The culture of sacrifice in ancient Egypt

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On the one hand, it seems that everyone knows about the religion of Ancient Egypt. Gods with human bodies and animal heads, the heavenly boat Ra, the afterlife where the heart is weighed on the scales - these elements of Egyptian mythology have long been included in popular culture. But is it true that their faith was terrible, gloomy and constantly demanded bloody sacrifices?

It would be wrong to talk about a certain unified system of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. Over the millennia of the existence of Egyptian civilization, several major stages have changed, at each of which people believed in slightly different things. In addition, the beliefs of Upper and Lower Egypt were significantly different. A gigantic canvas of myths and legends, woven of contradictions and understatement, has come down to us. But there is something that unites all Egyptian myths - a frighteningly intent interest in the topic of death and a frightening appearance of the gods, combining the most bizarre features. So what were the ancient Egyptians really afraid of? And what did their creepy gods demand?

Bride of the River

The ancient Egyptian religion was based on two main elements - the veneration of animals and the worship of the great Nile River, which gives fertility to the soil. Animals were worshiped by most of the ancient civilizations, but, perhaps, it was the Egyptians who brought this worship to the absolute. The Egyptians were attracted by their strength, power and abilities, inaccessible to man. People wanted to be as agile as a cat, strong as a bull, huge as a hippopotamus, and dangerous as a crocodile. Images of animals were used everywhere - their images became the basis for hieroglyphic writing, their names were called nomes (provinces that were often almost independent from the power of the pharaohs). Well, the appearance of the gods made a dream come true and united a person with an animal into one.

The great Nile River was also considered an incarnate deity. More precisely, there were several gods at once, who at different times and in different areas were revered as the embodiment of the Nile. The most popular of them is Hapi, which personified the annual flooding of the Nile. The survival of the entire people directly depended on how successful the spill was and how much silt remained on the poor soil. Therefore, this god was treated with the utmost respect. And the priests of Hapi could count on the richest gifts - after all, they could predict how high the river would flood and, accordingly, how difficult the coming year would be.

The Nile cult also had a dark side. To appease the river and secure a good harvest, every year the Egyptians chose a beautiful girl and appointed her "the bride of the river." The chosen one was beautifully dressed, decorated in every possible way, then taken out to the middle of the stream and thrown into the water, strictly making sure that she could not swim out and escape.

At least, a description of a similar rite of the ancient Egyptians can be found in some ancient texts (mainly Greek). There is even a story about a certain pharaoh who, in order to ensure the flooding of the Nile, cut his own daughter to pieces. And then, unable to bear grief, he drowned himself in another river. According to legend, the name of this pharaoh … Egypt. And the whole country got its name precisely from this founder of human sacrifice.

Historians are skeptical about the legend of the pharaoh Egypt and believe it to be an invention of the Greeks, who misunderstood the customs of a country alien to them. According to many studies, the custom with the girl did exist. However, she was not the "bride of the Nile", but a personalization of one of the goddesses - Isis, Hathor or Neith. Her task was to sail on a special vessel to the middle of the river, perform some rituals there with special devices for measuring the height of the water level, then return to the shore and declare the will of the gods to the people.

Afterlife Servants

But many are still convinced that Ancient Egypt could not do without bloody sacrifices. And there are some reasons for this. Religion of this civilization is painted in painfully gloomy tones.

The Egyptians considered earthly life to be only preparation for the main event - death. In the afterlife, man had to appear before the judgment of the gods and answer for all his actions. Much was required to successfully pass this test and receive a new life as a reward, in which there would be no hardships, but only continuous joys. It was necessary to have a solid baggage of good deeds. It was necessary to know what and how to answer the questions of strict judges. But most importantly, it was still necessary to get to the trial.

On the way, a variety of monsters could attack the soul of the deceased, capable of absorbing it and sending it into eternal oblivion instead of bliss. They were giant crocodiles, hippos and invented monsters, one more terrible than the other.

The rulers of ancient Egypt treated how they would exist after death, almost more seriously than how to rule the country during life. And therefore they were going on their last journey on a large scale. This concerned, among other things, dozens, and even hundreds of servants who were killed so that they would continue their service to the master beyond the bounds of life.

When archaeologists excavated the tomb of one of the first dynasty pharaohs - Jere, who ruled about 2870-2823 BC - they found mass graves of servants around. As it turned out, after Jerome, 338 people went to another world. Other rulers of the early period also took with them a considerable staff of servants, architects, artists, shipbuilders, and other specialists who were considered useful.

By the way, the pharaohs often had two tombs - in the north and in the south of the country, so that after death their power would symbolically extend both to Upper and Lower Egypt. The body of the ruler, of course, was buried only in one of them. But mass sacrifices of servants were arranged for both.

It should be noted that the servants themselves, most likely, went to their death voluntarily and even willingly. After all, most of them did not have the opportunity (and until a certain time and the right) to build a personal tomb for themselves. And this meant very bad prospects for staying in the afterlife, which for any Egyptian was more scary and more important than any difficulties in life. And then the opportunity arises to go to another world in the same company with the pharaoh, to whom the gods will certainly treat favorably!

However, over time, mass sacrifices at the funeral of the pharaohs ceased. Instead of real people, the rulers began to take with them their symbolic images - ushabti figurines. But this does not mean at all that the blood has stopped flowing. It's just that bloody rituals moved behind the closed doors of temples, in which the most terrible and mysterious of the Egyptian gods were worshiped.

