Transcript: Ancient Egyptian Religion (New
Kingdom)
Slide 1: Title Slide
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Jose Moreira, and today I’ll be presenting on Ancient
Egyptian religion during the New Kingdom period, specifically focusing on Thebes. This is for
our Introduction to Humanities course, and the date is May 23rd, 2026."
Slide 2: Table of Contents
"As you can see from the table of contents, we’ll cover a wide range of topics: the culture and
time period, major deities, the central rules of Egyptian religion, how worship was practiced,
sacred texts, creation myths, and then the impact of religion on art, science, music, and literature.
We’ll end with a summary and works I cited."
Slide 3: Culture and Time Period
"Let’s start with context. The culture we’re discussing is Ancient Egyptian, specifically during
the New Kingdom, which ran from about 1550 to 1070 BCE. The capital at that time was
Thebes, located in the Nile Valley. Egyptian society was highly stratified: the divine Pharaoh
was at the top, followed by a powerful priestly class, then scribes, artisans, and finally farmers.
Religion wasn’t just a part of life—it was the structure that held everything together."
Slide 4: Deities/what they Controlled
"Like many ancient cultures, Egypt had a vast pantheon. For the New Kingdom, Amun-Ra—a
fusion of Amun and Ra—was king of the gods, controlling the sun and creation. Osiris ruled
death, resurrection, and the afterlife. Isis was the goddess of magic, motherhood, and healing.
Horus represented kingship and the sky, giving the pharaoh divine authority. Anubis handled
embalming and guided souls. Thoth governed writing, wisdom, and judgment. And Sekhmet was
the warrior goddess of disease and plague. Each deity had a specific role, and together they
managed every aspect of existence."
Slide 5: Rules
"The central rule of Egyptian religion was Maat—cosmic balance, truth, and justice. The
pharaoh’s primary duty was to uphold Maat against isfet, which is chaos, injustice, and lies. On
an individual level, morality was expressed in the Negative Confession from the Book of the
Dead, Spell 125, where a person lists 42 sins they have not committed. After death, your heart
was weighed against the feather of Maat. If it was heavier with sin, your soul was devoured by
the monster Ammit. If balanced, you entered the Field of Reeds, a perfect version of earthly life.
Socially, this meant respecting parents, elders, priests, and the pharaoh as a living god."
Slide 6: Worship – Temple and Public
"Worship happened at multiple levels. At the state level, temple worship was conducted daily by
priests in the inner sanctum. They offered food, drink, incense, and statues to the gods. But
ordinary people didn’t go inside those chambers. Instead, they connected with the divine during
public festivals, like the Opet Festival, where statues of gods were carried outside in grand
processions. Common people sang, danced, and even received oracles from the statues. So
religion was both a private, priestly affair and a public celebration."
Slide 7: Worship – Votive and Funerary
"Individuals also left votive offerings—small clay figurines at temples—asking for healing or
favors. And funerary worship was constant: families made ongoing offerings to their ancestors in
private tomb chapels because they believed the ka, or spirit, still needed sustenance. So worship
wasn’t just for the gods; it was for the dead as well."
Slide 8: Sacred Text
"Egyptians produced several types of religious texts. The oldest are the Pyramid Texts from
around 2400 BCE, carved inside Old Kingdom pyramids. Later came the Coffin Texts, which
allowed non-royal elites access to spells. But the most famous from our period is the Book of the
Dead, a collection of over 200 spells, hymns, and the Negative Confession, written on papyrus
and placed in tombs. Additionally, texts like the Book of Caverns and Book of Gates described
the sun god Ra’s nightly journey through the underworld."
Slide 9: Creation Myth – The Universe
"Now for the creation myth. In the beginning, only Nu existed—a dark, boundless, inert ocean of
chaos. From Nu emerged Atum, the complete one, standing on the first mound of earth, the
benben stone. Atum alone produced Shu, dry air and wind, and Tefnut, moisture. Shu and Tefnut
gave birth to Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. Geb and Nut were locked in a sexual embrace until
Shu forced them apart, creating space for life. They then produced Osiris, Isis, Set, and
Nephthys, completing the Ennead, or the nine great gods. The universe was cyclical: every night,
Ra travels through the underworld, battles the serpent Apophis, and is reborn at dawn."
