Religion, pyramids and mummification in Ancient Egypt

Religion was an inseparable part of daily life for the Egyptians. They believed that gods lived among people in animal form — as a cat, bull, ram or lion. Ptah was the chief god of Memphis, and his earthly image was the black bull Apis. From the 2nd millennium BCE the patron of Thebes, Amun, and the sun god Ra merged into Amun-Ra, the chief god of the pharaohs; pharaohs were considered “sons of the sun god”. Hapi was the god of the Nile, Osiris god of the underworld, Isis his wife, Thoth god of wisdom and the moon, Anubis god of the dead and mummification, Hathor goddess of beauty and music, and Maat goddess of truth and justice. According to the myth, Osiris taught people farming; his brother Set killed him, and Isis mummified and revived him. Priests performed rites in temples, acted as intermediaries between gods and people, and knew the timing of the Nile flood and the sowing season. Pharaohs gave temples much land and wealth, so priests were powerful.