contained his personality, character, individual characteristics, the destiny prescribed for a person. After the death of the carrier, “Ka” required sacrifices in the form of food, otherwise it could cease to exist. And after the destruction of this particle of spirit, human life in the afterlife would cease irrevocably. It becomes clear why mummification was carried out so carefully, and they tried to make the burial more secure, protecting the deceased from wild animals and robbers.

Life beyond the threshold of death according to the ancient Egyptians

The embalmer has done his job and there is no need to worry about the safety of “Ah”, “Ba” and “Ka”. The builders built the tomb. Everything is ready for burial. Together with the sarcophagus, where the body of the deceased rested, the internal organs were placed in separate vessels. The tomb contained everything that the dead man would need in his new afterlife. At first, the path of the Egyptian after death led to the stars, and in a later period - to the underworld. But in both cases he had to overcome various difficulties in order to get to the coveted new immaterial life. At the next stage, the deceased found himself at the final judgment and if he gave the correct answers, he ended up in the Kingdom of Osiris, god of the dead.

The path to the afterlife even for the pharaohs it was difficult and thorny. The Egyptians made detailed maps for the souls of the deceased, describing the route. They had to overcome the ominous Underground Caves and numerous mysterious Gates, requiring them to name the correct names of their constituent structures. The idea of the afterlife made it possible to avoid all the traps and dangers that awaited the deceased in Ancient Egypt.
Only after this did the Egyptian fall into palace of both truths , where his final trial awaited him. The god of the dead Osiris towered over the defendant on the throne. On both hands of him were two goddesses - Isis and Nephthys. At the foot of the throne sat a tribunal of forty-two gods. The decision was made using scales: the heart of the deceased was placed on one bowl, and the ostrich feather of the goddess of justice Maat was placed on the other. Each of the gods asked a person a question about his life. If the defendant gave false answers, then the heart turned out to be lighter than the truth and the cup rose upward. If the verdict was in favor of the deceased, then he was allowed to enter the kingdom of the dead. Otherwise, he was absorbed by the Devourer.
If everything went well at the trial, the intangible body of the Egyptian was sent to Kingdom of Osiris . This did not mean that all dangers were now over. In the afterlife, even more toothy large predators, familiar to them from the world of the living, awaited the ancient Egyptians. Everyone continued to live the same way as on Earth, only a little better: an ordinary peasant became a wealthy peasant, and a rich man acquired greater wealth. Although the man was dead, his “Ka” needed clothes, a bed to sleep on, a bowl to eat, and favorite things. These needs were satisfied financially with the help of funeral utensils and sacrifices. The deceased was able to visit living relatives and friends.

Ideas about the afterlife in Ancient Egypt originate from the legend of the god Osiris, who died and was bitterly mourned by his sisters. One of them - Isis - wept so bitterly that the Supreme Ra took pity on her and sent the god Anubis. He collected the body parts of Osiris, embalmed them and swaddled them. Isis conceived a child from her dead brother. This is how Horus appeared, and Osiris returned to life and began to rule the Kingdom of the Dead.

Everyone has an allotted life span... When a simple Egyptian died, his body was first simply buried in a hole. The body was laid on its side in a half-bent position, as in the womb, so that it would be easier for it to re-emerge upon rebirth. The Egyptians firmly believed in this. But such graves often became the prey of dogs and jackals. Therefore, they began to build mastabas - quadrangular tombs made of earth and stone. And only since the time III dynasty pyramids appear, although the fact that pharaohs were buried in them is questioned by many scientists. Be that as it may, death for the Egyptians is a serious matter.

Book of the Dead Priest Nesmin. Scene of the court of Osiris. IV?c. BC e.

When the son of the sun died, 72 days of mourning were established in the country. Temples were closed, worship services stopped there, and strict fasting was imposed on the people. No one dared to eat meat, wheat bread, wine or grapes these days. After the end of the days of mourning, the coffin with the embalmed body of the pharaoh was exhibited at the entrance to the crypt. People were gathering there. The funeral ritual was strict. He demanded: before appearing before the court of Osiris, the deceased had to make a so-called “negative confession.” Then, in the eyes of the living, he was considered “justified” and thereby acquired the ability to eternal life. These texts are known as the Book of the Dead. The Egyptians called them "Exit of the day":

I did not harm the livestock.
I didn't do anything bad.
I did not raise my hand to the weak.
I did not do anything abominable before the gods.
I was not the cause of the tears.
I did not kill and did not order killing.
I did not take milk from the children’s lips...

Fragment of the Pyramid Texts, carved on the walls of the Pyramid of Unas

The discovery of the Pyramid Texts was a great success. Maspero was the first to discover the “Texts” in the Unas pyramid. They give a more or less complete picture of the life of the Egyptians during the era of the Old Kingdom, their religious views, traditions, and rituals. Thus, R. Faulkner in the book “The Pyramid Texts of the Ancient Egyptians” wrote that “the pyramid texts constitute the most ancient part of religious Egyptian funerary literature discovered to this day. Moreover, they are less damaged by time than any other funerary text and are of fundamental importance to the study of Egyptian religion...” Found in the pyramids of the 5th and 6th dynasties, the Pyramid Texts are the oldest religious “manuscripts.” They are two thousand years older than the Old Testament and three thousand years older than the sermons and writings of ancient Christians. Then Maspero exclaimed in delight: “The result is stunning. The pyramids at Saqqara have given us almost 4,000 lines of hymns and incantations, the vast majority of which were written in the most ancient period of Egyptian history.” The very discovery of the “Texts” happened in Cairo in 1879, when a certain Arab, finding himself in the area of the pyramids in the evening, followed a jackal (or fox), which, as if inviting him to enter a hole that had opened in the ground, darted into a hole. The Arab penetrated inside the pyramid and discovered the walls, covered from top to bottom with hieroglyphs that were covered with paint and gold. To his great chagrin, he did not find any valuable objects in the tomb. A terrible disappointment... We can only add that the jackal was considered a sacred animal in Ancient Egypt; as you know, two gods from the Egyptian pantheon were usually depicted with the heads of jackals - Anubis and Upuat.

L. Bakst. Ancient Horror

The priest addressed the people with the words: “People of Kemi! This is your king lying here. He asks for an honorable burial. Who can accuse a deceased person of crime, who was seduced and deceived, to whom he caused bodily or property harm, against whom he was guilty of something else, who knows of some bad deed behind him, to whom he caused any suffering, - Let him come out and complain. Whoever complains falsely will bring punishment on his own head for this fictitious guilt. If anyone has a just cause to complain, let him come out without fear or timidity.” A similar call was repeated three times. If there were no dissatisfied people (most often this was the case, for who would dare to bring the wrath of a future pharaoh-relative upon his own head), the priest of Kemi declared him “clean from all evil deeds.” The burial began. The priest added: “Sleep quietly and serenely, pure!” When people showed dissatisfaction with the rule of the pharaoh, instead of an honorable burial in his own tomb, he was buried in a common grave, along with “ordinary” mortals. Pharaoh was perceived as a perfect deity, absolutely devoid of shortcomings and wise from birth (“He is wise even when he emerges from his parent’s womb”). Seen in the face of God fair judge, calling Amun-Ra “the vizier for the poor”: “Truth was the life of Ra, he gave birth to her, she served him as a body.” People turned to the pharaoh of heaven with their requests, in the vague hope of getting deliverance from earthly hardships and insults. The poor expected him to provide some kind of protection to “the shepherds in the fields, the washermen on the seawall, the Nubian warriors who come from the district.”

