Egyptian Religion in Everyday Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did Egyptians interact with these gods and goddesses?

 

They had many ways to work with the gods in their everyday lives.

 

Egyptians often went to temples to worship the gods. Immense and beautiful, temples could be the crowning glory of a pharaoh’s lifetime, as these could stand for thousands of years after a pharaoh died. Temples were a long-standing monument to a ruler’s ability.

 

When people went to a temple, the high priest or high priestess would perform a ceremony, reciting words and doing actions to honor the god. The priest would make offerings of food and drink upon an altar, a high place where the god was said to be standing. They always wanted to please the gods, so that the gods would grant their gifts of protection, wealth and all good things to the people.

 

Just as we have holidays that are special days of celebration, the Egyptians had holy days on which they worshipped certain gods. They would perform ceremonies for specific gods on the holy days, and they had parades and processions to celebrate those gods.

 

When people were not in temples, they found other ways to worship and honor their gods. Because they needed the help of the gods in everyday life, people made and bought amulets, objects such as necklaces and pocket figurines that were said to hold a little bit of power from certain gods. These were designed for specific purposes, like protection, harvests and bringing in money.

 

People also had shrines in their homes, small altars where they could make offerings for their own purposes.