what did priests do in ancient egypt

Future Publishing Limited This time of joyous renewal was also when ancient Egypt held one of its most spectacular and most mysterious festivals: the Feast of Opet. It is by no means a foolish theory. All About History is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. However, with so many different temples throughout Egypt, the pharaoh’s duties had to be delegated to each temple’s high priest, who was often a royal relative selected by the king to guarantee their loyalty. This was then cleansed, anointed and dressed, and offered the finest foods while frankincense was burned to purify the surroundings. The temple’s own bakery delivered fresh bread, pastry makers prepared sweet cookies, and beer and wine were served. The lower court was made up of a group of elders in each town. Quay House, The Ambury, Sunset: Evening ceremonyIn a reverse of the morning ceremony, the high priest once more entered the shrine to put the god’s spirit to rest, burning spicy kyphi incense to create a restful environment. What were scribes and what did they have to do to become one? The people could pray at the gate or in the court to Only the priest was allowed to enter the sacred area of the temple and approach the statue representing the god or goddess. Ancient Temple Dedicated To Aztec God Xipe Totec Discovered In Mexico Reveals A Gruesome Story, Something Ancient And Unknown Is Hidden Inside A Huge Underground Structure In Japan: Mystery Of Mt. More information on cookies and how to manage them. Priests in Ancient Egypt Priests played an important role in ancient Egypt. From his Book of the Dead. Tsurugi Deepens, Roman Forum (‘Forum Romanum’) – The Heart Of Ancient Rome, Conwy Castle In Snowdonia: Outstanding Medieval Fortification In Europe, Pax Assyriaca: Important Time For The Neo Assyrian Empire And Surrounding Regions, One-Eyed Giants Fachan Were As Dangerous As Polyphemus And The Cyclops, The Curse Of Chief Chocorua Who Died On The Mountain That Bears His Name, Gordian Knot And How Alexander The Great Managed To Outmaneuver The Problem. This is th… By Marie Parsons Priests in ancient Egypt had a role different to the role of a priest in modern society. The God’s Wife led sacred processions with the king or his deputy the high priest, and like them could enter the innermost shrine to make offerings keeping the gods content. About 1319 BC when Pharaoh Horemheb ruled the country, the number of priests in Egypt had reached more than 100,000, but many of them were free citizens and only worked in the temple for a longer or shorter time. Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer, Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. The priests' duties were to care for the gods and attend to their needs. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. There were many advantages in Ancient Egypt in becoming a scribe. Ancient Egyptian Scribes did not have to participate in manual labour and didn’t have to pay any form of taxes. All rights reserved. Scribes were the official writers and record keepers of Ancient Egypt, recording accounts of grain, food supply, results of population, etc. Originally published in All About History 37. Pinudjem II as Theban High Priest of Amun. Yet the most important priestess was the ‘God’s Wife’, a title held by a succession of royal women acting as the human consort of the god Amun at Karnak. The ancient Egyptians did have a court system. As the role brought great wealth and prestige, kings appointed their sisters or daughters as God’s Wife to enhance their own status, and eventually regarded as the equivalent of a king shown with kingly sceptres, these women could delegate on the king’s behalf, both within the temple and in matters of state. Women were aloud to be priestesses in Egypt. Interestingly, some temples had very strict rules and required that the priests also shaved eyebrows and eyelashes. Priests In ancient Egypt, people were not afraid of their gods or of their highly respected priests. A priest, who was not in duty, was allowed to live normal life and marriage was permitted. The priests could be male or female. Egypt has a wonderful and beautiful history of hair styling. There is evidence of this tendency beginning in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, actually, after the establishment of the grand royal necropolis at Giza. 