Sarcophagus of Queen Ahmes-Meritamon

The Egyptian texts do not give any information about such trials of kings. This was impossible, neither theoretically nor practically. Lenormand is right in noting: as for the popular meetings for the trial of the king after his death, which the Greek authors talk about, this is probably pure fiction. The deceased king was the same god as the living one. If it is possible to find in the Egyptian chronicles several kings who were deprived of burial, whose names were erased from the monuments, then this happened not as a result of a popular verdict, but by order of another king, who wished to treat his predecessor “as a usurper.” Another reason for such an operation is the fierce struggle between the king and the priests. In Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Israel, injustice, greed, oppression, meanness, cruelty reigned... The class court was unjust even then. Judges often engaged in bribery, demanding bribes (“gold and silver for the scribe, clothes for the servants”). The judge who did not find common language With strongmen of the world this was a very rare occurrence. But the heavenly protector of the poor, alas, never appeared. For example, the Babylonian god Marduk, instead of rewarding the righteous, that is, the most worthy people, subjected them to severe persecution and oppression. In the poems (“Theodicy”, “The Innocent Sufferer”) the hero cannot understand why someone who in earthly life observed all divine institutions and lived a righteous life is subjected to all sorts of troubles and misfortunes. Grief and hunger have struck the people, the last remnants are being raked out of the bins of the poor, and the tsar is on the side of the rich. Under his power, the most notorious villains prosper and prosper. What answer does the righteous receive to his complaint? It turns out that mortals are not allowed to comprehend the will of the gods in heaven. So what was left for the unhappy people? Exclaim in bewilderment: “God is incomprehensible, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable,” or declare, like poor Job: “God gave, God has taken,” or still trust in the judgment of a just king or in the will of the state?

King watering the sacred lotus

Over time, the view of the king became more realistic. The death of the great centralized monarchy of the Old Kingdom also undermined the boundless faith of its subjects in the perfection of their monarchs. Bloody strife, wars, hunger and poverty of the people forced the inhabitants of Egypt, the pharaohs and priests to adjust their views. Although it is unlikely that all the information reported by the Greek historians Herodotus and Diodorus is accurate. Legends say that the gods hold a trial over the body of the deceased. They take away everything corruptible in him, weigh his immortal deeds on the scales of truth. It is impossible to deceive the scales of the afterlife. The one whose heart was filled with noble desires, and whose life was filled with great deeds and the pursuit of truth, gained salvation after death and received the right to set off with the gods on an eternal voyage. A wondrous legend that allowed worthy people hope for heavenly gifts and bread.

Amon and Aten will meet at the zenith,
And there will be an inscription about great evil:
“Someday you too will burn in love,
You haven’t found your love on earth.”

The Egyptians, I repeat, believed that the dead could be reborn. This tradition was sacred. Let us recall that the ancient Greeks (Pythagoras and Empedocles) adhered to the theory of transmigration of souls. Therefore, they tried to preserve themselves for the afterlife (with the help of mummification), because according to beliefs, part of the soul continued to reside in the mummy. Posthumous existence became possible only if the soul was united with the physical body. One of the chapters of the Book of the Dead says: “Let my soul come to me from wherever it may be... She will see her mummy and calm down in her body. She will not perish, she will not pass by forever and ever.” This particle of a person (ka) was precisely intended for food, clothing, etc. In the distant past, the bodies of dead people were dismembered and crushed, but then, as the Book of the Dead says, the Egyptians found it necessary to “collect members.” In the archaic period of Egypt, mummification was not yet known, but the body of the deceased was already carefully swaddled in linen fabrics and placed in a sarcophagus made of wood (“domovina”). The term "embalming" comes from the Latin "balsamum". In later eras, this process began to be called “mummification”, since the body acquired a black color after death, as if it had been soaked in bitumen. Servius, commenting on Virgil’s Aeneid, noted the differences in attitude towards the fate of the dead between the Egyptians and the Romans: “The wise Egyptians took care of embalming their bodies, placing them in catacombs so that the soul could remain in contact with the body for a long time and would not soon be alienated From him. The Romans, on the other hand, consigned the remains of their dead to the fire for the purpose that the vital spark might reunite with the common element and return to its primitive state.” Earth and fire are the lot of the dead.

Sarcophagus of the Pharaoh

The first completely reliable evidence of the embalming of bodies dates back to the burial of Queen Hetepheres, the mother of Pharaoh Khufu, the builder of great pyramid in Giza (to the IV dynasty). Although there were earlier examples and samples of embalmed mummies dating back to the V Dynasty, they, alas, died during the Second World War at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. The mummification process took about two months and in more detail described in the papyri of Egypt. Before the mummy, at the tombs, a “ritual of opening the lips and eyes” was performed: the priest touched the eyes, nose, ears and mouth of the deceased with a special rod in the form of a hook, accompanying the ritual with spells. These spells meant: the senses of the deceased seemed to acquire new life. From now on, in the afterlife, he received the opportunity to see, hear, smell, eat and drink, that is, in fact, lead his second life.

Embalming Museum in Luxor. Vessels with deity heads

Based on sacred texts (the Pyramid Texts, carved on the walls of the burial chambers of the Pyramid of Unas back in 2400 BC), they also describe the path of the Egyptians to the afterlife. There are a number of special ritual “manuals” that describe the procedure for following the pharaoh to the afterlife (“Book of the Dead”, “Texts of the Sarcophagi”, “Book of the Duat”), which the Egyptians called the “Country of the West”... They include sacred rituals, magical formulas, secret prayers, religious revelations and certain laws of behavior. The last path of the body began with the separation of the spirit Ka from the material body. The soul of a person, Ba, having separated from earthly life, wanders around the body of the deceased for some time, just like among Christians. Then the compassionate and all-merciful goddess Isis takes her under her wings and entrusts her to the wise god Anubis. Accompanied and supported by it, the soul makes a journey to the boundaries of the world, in the direction of one of the four mountains that support the sky. This mountain is located to the west of Abydos, holy city Osiris. Having overcome the mountain, on Khefri’s boat the soul of the deceased descends into the “Gallery of Night”, through which the river of the underworld, the Egyptian Styx, flows.

Farewell to the deceased before entering the tomb

The river is a boundary. For the Greeks and Romans it was Styx and Lethe. It is characteristic that the Sumerians also had their own “River of Death”, through which the deceased was transported to the other side for a payment in silver. Anubis skillfully navigates the boat through the waters where he lives giant snake Apophis. The banks of the river and water are teeming with terrible creatures that rush at them. These include giant baboons trying to catch travelers in a large net, snakes armed with long sharp knives, fire-breathing dragons and five-headed reptiles. The last path seems terrible to the deceased: he is surrounded by crying, groans, terrible lamentations, terrible monsters, etc.

