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42.08548355102539 95 WikiText2 |
450 In addition to their names , gods were given epithets , like " possessor of splendor " , " ruler of Abydos " , or " lord of the sky " , that describe some aspect of their roles or their worship . Because of the gods ' multiple and overlapping roles , deities can have many epithets β with more important gods accumu... |
43.23781967163086 124 WikiText2 |
451 = = = Relationships = = = |
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452 Egyptian deities are connected in a complex and shifting array of relationships . A god 's connections and interactions with other deities helped define its character . Thus Isis , as the mother and protector of Horus , was a great healer as well as the patroness of kings . Such relationships were the base materia... |
53.815067291259766 62 WikiText2 |
453 Family relationships are a common type of connection between gods . Deities often form male and female pairs , reflecting the importance of procreation in Egyptian religious thought . Families of three deities , with a father , mother , and child , represent the creation of new life and the succession of the fathe... |
51.248104095458984 183 WikiText2 |
454 Other divine groups were composed of deities with interrelated roles , or who together represented a region of the Egyptian mythological cosmos . There were sets of gods for the hours of the day and night and for each nome ( province ) of Egypt . Some of these groups contain a specific , symbolically important num... |
51.245357513427734 230 WikiText2 |
455 Nine , the product of three and three , represents a multitude , so the Egyptians called several large groups " enneads " , or sets of nine , even if they had more than nine members . The most prominent ennead was the Ennead of Heliopolis , an extended family of deities descended from the creator god Atum , which ... |
39.07188415527344 82 WikiText2 |
456 This divine assemblage had a vague and changeable hierarchy . Gods with broad influence in the cosmos or who were mythologically older than others had higher positions in divine society . At the apex of this society was the king of the gods , who was usually identified with the creator deity . In different periods... |
29.285202026367188 169 WikiText2 |
457 = = = Manifestations and combinations = = = |
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458 The gods were believed to manifest in many forms . The Egyptians had complex conception of the human soul , consisting of several parts . The spirits of the gods were composed of many of these same elements . The ba was the component of the human or divine soul that affected the world around it . Any visible manif... |
36.36497116088867 245 WikiText2 |
459 Nationally important deities gave rise to local manifestations , which sometimes absorbed the characteristics of older regional gods . Horus had many forms tied to particular places , including Horus of Nekhen , Horus of Buhen , and Horus of Edfu . Such local manifestations could be treated almost as separate bein... |
96.28662109375 126 WikiText2 |
460 Gods were combined with each other as easily as they were divided . A god could be called the ba of another , or two or more deities could be joined into one god with a combined name and iconography . Local gods were linked with greater ones , and deities with similar functions were combined . Ra was connected wit... |
48.55311965942383 310 WikiText2 |
461 = = = The Aten and possible monotheism = = = |
228.79483032226562 11 WikiText2 |
462 In the reign of Akhenaten ( c . 1353 β 1336 BC ) in the mid @-@ New Kingdom , a single solar deity , the Aten , became the sole focus of the state religion . Akhenaten ceased to fund the temples of other deities and erased the gods ' names and images on monuments , targeting Amun in particular . This new religious... |
37.563758850097656 226 WikiText2 |
463 = = = Unity of the divine in traditional religion = = = |
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464 Scholars have long debated whether traditional Egyptian religion ever asserted that the multiple gods were , on a deeper level , unified . Reasons for this debate include the practice of syncretism , which might suggest that all the separate gods could ultimately merge into one , and the tendency of Egyptian texts... |
27.087736129760742 186 WikiText2 |
465 In 1971 , Erik Hornung published a study rebutting these views . He points out that in any given period many deities , even minor ones , were described as superior to all others . He also argues that the unspecified " god " in the wisdom texts is a generic term for whichever deity the reader chooses to revere . Al... |
50.150936126708984 180 WikiText2 |
466 Hornung 's arguments have greatly influenced other scholars of Egyptian religion , but some still believe that at times the gods were more unified than he allows . Jan Assmann maintains that the notion of a single deity developed slowly through the New Kingdom , beginning with a focus on Amun @-@ Ra as the all @-@... |
35.78494644165039 261 WikiText2 |
467 = = Descriptions and depictions = = |
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468 Egyptian writings describe the gods ' bodies in detail . They are made of precious materials ; their flesh is gold , their bones are silver , and their hair is lapis lazuli . They give off a scent that the Egyptians likened to the incense used in rituals . Some texts give precise descriptions of particular deities... |
41.92354202270508 204 WikiText2 |
469 Most gods were depicted in several ways . Hathor could be a cow , cobra , lioness , or a woman with bovine horns or ears . By depicting a given god in different ways , the Egyptians expressed different aspects of its essential nature . The gods are depicted in a finite number of these symbolic forms , so that deit... |
40.7325553894043 174 WikiText2 |
470 Certain features of divine images are more useful than others in determining a god 's identity . The head of a given divine image is particularly significant . In a hybrid image , the head represents the original form of the being depicted , so that , as the Egyptologist Henry Fischer put it , " a lion @-@ headed ... |
50.35324478149414 176 WikiText2 |
471 The forms in which the gods are shown , although diverse , are limited in many ways . Many creatures that are widespread in Egypt were never used in divine iconography , whereas a few , such as falcons , cobras , and cattle , can each represent many deities . Animals that were absent from Egypt in the early stages... |
40.70338439941406 148 WikiText2 |