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Pre-noon: Reversion of offerings and ritual ablutionsOnce the god had its fill of food offerings, these reverted to the priests as breakfast. If a temple was not rich enough to have its own lake, the priests had to settle for a sink. The priesthood of ancient Egypt has a far reaching and deep history, rooted within the traditions of Ancient Egypt. Noon: Midday ceremonyAt noon, the high priest re-entered the shrine, this time burning myrrh resin while sprinkling water to further purify the temple’s shrines and sacred spaces. the priest was very important in Egyptian Society. The Egyptians believed the gods lived in the temples. Egyptian priests devoted their lives to the gods and goddesses and some official gods like Horus, Bastet and Amun were worshiped by the pharaoh and priests in large temples. Then to maintain ritual purity, the high priest bathed once again before re-entering the gods’ presence. Giza in the Old Kingdom was not the lonely, wind-swept plateau of sand it is today, but a thriving community of state workers, merchants, craftsmen, and priests. In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians. Visit our corporate site. In ancient Egypt, if one got sick, they would turn to the temple. Was Beautiful Ancient City Of Terracina Home To The First Hellenistic Temple? At times when the crown was weak, the high priests’ powers became so great that some took on additional roles as military generals, whose struggles with the monarchy could lead to civil war. There is evidence of this tendency beginning in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, actually, after the establishment of the grand royal necropolis at Giza. . Women were priestesses to both goddesses and gods, undertaking similar roles to their male counterparts and receiving the same pay. A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - In ancient Egypt, where religion was an important part of daily life, everything focused on pleasing the gods. They were also schools, universities, libraries, and centers of administration, workshops, farms and granaries. When it was time to serve God again in the temple, the skin would be completely smooth and clean; the priest would abstain from sex for at least one day before the holy duties were resumed. She also took an active role in defending Egypt by magical means, shooting arrows into ritual targets and burning images of enemies. In time, however, the priests began to serve themselves more than either. Religion in Ancient Eqypt Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. Ancient Egyptian priests did not serve the people. Not all priests ate much and many of them especially those deeply devoted to the priesthood, satisfied themselves with bread and water, only. Yet most of the time the priests carried out their role, helping the king maintain strong relations with the gods whose spirits were believed to dwell within their cult statues. They did not preach sermons or teach others about religion. Theories say that a lot of medical science in Egypt came out of mummification. It was believed that the human world was rather dirty, so priests and priestesses had to take care of the temple and the statue of the god within it. The priests in ancient Egypt were said to have been learned in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians. God of the sun. The Egyptians believed the gods lived in the temples. The most common priestess title was ‘chantress’, with some women impersonating goddesses in rituals and the wives of high priests holding the title ‘leader of the musical troupe’. However, with so many different temples throughout Egypt, the pharaoh’s duties had to be delegated to each temple’s high priest, who was often a royal relative selected by the king to guarantee their loyalty. The temples were places where religious ceremonies were held. Appearance, looks, beauty, and hair were major aspects of ancient Egyptian times, clearly seen by the creative and beautiful ways that ancient Egyptians did their hair. For the most part, they cared for the gods and goddesses in the temple. Jobs for Slaves in Ancient Egypt A lot of people are under the misconception that most jobs in ancient Egypt, particularly building the pyramids, was accomplished with slavery. Various times: Various ritualsWith numerous rituals performed by the high priest and clergy at various times, these were not only set by the ‘Hour Priest’ astronomers but carefully measured with clepsydra water clocks. A great deal of what we know about ancient Egypt comes from what archaeologists learned by studying their tombs. Evening: Ritual ablutionsTo maintain ritual purity, the priests had to bathe once again before re-entering the gods’ presence. Religion and priests were central to everyday life in ancient Egypt. Becoming a priest in Ancient Egypt was an initiation similar to the one undergone by the deceased during their journey through the "underworld". Other staff included the temple gardeners, brewers, bakers and butchers who supplied the daily offerings, the temple weavers, jewellers, barbers and wig makers who supplied both the gods and their clergy, and the numerous craftsmen, carpenters and builders who undertook building work, carried out repairs and kept the temples in good order. A mummy of a priest. There were two kinds of clergy in ancient Egypt: 1) priests, female priestesses and singers of hymns, usually linked permanently with specific temples; and 2) lay priests, who performed duties like carrying statues and