Religion

Pentah the Priest

Narrators 17
Sinkha, his daughter
Semat, a priest

Satu, a man
Hapshet, a scribe
Iphoter, the architect

Trindad, his wife

Pentah, a priest
Reshep, a reader priest

Banthur, his son

Darzun, the vizier

Narrator 1: Religion played a very important role in the daily lives of Ancient Egyptians. They
believed that by worshiping their gods in special ways they could protect themselves from their
enemies, sickness, evil spirits, and the forces of nature.
Pentah: We will start our tour today in the family home of Satu. Ordinary people do not normally
visit the temples of the great gods.
Satu: We believe that these great gods are too remote to be concerned with the everyday troubles of
ordinary people. Only the pharaoh and the rich and powerful priests are allowed to take part in the
secret and intricate ceremonies inside the grand temple walls. But every family worships daily within
its household and community.
Trindad: Come see the statues that honor our gods. Although our gods do not have temples, we offer
them prayers and gifts within our homes and at small local shrines. There are a number of gods that
watch over the family and protect us from wrongdoing. We worship these gods to help us with
common problems at home and at work. One of the most popular gods is Bes.
Sinkha: Bes is a joyful family god associated with feasting, dancing, and music. He looks like a
plump little dwarf with the mane, ears, and tail of a lion. We paint his image inside our homes and
wear amulets of his likeness to ward off evil.
Banthur: We Egyptians are very superstitious people. We wear jewelry and amulets for protection.
Workmen in the desert pray to the cobra goddess, Meretseger, and carry magical batons shaped like
boomerangs to draw a circle around their sleeping areas to ward off snakes or scorpions with their spell.
Sinkha: Other statues and objects within our homes are carved with pictures and spells to protect our
families.
Satu: Of course, all Egyptians like to enjoy themselves with singing, dancing, eating, and drinking.
That is why we especially enjoy the holidays when we have a festival to the gods. It is only on these
festival days that we might catch a glimpse of the shrine containing a divine statue of one of the great
gods as it is carried from one temple to another. The statue is encased within a shrine because the
image is too sacred for ordinary people to see.
Trindad: During the festival, the statue or shrine is paraded through the streets on a boat called a bark.
People can ask advice of the god, and they look for a response in the form of a dip or movement in the
boat. The pharaoh, priests, and noblemen accompany the procession. Sometimes the procession is
followed by a reenactment of a story or myth important to our religion. Most celebrations coincide
with important events during the year, such as the flooding of the Nile or harvesting of crops. We also
arrange festivals for when one god visits another in a nearby neighboring temple.

Teacher Created Resources

113

#0574 Ancient Egypt

Religion

Pentah the Priest (cont.)

Narrator 2: The Egyptians worshiped many godsa practice known as polytheism. Some lists found
have named more than 80 gods. Before Egypt became a unified region, each small band of people
living along the Nile worshiped an animal as their protective emblem, or totem. They also had their
own hero that performed good deeds. They built temples where they believed these heroes had been
buried. Eventually, the animals and the hero became one. They now had gods with powerful abilities,
and they depicted them accordingly so that they could be identified.
Narrator 3: Certain gods were identified as the patrons of specific arts and occupations. Other gods
were assigned to perform specific duties for humans. In time, stories about the different gods were
shared, and different beliefs became intermixed. Therefore, certain gods and goddesses became
confused with others and took on properties and attributes that were not theirs in the beginning.
Narrator 4: During the New Kingdom, the pharaoh Akhenaten made his people worship only one
godthe sun disc, Aten. But once Akhenaten died, the people destroyed most of the temples and
returned to polytheism. Egyptian religion evolved for over 3,000 years. This makes understanding the
different gods and their duties very confusing!
Banthur: Of course, household gods such as Bes do not have great festivals organized by the priests.
Instead, we honor them in unofficial ways with parades in our local community. On these days, people
wear masks and dance, shake tambourines, and beat ivory clappers. The community sings and follows
the dancers. Then, there is usually a great feast. Everyone is involved in some manner.
Pentah: Thank you for sharing with us. We must go meet with the pharaohs vizier and temple
architect.
Darzun: Hello. Are you ready to tour the temple grounds? The pharaoh is the gods son on earth, so
he is owed much respect and honor. It is his duty to feed and protect the gods, as well as keep
everything in proper order for them. By doing this, the pharaoh can preserve the harmony of the world
so that the gods might look favorably upon Egypt and its people. Without this balance, there would be
disorder and chaos for all.

#0574 Ancient Egypt

114

Teacher Created Resources

Religion

Pentah the Priest (cont.)