Former Monster Conqueror

Traditionally, the most evil in the Egyptian pantheon is Set, the brother of the ever-reborn god Osiris. According to mythology, Seth envied his brother, killed him and threw his body into the Nile, after which he usurped the throne. However, the son of Osiris, young Horus, avenged his father and banished Set.

At the same time, it is interesting that initially Seth was not at all such a monstrous villain. On the contrary, in early Egyptian mythology, he is a rather positive character, protecting the boat of the sun god Ra from the monstrous serpent Apophis, who tries to devour the Sun every night. If he ever succeeds, the world will plunge into eternal darkness. For many centuries, the Egyptians believed that Set was the only one who had the strength to emerge victorious from the battle with the monster every night.

But the further, the more terrible details appeared in the myths about Set. He became an ever greater villain, the lord of the desert and sandstorms and the source of all evil. From the patron saint of warriors, he became the patron saint of murderers and foreigners (from whom, as you know, do not expect good). And with the monstrous serpent Apop, Ra now fought with his own hands. Seth became almost the main assistant of the monster trying to destroy the Sun.

Why did the Egyptians dislike Seth so much? It is possible that one of the reasons for this was the dark rituals that were carried out in the temples of this god. The same ancient Greeks wrote that for the glory of Set, the priests burned people alive. And then they publicly scattered their ashes in the squares, invoking the grace of a formidable deity. These data are considered inaccurate. However, the Egyptians certainly had some reason to start fearing and hating Set.

Less well known is another god named Shezmu. Although it is he who can be called the most creepy in the Egyptian pantheon. Disgust is inspired by one of the versions of his image - a man with a lion's head, whose fangs and mane are stained with blood, and whose belt is adorned with human skulls. Its color was red, which the Egyptians strongly disliked, considering it a symbol of evil and chaos.

Shezmu was one of the gods of the underworld and patronized the art of embalming. But he also bore the nicknames "slayer of souls" and "executioner of Osiris." He was often portrayed with a grape press in his hands. And the best offering for Shezmu was considered to be red wine. The nuance is that the wine in this case directly symbolized blood. And under the wine press, according to myths, the lion-headed god threw the heads of criminals, which he chopped off with his own hands.

The mass chopping off of heads in ancient Egypt was mainly practiced for captives. Images have been preserved in which the pharaoh personally executes crowds of prisoners captured after the battle. It is likely that the "lord of the blood", as Shezma was also called, appeared in mythology under the impression of these massacres.

Scary Labyrinth

The ancient Egyptian city of Shedit, which the Greeks called Crocodilopolis, was located in the Fayum oasis. It was the center of perhaps the most sinister cult in ancient Egypt. Here they worshiped Sebek, the god with the head of a crocodile.

I must say that in the myths, no horrors or unpleasant details are associated with Sebek. He was one of the incarnations of the Nile, was also responsible for the flooding of the river and was even famous as the protector of other gods from monsters. The sacred crocodile was quite popular, and many pharaohs even bore names derived from Sebek's name, such as Sebekhotep or Nefrusebek.

However, with all this, Crocodilopolis was surrounded by the most frightening rumors. The fact is that a giant temple in the form of a labyrinth was built there, in which crocodiles, who were considered the embodiment of God, lived. The most important and largest of them lived in the center of the Labyrinth. He was carefully looked after, decorated with gold and fed with selected food. After the death of the sacred crocodile, they were mummified and buried with almost the same honors as the pharaoh.

But the worship of the crocodile in itself did not frighten the Egyptians. Around Crocodilopolis, there were persistent rumors about people who entered the Labyrinth, but never returned. Scientists insist that no precise evidence of the bloody victims of Sebek has yet been found. And the sacred crocodiles were fed with animal meat, bread and wine. But where did the hatred for the Labyrinth, which ancient historians directly write about, come from then?

Apparently, if human sacrifices to Sebek were carried out, then in deep secrecy. It is possible that people were kidnapped for these purposes in different cities of Egypt. They guessed about it, but did not speak openly. After all, to blame the priests meant to challenge God. And Sebek's popularity only grew over the years. Gradually, he began to be considered one of the main gods of Egypt and the priests even proclaimed him "the god of the Universe."

By the way, the famous ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur is most likely based on the history of the Egyptian Labyrinth. Only the Greeks replaced the crocodile with a man with a bull's head (this is very similar to one of the gods of Egypt).

By the way…

Information about human sacrifices in Egypt was questioned even in the era of Antiquity. Thus, the “father of history” Herodotus wrote in the 5th century BC: “There are many walks in Hellas … ridiculous legends. So, for example, the story is absurd about how the Egyptians, upon the arrival of Hercules in Egypt, crowned him with wreaths, and then in a solemn procession led him to the sacrifice to Zeus. At first, Hercules did not resist, and when the Egyptians wanted to start slaughtering him on the altar, he gathered his strength and killed all the Egyptians. In my opinion, with such stories the Greeks only prove their complete ignorance of the manners and customs of the Egyptians.

Indeed, is it possible that people who are not allowed to kill even domestic animals, except pigs, bulls, calves (if only they are "clean") and geese, began to sacrifice people? Moreover, Hercules arrived there completely alone and, in their own words, was only mortal, how could he kill such a multitude of people? May the gods and heroes have mercy on us for having talked so much about divine deeds! " Nevertheless, the stories about the bloody gods of Egypt have survived and survived safely to this day.