served for fixed periods of time. Housed in the sanctuary at the innermost part of the temple, it was here that the high priest led daily rites, assisted by a staff of male and female clergy, from the ‘god’s wife’ priestess to the deputy high priest who oversaw supplies of offerings and the temple scribes who kept accounts and composed ritual texts. Inside the temples, priests performed rituals in hopes of gaining the favor of the gods and to protect Egypt from the forces of chaos. But Herodotus wrote that it was not enough with a bath: "The priests circumcise for purity because they prefer purity in front of comfort. There was a lower court and a high court. In ancient Egypt the priest had the duties of serving as a political adviser to the Pharaoh. Each statue was cleaned every day with lotus-scented water, anointed with oil, dressed and decorated with jewelry and make-up. Alongside the mummy one can see the canopic jars used to preserve the vital organs which were removed before the mummification process took place. Ancient Egypt was a huge civilization with lots of success. Giza in the Old Kingdom was not the lonely, wind-swept plateau of sand it is today, but a thriving community of state workers, merchants, craftsmen, and priests. Though the Egyptians had close associations with their gods,they did not practice any form of organized religion, as modern times would define it. The priest had to supervise the embalming act, visit sick people, and to pronounce spells that would bring the deceased safely to the other side. Also, priests themselves would be extremely clean throughout the body. Scribes were given the opportunity to live a wealthy, upper class life. The ancient Egyptians believed that life did not stop when you died. It was a transition to the sphere of the gods and eternity. Priests of Ancient Egypt . The first type is called a Cultus temple and was built to house a specific god or gods. Religion was a large part of ancient Egyptian life, and the priests were in charge of temples and religious rituals and important ceremonies. Because the pharaoh could not perform ceremonies at all the temples throughout Egypt, he appointed high priests to carry out the sacred rituals at each temple. BA1 1UA He also began building the lighthouse of Alexandria and gathered both Egyptian and Greek priests in order to establish a new belief that unites Egyptians and Greeks. What did Ancient Egyptian priests do? In fact so numerous were such personnel that eventually well over 100,000 people were employed in the upkeep of Egypt’s three main temples of Karnak, Memphis and Heliopolis. When the priest or priestess did not dance, sing or sacrifice to the glory of the deity, he or she was busy with inspection of local farms and fields, owned by the temple or had responsibilities regarding craftsmen and hunters. Their job was to care for the needs of the god/goddess. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com, Thriving Faiyum Oasis Declined And Was Abandoned Due To Climate Change, Pharaoh Psusennes I Was Buried In The Silver Coffin Decorated With Gold, Mystery Of Biblical Noah’s Strange Connection With Red-Skinned Giants And The Watchers – Not-Of-This-World Emergence – Part 1. These priests were responsible for providing the daily offerings and conducting the rituals which allowed for the continued journey in th… In the Ancient Orient Section of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum lies a very interesting Mummy of an Egyptian priest. The priests were in charge of embalming the bodies so they didn't decay. Before dawn: Ritual ablutionsTo be ritually pure, the priests bathed in the temple’s sacred lake, shaved off all hair and gargled with natron salt solution, before dressing in linen robes and reed-woven sandals. Although most high priests were men, as were the lector priests who read out sacred texts, women held both these offices at times. Other priests handled with other concerns and requests. Every temple had several small (about 22 inches tall) statues of different gods that were the focus of worshiper’s daily and seasonal rituals. There were two main types of temples built in Ancient Egypt. They shaved every third day because of concerns about lice and to be clean and pure as possible to conduct rituals. They shave everywhere on their bodies, at least every other day to avoid lice and anything else that's as unpleasant… "’. We know its a priest because its mummified together with its cat! Temple priests were in charge of the many temples scattered throughout Egypt. Certain gods such as Bes and Tawaret who protected ordinary people in their daily life were worshiped privately in their homes. In ancient Greece, both men and women could become priests and priestesses. The Greek historian, Herodotus (ca 480-420 BC) who visited many Egyptian temples during his traveling, wrote: "they bathe in cold water twice a day and twice a night…".

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