Presentation of the deceased to the god Osiris

Despite all the horrors, Anubis and the deceased, thanks to the protection of light deities (a kind of angels), reach the borders of the kingdom of shadows of the Duat. To leave the realm of shadows, you must overcome the trials of the Seven Gates, and then you need to pass the trials of the ten pylons to get into the Great Hall of Osiris. This gate is guarded by three deities: the magician, the guardian and the inquiring god. The soul pronounces magic words and secret name guards, telling them: “Open the door for me, be my guide.” Having overcome seven gates and ten pylons, the soul enters the Great Hall of Judgment of Osiris, where the powerful gods of the Universe, the cosmic Ka, images of the absolute God himself, sparkling with a thousand colors, sit. More than 740 deities are represented on the tomb of Thutmose III. In the center there is a stepped pyramid, onto which, with the help of the same Anubis, the soul of the deceased ceremoniously ascends. Here the four supreme judges are waiting for him, who gave rise to all life in the world - Shu and Tefnut (air and fire); Geb and Nut (earth and sky).

Judgment of Osiris. Fragment of Ani's Book of the Dead. XIX dynasty

It seems significant that the Egyptians trusted Anubis to accompany them to the afterlife. After all, according to legend, Anubis was conceived in sin - from Osiris and Nephthys, the wife of Osiris’ brother. One day Osiris, apparently having gone a bit too far, confused his wife Isis with his brother’s wife and lay down on the bed with her. And, apparently, everything was just wonderful for them, since the crown of their love affair was a son, whom the Egyptians greatly reverence. Why?! Is the fruit of sin sweet?

God Anubis touches the heart of the deceased, looking into the eyes of the mummy

These judges, together with Osiris, are the embodiment of Truth and Justice. At the feet of the god of the underworld there are giant scales for “weighing the heart.” We can say that this is the culminating moment when the soul is left alone with supreme god and must prove that she has “never harmed anyone.” Here it becomes clear how a person lived and what rules he was guided by in his earthly life. The Egyptians also have their own commandments: “If you have become great after being small, if you have become rich after being poor, do not be stingy, for all your riches have come to you as a gift from God... if you cultivate your fields and they bring you their fruits, just don’t fill your mouth, remember about your neighbor and that your abundance has been given to you by the Lord...” It was especially forbidden to commit meanness, to sow death, fear and violence. The maxims of Ptahhotep, in particular, said: “Do not have this fear among people, for the Lord will reward you in the same measure as the one who wants to conquer life by violence, God will take the bread out of his mouth, take away his wealth and strength. Don’t have this fear among people, give them a peaceful life and in peace you will have as much as you should have won in war, because such is the will of God.” Of course, all these good calls did not prevent the pharaohs and other rulers from waging continuous wars. Apparently, the thirst for profit was stronger than the fear of the afterlife judgment.

Weighing the heart of the deceased

After the soul revealed its deeds, the heart was “weighed.” Anubis himself placed the heart on one scale, and on the other was placed, as a counterweight, the feather of Maat, the goddess of Truth. If the heart was filled with kindness, light and righteousness, if it responded to the suffering and misfortunes of one’s neighbor, the person’s soul would go to heaven. That is why Nefershemr’s confession at the Supreme Court looks so significant: “I gave bread to the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked and sheltered the homeless, I helped cross the river to the one who did not have a boat, and buried the one who had no children.” Perhaps the historian is right in saying that these cornerstones of human virtue, repeated in many mastabas of the Egyptians, will become integral part those ideals that three thousand years later became the basis of Christ’s preaching about the kingdom of heaven.

Journey through the afterlife

Thus, for some, death meant the beginning of life in paradise, in the “Fields of Ialu,” where the righteous soul was cleansed of earthly impurities and remained in complete bliss, while for others it meant deliverance from all earthly suffering. Both must be accepted... As the ancient Egyptian poet exclaimed in his song (1790 BC): “Here it is, death, appears before me as a cure for the sick, as a way out after a long illness. Now death appears before me like fragrant myrrh, like a vacation under sail in the hours of the breeze... Now death appears before me and beckons me, like the view from a house that opens up to someone who has been imprisoned for so long.”

Mummy from the Cairo Museum

It is curious that in the minds of today's people, people of the third millennium of the new era, the belief in the existence of the Kingdom of the Dead continues to persist. Ernst Muldashev, popular in some circles, claims that such a Kingdom of the Dead is located between the above-ground and underground worlds. In the book “In Search of the Gods,” he wrote, in particular: “The best people of different Human Races, who possessed that degree of spirituality that allowed them to enter the state of deep Samati (state of self-preservation), went to the Kingdom of the Dead or, to put it modern language, to the Gene Pool of Humanity, in order to preserve bodies in the event of some kind of global catastrophe, when it becomes necessary, with pain and torture, to revive your long-preserved body and sprout again human life on the ground. All Human Earth Races that had a physical body, be it the giant Lemurians, be it the huge Atlanteans, be it our race - the Aryans, sent their best sons and daughters to the Kingdom of the Dead in order to replenish the Gene Pool of Humanity and thereby guarantee the continuation of life on Earth.” Thus, the thoughts and aspirations of the ancient Egyptians come to life in our time in other fantasies.
The Egyptians saw death as a kind of gateway to the afterlife, where the immortal spirit was supposed to prolong a person’s earthly existence. “You live to die. And you die to live." The famous Egyptian mummies aroused particular interest in the world (apparently, the word came from the Persian “mummia”, which meant bitumen)... According to legend, Isis was the first to create a mummy. After the death of her brother and husband Osiris, she tried to save and protect his body from Set. Having found the parts of her husband’s body torn by Seth, she folded them and then swaddled them. The reverent attitude of the Egyptians towards mummies for a European for a long time remained a “chilling and alien” phenomenon until Egypt became closer culturally.

Amenhotep, son of Hapu

The fact of death was traditionally accompanied by crying. Herodotus reported in detail about the ritual of mourning and burial. If a man who enjoys some respect dies in the house, then the entire female population smears mud on their heads or faces. Then, leaving this dead man in the house, the women themselves try to run around the entire city, girded high and showing their bare breasts. At the same time, they frantically beat their chests. The entire female family immediately joins them. Men are not far behind them, also beating their chests, thereby demonstrating their grief. Only after this indispensable ritual do they begin embalming.

Sacred cats in Egypt

Burial required considerable effort. It is worth looking at gold utensils, amulets, all kinds of accessories, not to mention sarcophagi and tombs, to understand what expenses the relatives of the deceased had to pay. And then it was already difficult to bury a person without money. For example, it takes 70 days and 375 yards of cotton to swaddle one mummy. The social status and wealth of the deceased were of decisive importance during burial: “If a nobleman is buried royally and, like a king, is surrounded upon death by his people and his feathered and four-legged favorites, then these people of his are buried no better, or even worse, than birds and dogs." They cast magic over the pharaoh's corpse as if over a precious vessel. It is treated with extreme care: the body is anointed with oils and potions, washed with palm wine, cleansed and rubbed with incense and myrrh. With the poor, of course, they do it simply and without any complications - no entrails are removed from them, but oil is generously injected into the butt so that it dissolves everything, and then they are put in sodium lye for 70 days, so that only skin and bones remain from the deceased .

Sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose's cat

There are burials where the favorite birds and dogs of nobles and pharaohs rest in caskets inlaid with ivory and ebony. And right there, with the feathered and four-legged “dead bodies,” a certain little man was buried, apparently their caretaker, “without any coffin, only in a shroud, with several pots in addition.” The poor man's mummy is placed in a simple wooden coffin, but the rituals are certainly observed. Not a single ritual will be broken, not a single magic spell will be forgotten. Otherwise, the “ka” of the deceased will be offended by such neglect. He will not forgive the insult and will become an evil demon, persecuting your entire family. Therefore, on the walls of the coffin are written the names of the gods who must resurrect the deceased and guide him into the Duat, and on the lid there is a prayer to the ruler of the dead Osiris: “O you, good god! Give this man in your kingdom a thousand loaves of bread, a thousand oxen, a thousand mugs of beer!” In addition to people, cats were mummified; it was not for nothing that Egypt was called the country of the goddess Bastet.

Embalming ritual performed by Anubis. Book of the Dead

The custom of mummifying the dead continued in Egypt even after the emergence of Christianity. For a long time, the Egyptians did not want to believe that the deceased would be guaranteed eternal life (without preserving the remains of the body in the form of mummies). Characteristically, St. Anthony had to beg his followers not to embalm his body and bury it in an unknown place. The monk was afraid that those who passionately loved him would dig up his body and mummify it, as they usually did with the bodies of venerable saints. He claimed that upon resurrection from the dead the Savior would return his body incorrupt: “For a very long time I begged bishops and preachers to convince people to abandon this useless custom.”

Chamber of the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose III with scenes and texts of Amduat

Christianity undermined the roots of this tradition. Archaeologist W. Budge explained the complex and lengthy process: “The spread of this idea dealt a mortal blow to the art of mummification, although due to innate conservatism and the desire to have nearby the real bodies of people dear to them, the Egyptians continued to preserve them for some time. The reasons for mummification were gradually forgotten, the art died, funerary rites were curtailed, prayers became a dead letter, and the custom of making mummies fell into disuse. Along with the art of mummification, the cult and belief in Osiris died, who from the god of the dead became a dead god. For the Christians of Egypt, his place was taken by Christ, the “Hope of those who have fallen asleep,” whose resurrection and the possibility of granting eternal life were preached at that time in most countries of the world accessible to them. In Osiris the Egyptian Christians found the prototype of Christ; in the images and statues of Isis nursing her son Horus, they recognized the prototype of the Virgin Mary and her Child. Nowhere in the world has Christianity found people whose consciousness was so well prepared to accept its teachings as in Egypt.” Similarities religious systems a number of countries (monotheism) largely explains the obvious similarity of universal human perceptions of what is happening.
British scientists, having studied the embalming process adopted 2,300 years ago, found traces in mummies vegetable oils, animal fats, beeswax and resin. It seems that the ancients selected material with the best antibacterial properties for this purpose. R. Evershed and S. Buckley wrote about the mechanics of embalming: “The presence of vegetable oils (and, to a lesser extent, vegetable fats) leads to the idea that they were key ingredients in the mummification process. It is possible that they were used as an inexpensive base for a mixture of more exotic compounds." The funeral structures themselves were like scaled-down models of the residential buildings of the ancient Egyptians.
Inside the tomb, relatives of the deceased placed sacrificial gifts: meat, game, vegetables, fruits, bread, beer and wine, so that the soul of the deceased could be satisfied. The burial chamber also contained chests and caskets with clothes, jewelry, games, and furniture. There were also weapons, tools, etc. Particular care was taken to ensure that the dead had enough food and drink. Wine jugs stood in rows and each was covered with a clay cup and sealed with a seal. “Such impressive “treasuries” simply could not escape the close attention of robbers, who, sooner or later, found a way to penetrate them. And yet, despite this, much has been lost to archaeologists. And although they got “crumbs,” even they were enough to, with a high degree of probability, reconstruct the general structure... of large tombs” (Emery).

Rook of millions of years. Relief from the tomb of Seti I. Valley of the Kings

The process of mummification had a sacred meaning for the Egyptians. Mummies gave their owners immortality. Oswald Spengler wrote about the philosophical and metaphysical significance of mummies: “The Egyptian mummy is a symbol of the highest significance. They immortalized the body of the deceased and equally preserved the duration of his personality, his “ka”, with the help of portrait statues, often made in many copies... The Egyptian denies annihilation. Antique man affirms it with all the language of the forms of its culture. The Egyptians even embalmed the mummy of their history, namely chronological dates and numbers. While, on the one hand, nothing has been preserved from the pre-Solonian history of the Greeks, not a single year, not a single true name, no specific event, on the other hand, we know almost all the names and years of the reign of the Egyptian kings of the third millennium BC ., and the later Egyptians knew them, of course, without exception. A terrible symbol of this will to activity - to this day the bodies of the great pharaohs lie in our museums, retaining the features of their personal appearance. On the brilliantly polished granite tip of the pyramid of Amenemhat III one can now read the words: “Amenemhat sees the beauty of the sun,” and on the other side: “The soul of Amenemhat is higher than the height of Orion, and it connects with the underworld.” This is a victory over destruction, over the present..."

Sarcophagus with a portrait of Artemidorus from Fayum

Of interest are those parting words that accompanied the dead on their journey to the afterlife and during their stay there... The Egyptians believed that by fulfilling the will of a king or deity, one could extend the life predicted by fate on earth in a similar way in heaven. Coffin texts also speak about the nature of the parting words. They were written in ink on inside coffin lids of wealthy Egyptians during the Middle Kingdom. Later the texts were collected and published. Here are just a few examples of these parting words... “Be silent, be silent, O man! Listen to these great words that Horus spoke to his father Osiris. His body is nearby, as is his soul. You and your soul will live next to him... You will not disappear, your members will not be destroyed, you will not experience suffering, your name will not be erased from people’s memory” (spell 29). Or here’s another spell: “Speak these sacred words... It is useful and beneficial... Anyone who knows this conspiracy, be it educated or ignorant, will live 110 years, although the last ten will be powerless... When he finally gets to the kingdom of the dead, he will be able to eat bread in the presence of Osiris himself” (spell 228).

