Beliefs of Ancient Egyptians with Medieval Christians

The religion of the ancient Egyptians grew out of their connection with the earth and their surroundings. Early beliefs followed those of other peoples whose lives were dictated by the elements and the seasons; Joseph Lindon Smith (1956) describes Egypt's early religion as a "simple agricultural pantheon of earth, rain, and sky" (p. 316). More than any other developing culture of antiquity, however, the Egyptians began to concentrate their attentions on the single most prominent feature of their landscape, the sun. The religion of the builders of the pyramids became the most striking example ever seen of sun worship. Ra, the personification of the sun, was identified with the pharaohs, who ruled by the same right t

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he necessary "items" the ka would later require.) For tomb paintings, Gardner (1980) records, "Subjects favored by patrons [were usually] agriculture and hunting, activities that represented the fundamental human concern with nature and that are associated with the provisioning of the ka in the hereafter" (p. 73). Patrons also commissioned jewelry, vessels, and statues of people and animals, which the artists constructed from precious metals, jewels, and the hardest stones available in order to assure that pieces would last for eternity; Gardner (1980) notes, "The difficulty of working granite and diorite with bronze tools . . . made production too expensive for all but the wealthiest" (p. 72). She (1980) observes that the nature of the materials used was part of the point: "The form manifests the purpose -- to last for eternity" (p. 71). It was not just the art itself that was designed to survive the ages: "If what belongs to the gods and to nature is unchanging and if the king is divine, then his attributes must be eternal" (Gardner, 1980, p. 66). This led to the formal establishment of strict artistic guidelines. The Egyptian artist did not strive for self-expression; Francis Haskell (1993) observes, "In Egypt no painter
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Christ Church, Field Offerings, Helen Gardner, , Palette Narmer, Virgin Mary, Lindon Smith, Mircea Eliade, Francis Haskell, Supreme God, gardner 1980, eliade 1958, smith 1956, 1958 notes, christianity offered, ancient egyptians, mortal world, eliade 1958 notes, medieval artists, religion ancient, human figure, gardner 1980 writes, death rebirth osiris,
Approximate Word count = 1667
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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