The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Egyptian religion S 131

Egyptian history begins around 3100 B . C . E . At that time a king whom the Greeks called Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt. Like virtually every king after him, he claimed to be the god H ORUS on Earth. Menes established his capital at Memphis, where Upper and Lower Egypt meet. He built a temple for the nation there. The temple served the god P TAH . During the first part of the Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3–6, 2650–2180 B . C . E .), the kings of Egypt built massive stone tombs. These include the great pyramids at Giza outside Cairo. During the second half of the Old Kingdom, a new god, Re, the sun god of Heliopolis, became dominant. Many texts about him have survived. After the Old Kingdom, Egypt fragmented into local districts that competed with one another. The Middle Kingdom (Dynasty 12, 2050–1800

B . C . E .) interrupted this disorder briefly. At that time the god A MON first became associated with the southern city of Thebes. But Amon and Thebes achieved much greater glory during the New King dom (Dynasties 18–20, 1570–1080 B . C . E .). Amon Re became the national god. His temple at Karnak near Thebes became a powerful institution. During the New Kingdom, many people were buried with texts to help them in the next life. Today these texts are known as The Book of Going Forth by Day or, more popularly, The Egyptian Book of the Dead. During the 18th dynasty the king A KHENATON directed his religious attention to the disk of the sun, known as the Aton. Some have seen him as an early monotheist. In 332 B . C . E . Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. One of his generals, Ptolemy, began a Greek dynasty there. It ruled Egypt until the Romans

Shown here are the sphinxes lining an avenue of the Temple of Amon at Karnak. (Getty Images)