Mortuary stele of Ouaja

Other conspiracies aimed to neutralize the actions of enemies: “I speak and act according to the authority of hidden forces (deities), behind me is the god Ptah himself (the cult of Ptah was of a pan-Egyptian character, Ptah is a demiurge who created the first eight gods, the world, and everything “with his tongue and heart.” in it: people, animals, plants, cities and temples. Ptah is the god of truth and justice. - V.M.). God Thoth is also my protector. It gives strength to my muscles, it makes my speech bright, strong, eloquent... I stand firmly on my feet, I have excellent command of words and speech. With their help, I will smash to smithereens all my enemies, including the worst one against whom I oppose. He is in my power and will not escape defeat...” (spell 569). There are inscriptions of an ironic nature, although sometimes they are quite evil in content... One of them is apparently addressed to a person whom people usually call an inveterate lazy man and a thief: “Hey, wake up, sleepyhead! Get up, you lazybones! Free up the place that you do not rightfully occupy for those much more worthy than you were... You, scoundrel, will eat dates and drink wine there! You are not a lion (the king of beasts), but a pitiful jackal (and your face is like a jackal’s)” (spell 516). Apparently, the inscription is addressed to a certain noble person, perhaps a thieving official, whom the people hated even after his death. Sometimes there are touching attempts to protect the woman you love: “Hey, dead man, get up! Protect (the woman) from those who are ready to harm her, and let the head fly off the shoulders of the scoundrel who dares to hit the lady!” (spell 857). Appeals to doctors are also interesting: “O Aesculapians, protect my health every day from those whom I do not know, in the name of all saints!” (spell 1145).

Pharaoh in ceremonial dress

Over time, after the emergence of a number of legends, mummies and sarcophagi became the object of increased interest in Europe and the world. The elite began to willingly visit ancient burial sites. When the Khedive of Egypt invited the Empress of France to have breakfast in the open sarcophagus of the sacred bull Apis, she gladly agreed. Mummies were considered an expensive commodity (even compared to jewelry, gold, silver, silk, and spices). Prince Radziwill, who visited the Holy Land and Egypt in 1582, captured two mummies in sarcophagi. But on the way to Europe, a terrible storm broke out, and the prince was forced to throw these mummies overboard, which the mutinous crew decisively demanded of him. And here is what the Russian merchant Vasily Gagara, who visited Egypt in 1635 (the area of Lake Fayum), wrote down. He noted: “Yes, near the same lake, human bones come out of the ground... heads, and arms, and legs, and moving ribs, like living things, and heads with hair, and they are outside on top of the earth.” The inscriptions of the tombs contained threats against the grave diggers: “Their bodies will not wait for peace, and punishment will fall on their descendants.” Charlatans used mummies as medicines and potions in the manufacture of recipes (adding mummy powder or a piece of burial cloth). It was believed that the mummy’s hand protected the house and property from misfortune, and the nail from the mummy’s middle finger worn on the neck would provide its owner with sympathy and goodwill. Mummies will be found everywhere. Of the many millions of mummies, the actual mummies of pharaohs and priests made up an insignificant percentage. This indicates the widespread use of this custom. Over time, mummies even began to heat the boilers of steam locomotives. Traveling through Egypt, Mark Twain recalled how one driver said to another: “Damn these plebeians, their remains don’t burn at all. Give me the pharaoh's mummy."

Finding a sarcophagus with a mummy

One of the most persistent legends of Egyptology is the “curse of the mummies”... There have been recorded cases of death of those who dared to encroach on the peace of the dead, and were allegedly punished by death for this: the untimely death of Lord Carnarvon (died from a mosquito bite), or the death of A. Mace, who opened burial chamber with a mummy. One of the versions of the inscription found in the tomb of Tutankhamun received a scathing name from journalists - “Curse of the Pharaoh.” Its text reads: “Death will quickly overtake the one who disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.” In 1890, S. Resden excavated a burial in the Valley of the Royal Tombs with the following inscription: “Whoever desecrates the tomb of the temple scribe Sennar will be swallowed up forever by the sand before the moon changes its face twice.” He did not heed the warning and continued to work. Having completed the excavations, he sailed from Egypt. On the way home he was found dead in his cabin. The ship's doctor determined strangulation without the use of violence. To the great amazement of all those present, a handful of sand was clutched in the deceased’s fist. One of the mummies was buried in the abyss along with its owner (after the sinking of the Titanic). Tomb hunters died from minor scratches when they developed gangrene. The loaders carrying the mummies were haunted by fate. They broke their legs and died from unknown diseases. Every new incident only fueled the excitement. The newspapers escalated the situation: “Fear has gripped England.” This is how the myth of the “curse of the pharaoh” arose. In the 1930s, a series of films on this topic were made in England. One of them was included in the list of the hundred best films of the 20th century (The Mummy). Regarding the rumors, Carter said: “What is striking about this stupid chatter is the complete lack of basic understanding of things. We are obviously not as far along the road of moral progress as many people imagine.”

Box for funerary figurines of Habekhent from Thebes

Scientists also became interested in the phenomenon. A sensation was caused in 1949 by the statement of atomic scientist Louis Bulgarini: “I believe that the ancient Egyptians knew the laws of nuclear decay. The priests realized the power of uranium and used radiation to protect the sanctuary.” So, maybe the “curse of the pharaohs” was really associated with the effects of radiation, especially since uranium ore is still mined in Egypt today? Bulgarini stated: “The ceilings in the tomb could have been covered with uranium and carved into radioactive rock. Even today, this radiation can, if not kill a person, then at least harm his health.” Perhaps, without belittling the merits of Roentgen and Becquerel, the Egyptians anticipated their discovery? After all, researchers sometimes died from “unknown” diseases, suffered from “unexplained weakness” and even impaired brain activity. All this could be related to the effects of radiation on the human body, an impact that has not been fully studied to this day. Thus, two archaeologists who spent years studying the pyramids died so unexpectedly that skeptics associated their death with the “curse of the pharaohs.” British archaeologist Flinders Petrie died in Jerusalem on July 28, 1942, on his way home from Cairo. And shortly before this, his colleague George Reisner, who had previously found the large tomb of Cheops’ mother, Hetefare, died.
He was the first to conduct a live radio broadcast directly from the grave in 1939. Suddenly he felt bad inside the pyramid: paralysis developed at lightning speed, and he died on the surface from a heart attack without ever regaining consciousness. These two deaths forced physicists to take a closer look at the physical phenomena of those pyramids. Being sober-minded people, they did not take into account legends, myths and symbols, but tried to penetrate into the essence of phenomena. They were worried about whether the pyramid shape accumulates cosmic radiation, the Earth's magnetic field, or waves of energy of an unknown nature? Bioenergy therapists claimed that mummies have a negative energy field. Doesn't the pyramid act like a capacitor or a powerful lens? In any case, the Egyptian physicist Amr Gohed, the one who conducted experiments in the Cheops pyramid, said: “What happens inside the pyramid contradicts the laws of science and, in particular, electronics known to us.” The speech was in in this case about the analysis of a magnetic tape on which bursts of radiation were recorded in the royal tomb. The impulses were recorded visually and acoustically. Photometric survey showed that the symbolism and geometry changed from day to day, despite the same working conditions and identical equipment. “The mystery lies beyond rational explanation,” wrote the New York Times. And there are many such secrets. Although there are much more speculations and legends.
Death, although a joyless phenomenon, is inevitable. Z. Freud ended one of his works with the phrase: “If you want to endure life, prepare for death.” However, according to the Indian philosopher Bhagavan Sri Rajneesh, he himself trembled at the mere mention of death. And I even lost consciousness twice and fell out of my chair when someone talked about Egyptian mummies.

Tomb of Saint-Negem

People were of the opinion: “For the sake of all saints, do not touch the ashes of the dead.” Apparently, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was thinking in a similar way. Having first visited the Cairo Archaeological Museum, the largest necropolis in the world, he was so shocked by the spectacle (“the apotheosis of decay and death”) that he closed the exhibition to the general public for 10 years. But this, as we know, did not save him from unexpected death...