Pentah: The pharaoh is the real high priest of each god. In every temple is a picture of the pharaoh
making his daily offerings. But with so many other functions to perform, his daily religious duties are
often carried out by priests acting in his behalf.
Iphoter: Every town in Egypt has a temple dedicated to its local god or family of gods. Large or
small, temples have a similar design based on the first temples ever builtbelieved to have been built
by the gods themselves. Temples symbolize the world. The lower portion represents the earth. From it
extend tall columns with tops shaped like lotus blossoms, papyrus, and palms. The columns stretch to
the ceiling, which symbolizes heaven and is painted with birds and stars.
Darzun: Each temple is built on the spot where the god is believed to dwell. According to legend, the
gods once roamed the earth but are now in the land of the dead. Therefore, the temple represents the
home of their spirit, or ka. The daily rituals are designed to awaken the gods ka so that its power can
help Egypt.
Iphoter: The inside of the temple contains a series of courtyards and halls with many columns. The
innermost sanctuary containing the gods statue is small and dark. Priests enter the sanctuary with
torches to light their way and perform the daily rituals.
Semat: Come, Pentah, we will let your friends get a usually forbidden look at the inner workings of
the temple. Each day begins the same, and there are many grades of priests under the high priest, with
many separate duties. Before Re appears over the horizon, the temple kitchens are abuzz with the
commotion of preparing the meat and bread for the gods meals. At dawn, a choir of priests and
priestesses awake the gods ka with song as they proceed toward the inner sanctuary containing the
golden statue. The priestesses also play ritual music on their sacred rattles or necklaces adorned with
beads.
Pentah: Only priests who have purified themselves are allowed into the inner room. Purification is
achieved by bathing twice a day and twice each night in the sacred lake.
Narrator 5: Washing was only one part of the purification process. Each priest was also required to
shave his body and head every three days to free himself from possible infestations of lice. This was
also why they dressed only in white linen; animal skin clothing was forbidden. However, there was one
type of priest who was allowed to wear a panther skin over his linen robes.
Semat: Once inside the torchlit sanctuary, we break the clay seals to the shrine and reveal the statue.
Then we remove the statue and take off the clothing and makeup from the previous day. The statue is
then washed and anointed with sweet-smelling oils. Incense is burned to purify the room.
Pentah: Next, we dress the statue in fresh linens, makeup, and jewelry before presenting it with the
morning meal.
Narrator 6: Naturally, the statue of the god didnt really eat and drink. It was believed that the ka ate
the spirit of the food, and, therefore, it was later removed and eaten by the priests as a form of
payment. This ritual of meals occurred again at midday and in the evening.

Teacher Created Resources

115

#0574 Ancient Egypt

Religion

Pentah the Priest (cont.)

Semat: At the end of the day, the gods statue is put to rest back in the shrine and sealed. The room is
then purified with incense, and all footprints are carefully swept away. Throughout all of these
ceremonies we chant while a reader priest recites from a sacred scroll. Reshep is one of the reader
priests.
Reshep: Most priests spend about three months of the year working in the temple. The rest of the year
we live at home with our families, where we work as scribes, lawyers, and doctors. Although we are to
live a simple life, we are well paid, well educated, and highly respected by the public and pharaoh.
Priests in Egypt have become a very powerful group. Priests are not the only people working at the
temple, however. We also employ scribes, librarians, doctors, teachers, cooks, and craftspeople of all
kinds. Hapshet is one of our temple scribes.
Hapshet: Our temple stands inside a walled enclosure surrounded by a large estate of many buildings
and farms requiring many types of laborers. Much of this land was left to the temple through the wills
of ordinary people wishing to gain favor in their afterlife. Because they donated land, priests will make
regular offerings at their tombs. Sometimes a statue of the deceased is allowed to stand within the
temple walls and share the gods food a few days out of the year.
Reshep: Our farm provides the food needed for the god and other temple workers. Workshops help to
provide all of the necessary items for daily living, ritual, and decoration of the temple. The estate is
very much like a small town in that we are able to provide for all of our own needs.
Narrator 7: As you can see, the lives of the priests and workings of the temples were highly organized
and sophisticated. Ordinary Egyptian citizens carried on with their own household rituals, unaware of
the workings behind these sacred walls. The belief system within Egypt evolved and changed over
thousands of years, disappearing completely by the time the Greeks and Romans ruled the land.
Fortunately, the Egyptians left many papyrus documents and colorfully painted reminders that help
unlock the mysteries of their ancient religious ways.

#0574 Ancient Egypt

116

Teacher Created Resources