Slide 10: Creation Myth – Humanity
"Humanity’s origin is poetic. When Atum wept, his tears fell upon the benben stone. The
Egyptian word for tears, remt, sounds like the word for people, remet. So humans are literally
born from the tears of the creator god. That means our existence is an act of divine emotion, not
just a mechanical creation."
Slide 11: Impact on Art
"Religion fundamentally shaped Egyptian art. For over two thousand years, artists used
canonical proportions, drawing the human figure on a grid of 18 squares from hairline to feet.
This wasn’t a lack of skill—it was religious law. They also used hierarchical scale: the pharaoh
is largest, gods are larger than humans, and servants smallest. Color had meaning: gold
symbolized the flesh of Ra, blue represented Nut’s sky, and green meant resurrection like Osiris.
Temple architecture, like Karnak’s hypostyle hall with 124 papyrus-shaped columns, mimicked
the primordial marsh of creation. Funerary art included tomb paintings from the Book of the
Dead and death masks that transformed the dead king into an eternal god."
Slide 12: Impact on Science/Technology – Astronomy & Math
"Religion drove science too. Priests tracked the star Sirius, which they called Sopdet, to predict
the Nile flood. They developed decans—36 star groups for telling time at night. Mathematics
was used for temple alignment and construction."
Slide 13: Impact on Science/Technology – Medicine & Engineering
"In medicine, mummification required removal of organs and use of natron, a natural salt. The
Edwin Smith Papyrus from 1600 BCE is a surgical textbook covering brain surgery, bone
setting, and wound suturing. The Ebers Papyrus is a medical encyclopedia with over 700
remedies. And engineering—they built massive stone temples without modern tools, using
geometry, leverage, and organized labor. All of this was motivated by the need to honor gods
and prepare for the afterlife."
Slide 14: Impact on Music – Worship & Instruments
"Music was essential to worship, used in temple rituals and festivals. Instruments included the
sistrum, a rattle; harps of various sizes; double clarinets, lutes, lyres, drums, and clappers made
of ivory or bone. Groups of priestesses called khener performed hymns, dance, and sistrum
rhythms at temple festivals."
Slide 15: Impact on Music – Work & Afterlife
"Music was also practical. Nile boatmen and field workers sang work songs to maintain rhythm
and morale. And for the afterlife, tombs of nobles, like Theban Tomb 52, show blind harpists
singing hymns to the gods for eternity. So music connected daily labor, worship, and eternal
life."
Slide 16: Impact on Literature – Funerary, Hymns, Wisdom
"Literature was deeply religious. The Book of the Dead contained poetry and spells. Hymns like
the Great Hymn to the Aten and Hymns to Osiris recounted the god’s death, Isis’s mourning, and
Horus’s vengeance. Wisdom literature, such as the Instructions of Ptahhotep, taught moral
principles linked directly to Maat."
Slide 17: Impact on Literature – Narrative & Poetic Structure
"There was also narrative literature, like the Tale of Sinuhe, about a court official who flees
Egypt, lives in exile, and returns only when the gods allow it. Poetic structures—repetition,
parallelism, and epithets—were all intended as ritual utterances. So even stories and poems
served a sacred purpose."
Slide 18: Summary
"To summarize: Religion was not a separate sphere for Egyptians. It was the blueprint for
science, art, governance, and daily life. Studying Ancient Egyptian religion shows how a belief
system can shape every sector of a civilization—just as a company’s mission, ethics, and culture
shape its departments. The ability to trace a single idea, like creation from tears, through art,
science, music, and literature is the same analytical skill required in data interpretation, strategic
planning, and cross-departmental communication in any industry."
Slide 19: Works Cited
"And finally, here are my sources, including works by Assmann, Faulkner, Hornung, Lichtheim,
Manniche, Nunn, Robins, and Wilkinson. Thank you for listening. I’m happy to take any
questions."