Golden mask of Tutankhamun's mummy

New research by physicists from National Center According to nuclear research, the ARE, who studied more than 500 mummies in Egyptian museums, refuted the idea that they allegedly contained harmful radiation. So, apparently, one should be afraid not of mummies, but of living people. Mummies continue to haunt our consciousness today. They did not dare to place the mummy of Tutankhamun in the Cairo Museum. It is kept in a tomb with a sarcophagus covering it. Tourists look at it with the help of mirrors. From time to time one or another new sensation appears. Thus, recently English archaeologists publicly announced that the mummy of the legendary Nefertiti had been discovered and identified (2003). To the embarrassment of the British, the mummy turned out to be a man.
And yet, time does bring sensations that have nothing to do with paranormal phenomena and “curses of the mummy.” Thus, recently in the Western Desert, in the Bahria oasis, Egyptian archaeologists discovered a huge underground necropolis. Burials have been carried out there for a thousand years - from the 4th century BC. e. before the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in the 7th century. More than a dozen tombs were discovered there, each containing 20-25 mummies. Scientists, who began excavations only in 1999, determined the boundaries of the necropolis and calculated that up to 10,000 people could be buried in it. There is no such concentration of graves and mummies anywhere in Egypt! As you know, the custom of covering the face with a mask is not widespread in Egypt, although the golden mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun is known. But in the Bahria tombs, almost every mummy wears a funeral mask. It is noted that the people buried here have a face type that is more Greek or Roman than Egyptian (straight noses, curly hair). Some of the dead wear masks made of thin gold leaf. Several also had gold breastplates (apparently, they were wealthy people). Instead of eyes there are stones. There are no inscriptions or drawings on the walls of the tombs of the “Valley of the Gilded Mummies” necropolis, only ceramics, amulets, figurines and coins. Such is the mystery.
Many called Egypt “the classic country of graves”... Diodorus Siculus noted: “They (the Egyptians) call the dwellings of living people inns, because their stay is short. On the contrary, they call tombs eternal dwellings, because they dwell there forever. That is why they take little care in decorating their houses, while they spare nothing for the splendor of their tombs.” As Z. Ragozina argued, this is why “Egypt could rather be called a tomb than a land of living people.” At times one got the impression that life after death seemed to the Egyptians to be more important than earthly existence. I still believe that this is far from the case. Although some prominent Russian thinkers also shared the same point of view. N. Fedorov wrote: “Briefly, the entire history of the pre-Christian world, before the Resurrection of Christ, can be expressed as follows: Ancient world set the main goal of his existence to preserve or care for the lives of his ancestors, whom he imagined living, albeit a different life from us, and the well-being of the dead, according to the ancients, depended on the sacrifices made by those who had not yet died, and to preserve the soul it was necessary to create a body for it, so that the preservation of the soul was the restoration of the body” (“Philosophy of the Common Cause”). Despite the importance of this act and the unconditional respect for the memory of the dead, the Egyptians loved life too much to live thinking about the grave.
Therefore, it would be absurd to claim that the Egyptians were “immediately born in burial shrouds.” Even then the process of life was decisive for man and society. Although on ancient stage the birth of culture and civilization, it was perceived rather narrowly. The main thing was considered to be the process of the origin of life, as we would say, the biological ability to bear children, in other words, the eruption of a man’s seed (inaculation). Is it not for this reason that the supreme deity in all mythologies without exception was God Rod (among the Slavs) or among the ancient Indians Rudra. The creator god swallows his own seed: this is how god arose in the Heliopolitan version of cosmogony. In the Memphis legend, the act of creation looks different - God creates the world “with heart and tongue,” with thought and word: “It (the heart) allows all knowledge to come out, and the tongue repeats everything conceived by the heart.” The mind, thought, word, creativity and work are beginning to play an increasingly important role in arranging life. And, of course, Her Majesty Love!

Composition of a loving couple

The Egyptians gave great importance multiplying their offspring. Therefore, they worshiped their Hathor (Hathor), the goddess of love and fun, the “Great Mother,” and loved their heirs very much, seeing in children a symbol of a future successful life, a reliable support in old age. In the tombs of Memphis, Tell el-Amarna and Thebes, on the steles of Abydos, as well as on various kinds of reliefs, you can see numerous images of children and happy families.
The historian Strabo noted this amazing custom: the Egyptians fed and raised all the children born. They were prompted to this by a deep confidence in the divine nature of nascent life, as well as purely practical considerations. The well-being of a family largely depended on the number of workers, and the modest food for children in Egypt cost almost nothing. The children fed on papyrus stems and roots, raw or boiled. They could run barefoot and naked: boys with a necklace around their neck, girls with a comb in their hair and a belt. It is clear why the Egyptians treated the goddess Taurt (Tauret), the goddess of luck, the patroness of mothers and children, with such respect, love and caution. She was usually depicted as a pregnant female hippopotamus with woman-like breasts and arms. Her head could be that of a lion or a crocodile. She was the daughter of the great solar god Ra, the mother of Isis and Osiris. At the same time, according to myth, Taurt ate sinners in the afterlife and was considered the goddess of vengeance. She was sometimes depicted with daggers in her hands. The place of her veneration was Thebes, where her main temple was located.
Being cheerful, loving and cheerful people, the Egyptians perfectly understood the meaning, the entire value of earthly life, sending prayers to the gods, asking them to extend it “until perfect old age - 110 years.” Even Pharaoh, soberly looking at the limits of human life, instructed his son: “Do not hope for many years. They look at life as if it were an hour. Things that remain after the death (of a person) are placed in a pile next to him. Eternity is staying there. The one who neglects this is a fool.” Journey to the afterlife, as well as earthly life, they considered it as a single process. When seeing off the deceased on his last journey, the Egyptians sang songs emphasizing the need to rejoice and enjoy life. So there is no reason to believe that they, despite all their tombs (“houses of eternity”) and temples (“abodes of millions of years”), “were immediately born in burial swaddling clothes” (Monte). Life was the most important event for them. They carefully maintained the balance between life and death. It is noted that due to the strong religiosity of the Egyptian people, their alienation towards foreigners, as well as the knowledge of some mechanical and chemical contraceptives, the population of the kingdom was approximately constant for thousands of years, amounting to something like 12 million people. Every 5-7 years, depending on the era, the Egyptian authorities conducted a thorough population census.

