http://www.perankh.com.au
10 Myths About Ancient Egypt
1. The Pyramids were built by slaves.
There were no slaves in Egypt until the late period.
The Pyramids were built by Egyptian farmers drafted in the off seasons to work on
the Kings building program.
The workers were well fed, paid in beer and bread and provided with medical care.
2. The Ancient Egyptians believed in reincarnation.
The Eastern concept of reincarnation was not part of the Egyptian belief system. The
Egyptians believed that their Ka (soul or spirit) would be united with their Ba (the
consciousness, sense of self, personality) and reborn in the Field of Offerings, as an Akh.
The Field of Offerings was a world of the glorified dead that resembled their life on Earth,
where they would exist for Eternity.
The Egyptian's did believe that the Ka of the King was eternal and during the coronation
ceremony the new King received the Ka of his predecessor.
In the New Kingdom this concept was also applied to the head of the nobles household, who
received the Ka or power of his father.
This belief played a part in ancestor worship and the cult of the dead.
3. Isis was the Pre-eminant Netjeret of Ancient Egypt.
The Pre-eminant Netjeret (goddess) of Egypt for most of the 3000 years of the Pharonic
Period was Hathor, patroness of love, dancing, sex and drunkeness, as well as marriage and
motherhood.
[Type text] [Type text] © Catherine C. Campbell and Conxions International Pty td Isis rose to prominence in the late Period and her cult survived the end of the Egyptian
Civilisation by 500 years. Her temple at Philae was closed in 500AD.
4. The Ancient Egyptians were idol worshipers. The statues to Egyptian Netjer (gods) and Netjeret (goddesses) found in Egyptian temples
and in the niches in private houses were not objects of worship.
They were believed to be the receptacles of the Ka of the Netjer or Netjeret, that is the spirit
of the deity.
The statue was therefore an avatar of the deity in the same way as an animal was potentially
a receptacle of the deity’s Ka.
It wasn’t known when a statue or animal might be occupied by the deity’s Ka, since the
Netjer could move around from Avatar to Avatar at will.
5. Maat means Justice.
Maat is most often translated as Truth and sometimes as Justice. Maat also and more
importantly represents order or the status quo.
The King offers Maat and protects or maintains Maat. The feather of Maat is used as the
counter weight to the heart of the deceased.
The heart needs to be lighter than the feather or it will be eaten by the eater of hearts,
Ammut, and the deceased’s Ka will cease to exist. See the Papyrus of Ani below
6. Hatchepsut was a wicked step mother who stole the throne.
Hatchepsut was a powerful and competent ruler in her own right.
She was regent for her stepson and assumed the throne during his minority.
She remained coregent with him, after he reached adult hood.
7. Thutmose III hated Hatchepstut.
The destruction of Hatchepsut's memory, the removal of her name from monuments etc, did
not occur until the end of Thutmose very long reign, during the period when his son
Amenhotep II was co-regent with him.
Evidence points to Amenhotep being the one responsible for the execration of Hatchepsut's
memory, not his father.
8. Akhenaten suffered from some disease or physical deformity.
Akhenaten had himself represented as an hermaphroditic Netjer: a combination of Shu and
[Type text] [Type text] © Catherine C. Campbell and Conxions International Pty td Tefnut in one body. These apparent deformities showed him as a living Netjer.
His queen Neferiti, was shown in identical guise with him on the statues of the Gem-pa-aten
at Thebes.
This composite figure was showing him and Neferiti to be united in one body as
incarnations of Shu-Tefnut.
There are representations of him that show him to be normal.
9. Akhenaten was the first monotheist.
Akhenaten proscribed the worship of the other State Netjer: Ptah, Amun and Ra.
He closed their temples and redirected their funds to the Aten.
He did not ban the worship of lesser Netjer and household deities such as Tawosret and Bes.
It is unknown what he did about other deities such as Osiris, Hathor, Thoth and Anubis.
10. Tutankhamen was murdered.
Recent evidence points to death from infection as a result of leg injury received in a chariot
accident.
The blow to the head was inflicted post mortem.
Papyrus of Ani
[Type text] [Type text] © Catherine C. Campbell and Conxions International Pty td