Goddess Taurt. Cairo Museum

Egyptians are amazing life optimists. The scene of some kind of tender and almost youthful affection between the spouses (Akhenaton and Nefertiti) is touching. They are extremely patient with all the vicissitudes of life. Their favorite saying is: “Patience is kindness.” We would say to those who deal with them: “Patience is everything!” Their optimism is noted by everyone who visited the country of Isis and Osiris. Even in death, the Egyptians think more about life and encourage people not to shy away from earthly joys. A curious statement is made by Ta-Imhotep, buried in Rakotis, or Alexandria (42 BC). She appeals to her husband to look into the future with optimism and not to grieve for a long time over her death: “Oh my brother, oh my husband and friend, priest of the god Ptah! Drink, eat, revel in wine, enjoy love! Spend your days having fun! Day and night, follow your heart. Don't let worry overwhelm you. For what are the years that are not lived on earth? The West is a land of sadness and deep darkness; its inhabitants are immersed in sleep. They will not wake up to look at their brothers, they will not see their mothers and fathers. Their hearts forgot about their wives and children.” This call to eat, drink and enjoy life while you are still alive is indicative.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Louvre

It seems that such thoughts were ordered to be carved on the tomb, most likely, by the husband himself, who was a sage... He well learned the ancient maxim expressed a thousand years before him: “The limit of life is sadness. You will lose everything that was around you before. Only emptiness will belong to you.” It is believed that Pshereni-Ptah, a priest from the time of Cleopatra, about whom we're talking about in the inscription, died in 41 BC. e. He outlived his wife by only a year. He probably used his newfound freedom too zealously - and paid the price. And yet, I think the Egyptians would rather choose the fate of a hedonist, loving life, joy, consolation, than the Monk Macarius of Egypt, who received from God the grace-filled power to raise the dead, for they considered it more important to please the living than to raise the dead.

Vizier Ramos and his wife

Perhaps the keen interest with which ancient peoples depicted male and female fetishes (genitals) is also symbolic. Many figures in the East lovingly carry this organ of life reproduction. Let's say an old man holds in his hands a fetish that resembles a phallus. Peoples understood the exceptional importance of the reproductive organ. Herodotus wrote: “As for the pillars that the Egyptian king Sesothris erected in the (conquered) lands, most of them no longer exist. But still, I myself had to see several pillars in Palestinian Syria with the mentioned inscriptions and female genital organs.” Similar pillar-members are often found among the Sumerians, Babylonians and Hindus.

Columned Hall of the Temple of Hathor, Goddess of Love and Fun

Rozanov said: “What seems to us an image either disgraceful or shameful, the king erected on distant campaigns - as an expression of his deep thoughts and the thinking of his land, Egypt.” I believe this is a reminder that the “root of life” is given to us in order to never stop working in the field of reproduction. Says the same thing happy song Egyptians, which Pharaoh Tutankhamun heard on the banks of the Nile when the flotilla sailed past. Pharaoh ordered it to be carved on the walls of the temple:

Shelter awaits you on the shore,
Its canopy extends towards the south;
Shelter awaits you on the shore,
Its canopy extends
towards the north;
Drink, sailors of Pharaoh,
Beloved Amun,
Praised by the gods...

An old man passing the “baton of life” to the youth

Perhaps another confirmation of the exceptional attention that Egypt paid to issues of life, its preservation and maintenance, was the creation in almost every major city of Egypt of the so-called “House of Life” (per ankh). Per Ankh was first mentioned in the text of the reign of Pharaoh VI dynasty Pepi II (c. 2279-2219 BC). The purpose of such a house, as scientists note, was to “preserve and ensure the life of the king and people on earth and in the other world, and not only their life, but also the life of the gods and, in particular, Osiris himself.” Unfortunately, today we only have to guess what activities filled the daily life of the inhabitants of the “House of Knowledge”. In the magical papyrus Salt 825, however, it is indirectly indicated that its inhabitants, “the people who enter it,” are “the scribes of Ra, these are the scribes of the House of Life.” There are also priests here who read God’s book every day. Probably, some special books were kept here, the “souls of Ra”, which had enormous power. It was argued that they could even “revive the god” (Osiris) or “crush his slaves.” The work and activities carried out were of a secret nature, the building itself was a model of the cosmos, and its inhabitants were scientists and sages who possessed sacred knowledge. Therefore, perhaps, it would not be an exaggeration if we compare these houses with monasteries, which in the Middle Ages were centers of knowledge, libraries, translation cells and doctor’s offices.

Dwarf Seneb with his family

It was in the “Houses of Life,” scholars write, that such important mortuary texts as the Book of the Dead were compiled, and, millennia before that, the Sarcophagus Texts and the Pyramid Texts; in addition, they were closely associated with mummification; myrrh and anointings were kept here. "Houses of Life" were in charge artwork of a sacred nature - for example, the decoration of temples. In a word, the “Houses of Life” were the centers of the spiritual life of the country, in which most of values of Egyptian civilization.
And even those to whom fate seemed unfavorable found solace in their family and children. After all, the difficult conditions of existence even then forced people (if possible) to strengthen the spirit of corporate solidarity and mutual assistance. Prosperity became real if every member of society tried to sacredly fulfill his duty. It was necessary to have as many children as possible, because this not only gave life to the family, but also allowed the deceased to hope that they and their graves would not be forgotten. The Egyptians were distinguished by discipline and obedience, sacredly observing laws and religious dogmas. The Egyptians had reverence for elders and worship of sages in their blood. They believed that life must be lived with dignity, so that, finding oneself on the threshold of death, one could say to Osiris: “I did not do anything that is contrary to the gods” (that is, did not steal, did not lie, did not deceive, did not desecrate temples and did not oppress of people). The Egyptians revered wisdom and courage and highly valued social virtues (including helping the weak, poor, or orphans).

The joys of family life

Let us emphasize once again: they cared with particular zeal for procreation. A boy was especially welcome in the family. He was seen as a breadwinner and a warrior. Let's say Ramesses II was very proud that he had 160 children (52 sons are buried in the family mausoleum of Pharaoh Ramesses II). Today's Egyptians remember him and love him, jokingly calling him either Casanova or Bluebeard. This does not change the fact that life for most people was difficult. The head of the family not only managed the property of his adult sons, but also had the right to pledge them themselves as debt. Similar rules were common at that time. We see the same in Judea, where sons and daughters were given into slavery. In Egypt, Elam, Babylonia, Iran, and India, a husband could easily pledge his own wife. The ideal picture of caring parents and husbands, beloved and carefully cherished children, virtuous citizens often came into conflict with the harsh and sometimes merciless laws of the then life of the Egyptian (ordinary) people. The ancient world is cruel and unrighteous.

What did the Egyptians think about their country? The Egyptians had a lot of myths, and the ones you came across in this book are only a small part of them. Many ancient tales simply have not reached us; from others only a few phrases remain. But this is enough to imagine how rich the stock of myths, legends, and fairy tales was in Egypt. No one now believes that there is Osiris, Horus and Set, Ra, that gods once lived on earth. For the ancient Egyptians, myths were the real truth, moreover, many myths were supposed to be known only to a certain group of people. And the Egyptians themselves lived in a fairy-tale world, at least that’s what they thought.

Let's start with the fact that the Egyptians imagined their country as the center of the whole world. And the world itself was very small for them. At the center of this world was the Nile, flowing from south to north, and along its banks lay fertile land. Peace and law reigned in Egypt, and the rest of the countries, as the Egyptians thought, were ignorant and pitiful. Only Egypt was the best and “correct” country, so the people of Egypt called it their beloved land. All around was a foreign, hostile country, a world of chaos. The Egyptians were accustomed to the idea that Egypt was a regular country, and when they saw, for example, a river that did not flow from south to north like the Nile, but on the contrary, they considered such a river to be “wrong water.”

The living god is Pharaoh. The Egyptians believed that the gods were constantly in their country, that Egypt itself was ruled by a living god - the pharaoh. The king of Egypt (pharaoh) was considered the son of the sun god Ra, and he was also considered the young god Horus. The Egyptians greatly revered their ruler. They believed that the king was fighting all the black forces that could destroy Egypt and the world. The king is the son of the sun, a living god, guarding the world order. He made sure that the laws that were written for the people were followed. On his behalf, the court sentence was pronounced; on his orders, criminals were caught, punished and rewarded. It was believed that all sacrifices to the gods that were made in Egypt should be made by the king. He made a sacrifice to the god of the Nile, and when the time came, he threw a papyrus scroll into the waters of the Nile with an order for the flood to begin. People thought that without this the Nile might not have overflowed.

The king built temples for the gods, and tombs for his eternal life. These were majestic pyramids, and later - large, decorated tombs carved into the rocks. For this concern, the gods protected and protected Egypt. It was believed: the larger the king’s tomb or pyramid, the longer the memory of him will live and the longer the king (even a long-dead one) will protect and protect Egypt.

Pharaoh prayed to the gods and asked them to protect Egypt, and they revealed their will to him in a dream or through prophets. The gods, for the gifts that the king presented to them, helped him, gave Egypt a good harvest, warded off diseases and droughts, and made sure that the Nile flooded on time.

When the king, by decision of the gods, went to war in order to expand the borders of Egypt - the best country in the world, the gods protected him. They helped him fight and crushed his enemies to dust. God Amon Ra even addressed the pharaoh with the following speech:

“Says Amun-Ra, lord of Karnak... I have bound the Nubians in tens of thousands And the northerners in hundreds of thousands of prisoners. They come with offerings on their backs, Bending before your majesty At my command.”

The life of the “living god” - Pharaoh was not easy. He was obliged to strictly follow customs and rules. His whole day was planned minute by minute, the pharaoh had to strictly follow the established rules, otherwise disaster could happen. He was surrounded by luxury and a huge number of courtiers and servants who carried out any order of the “living god.” Pharaoh followed everything that happened in Egypt. The real name of the pharaoh was forbidden to be pronounced; he was called “feather” - “ big house", that is, a palace. (this is where the word “pharaoh” comes from). In total, the pharaoh had five names, and when they were written on the walls of temples or in papyrus, these names were placed in a special frame, a cartouche, so that even the written name could not be touched by evil forces.

After his death, the pharaoh immediately went to heaven to the gods and there he traveled across the sky together with the sun god Ra in his boat. They buried the pharaohs with great luxury and built funeral temples for them, so that the rulers of Egypt would not leave their country even after death.

Priests and temples. Many temples for the gods were built throughout Egypt. The Egyptians believed that although the gods live in heaven, they very often visit earth and come to temples - their homes. The temples were different. There were temples to the solar gods, without a roof. They were areas enclosed by walls. Obelisks were erected for the Sun God - tall rectangular stone pillars, the tops of which were covered with gilded copper. As soon as the first rays of the sun touched them, the obelisks began to shine brightly, and everything around was still in the morning twilight. The inhabitants of Egypt thought that the god Ra rested on the tops of the obelisks. There were other temples.

A stone-paved road led to the temple, on both sides of which there were statues of sphinxes. The road led to temple towers - pylons. In front of the towers stood obelisks and statues of pharaohs. There were gates in the pylons that led inside the temple; behind the gates were columned halls, sanctuaries and other buildings. The temple was the huge house of the god. It was decorated with statues and paintings of mythological subjects. In the depths of the temple stood a statue of a god. For God, the temple had everything necessary - clothes, utensils, food. The temple servants, the priests, made sacrifices to God every day, dressed his statue in clothes, smoked incense to God and sang prayers. Only the priests knew all the subtleties and rules of the ritual.

God Apis and his temple. There were also “living gods” in Egypt. Thus, throughout Egypt the “living god” Apis was revered. It was believed that the god Ptah once incarnated as a bull. This was Apis. This bull god lived in Memphis, in a special temple, he was chosen according to special characteristics: he was supposed to have a black skin, a white crescent-shaped spot on his forehead, and many other characteristics. He was brought to the temple, where sacrifices were made to him and prayers were offered. When Apis died, the country plunged into many days of mourning. During this time, the priests had to find a new Apis, i.e. a calf that would have the same characteristics as the old one. The body of the deceased Apis was embalmed and buried no less solemnly than the pharaoh. Archaeologists have discovered an entire Apis cemetery.

Other cities in Egypt had their own sacred animals, there was even a crocodile god.

Myths and gods in the life of ordinary Egyptians. The life of ordinary Egyptians: peasants, artisans, warriors, traders - was also inextricably linked with myths. The very nature of the Nile Valley was fabulous for the Egyptian. Then people could not yet know why the Nile floods were happening, and they believed that this was the will of the gods. And all life in Egypt depended on the Nile. Therefore, for the Egyptians, the Nile was a sacred river. When the Sun rose in the morning, the Egyptians believed that it was the god Ra who left his night boat and moved to the day boat to shine on people. When the time of drought came, and hot winds blew from the desert, drying up all living things, the Egyptians believed that this was due to the fact that the evil Set had defeated and killed Osiris and was sending evil winds from the desert to Egypt. And when the flood began, they believed that Osiris was reborn to a new life, and with him all nature came to life.

From his very birth, the Egyptian was surrounded by a huge number of gods and spirits. At birth, the seven goddesses of Hathor wrote the fate of the Egyptian on the leaves of a magic tree. The goddess Isis protected him from troubles and illnesses, and helped him with her spells if he was bitten by a snake. The god of wisdom Thoth helped the inhabitants of Egypt to study, the god Bes drove away evil spirits from him. If the gods did not immediately come to the rescue, you could turn to them with a prayer, or read a spell, or resort to the help of magic amulets, of which every Egyptian had many.

The Egyptian took into account the good and bad days in his life; there were even entire books that described what could and could not be done on a given day.

Osiris, Kingdom of the Dead, Book of the Dead. Well, after a person died, he was prepared for eternal life in the afterlife. Experienced embalmers made a mummy from his body. To make the mummy, they used materials that, as the Egyptians believed, came from the tears that the gods shed when they mourned the death of Osiris. The gods, according to the Egyptians, provided the linen in which the mummy was wrapped. The walls of the coffin-sarcophagus and the tomb were painted with images of the gods and the court of Osiris. The deceased went to the court of Osiris, and if the court's decision was positive, he remained in the kingdom of the dead. To prevent the Egyptian from getting lost in the kingdom of the dead, a “guide” written on papyrus - the Book of the Dead - was placed in his coffin.

This is how all life in Egypt was connected with myth. The Egyptians revered the gods spoken of in myths and followed the rules in force in them. The Egyptian constantly felt that next to him were gods, good and evil spirits, on whom his life depended.

The entire great culture of Egypt, everything that has come down to us, is a reflection of the feelings experienced by the Egyptians, who thought that their life was connected with the life of the gods and depended on them in everything.