472 The basic anthropomorphic form varies . Child gods are depicted nude , as are some adult gods when their procreative powers are emphasized . Certain male deities are given heavy bellies and breasts , signifying either androgyny or prosperity and abundance . Whereas most male gods have red skin and most goddesses a... |
67.47522735595703 164 WikiText2 |
473 = = Interactions with humans = = |
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474 = = = Relationship with the pharaoh = = = |
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475 In official writings , pharaohs are said to be divine , and they are constantly depicted in the company of the deities of the pantheon . Each pharaoh and his predecessors were considered the successors of the gods who had ruled Egypt in mythic prehistory . Living kings were equated with Horus and called the " son ... |
35.81003952026367 154 WikiText2 |
476 However much it was believed , the king 's divine status was the rationale for his role as Egypt 's representative to the gods , as he formed a link between the divine and human realms . The Egyptians believed the gods needed temples to dwell in , as well as the periodic performance of rituals and presentation of ... |
47.090476989746094 162 WikiText2 |
477 = = = Presence in the human world = = = |
151.73487854003906 11 WikiText2 |
478 Although the Egyptians believed their gods to be present in the world around them , contact between the human and divine realms was mostly limited to specific circumstances . In literature , gods may appear to humans in a physical form , but in real life the Egyptians were limited to more indirect means of communi... |
33.35612106323242 57 WikiText2 |
479 The ba of a god was said to periodically leave the divine realm to dwell in the images of that god . By inhabiting these images , the gods left their concealed state and took on a physical form . To the Egyptians , a place or object that was αΈsr β " sacred " β was isolated and ritually pure , and thus fit for a go... |
45.11588668823242 171 WikiText2 |
480 Temples , where the state rituals were carried out , were filled with images of the gods . The most important temple image was the cult statue in the inner sanctuary . These statues were usually less than life @-@ size , and made of the same precious materials that were said to form the gods ' bodies . Many temple... |
41.22090530395508 164 WikiText2 |
481 To insulate the sacred power in the sanctuary from the impurities of the outside world , the Egyptians enclosed temple sanctuaries and greatly restricted access to them . People other than kings and high priests were thus denied contact with cult statues . The only exception was during festival processions , when ... |
48.523494720458984 145 WikiText2 |
482 = = = Intervention in human lives = = = |
283.9798889160156 10 WikiText2 |
483 Egyptian gods were involved in human lives as well as in the overarching order of nature . This divine influence applied mainly to Egypt , as foreign peoples were traditionally believed to be outside the divine order . But in the New Kingdom , when other nations were under Egyptian control , foreigners were said t... |
46.96944808959961 72 WikiText2 |
484 Thoth , as the overseer of time , was said to allot fixed lifespans to both humans and gods . Other gods were also said to govern the length of human lives , including Meskhenet , who presided over birth , and Shai , the personification of fate . Thus the time and manner of death was the main meaning of the Egypti... |
40.970008850097656 284 WikiText2 |
485 Humans had free will to ignore divine guidance and the behavior required by maat , but by doing so they could bring divine punishment upon themselves . A deity carried out this punishment using its ba , the force that manifested the god 's power in the human world . Natural disasters and human ailments were seen a... |
85.74701690673828 127 WikiText2 |
486 Egyptian texts take different views on whether the gods are responsible when humans suffer unjustly . Misfortune was often seen as a product of isfet , the cosmic disorder that was the opposite of maat , and therefore the gods were not guilty of causing evil events . Some deities who were closely connected with is... |
45.47642135620117 279 WikiText2 |
487 = = = Worship = = = |
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488 Official religious practices , which maintained maat for the benefit of all Egypt , were related to , but distinct from , the religious practices of ordinary people , who sought the gods ' help for their personal problems . |
118.9159164428711 40 WikiText2 |
489 Official religion involved a variety of rituals , based in temples . Some rites were performed every day , whereas others were festivals , taking place at longer intervals and often limited to a particular temple or deity . The gods received their offerings in daily ceremonies , in which their statues were clothed... |
73.5482177734375 100 WikiText2 |
490 Festivals often involved a ceremonial procession in which a cult image was carried out of the temple in a barque @-@ shaped shrine . These processions served various purposes . In Roman times , when local deities of all kinds were believed to have power over the Nile inundation , processions in many communities ca... |
58.91150665283203 174 WikiText2 |
491 Personal interaction with the gods took many forms . People who wanted information or advice consulted oracles , run by temples , that were supposed to convey gods ' answers to questions . Amulets and other images of protective deities were used to ward off the demons that might threaten human well @-@ being or to... |
60.70210647583008 172 WikiText2 |
492 Prayer and private offerings are generally called " personal piety " : acts that reflect a close relationship between an individual and a god . Evidence of personal piety is scant before the New Kingdom . Votive offerings and personal names , many of which are theophoric , suggest that commoners felt some connecti... |
44.02530288696289 282 WikiText2 |
493 The worship of some Egyptian gods spread to neighboring lands , especially to Canaan and Nubia during the New Kingdom , when those regions were under pharaonic control . In Canaan , the exported deities , including Hathor , Amun , and Set , were often syncretized with native gods , who in turn spread to Egypt . Th... |
29.661741256713867 212 WikiText2 |
494 Under the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty and then Roman rule , Greeks and Romans introduced their own deities to Egypt . These newcomers equated the Egyptian gods with their own , as part of the Greco @-@ Roman tradition of interpretatio graeca . But the worship of the native gods was not swallowed up by that of foreign ... |
32.67025375366211 225 WikiText2 |
495 Temples and cults in Egypt itself declined as the Roman economy deteriorated in the third century AD , and beginning in the fourth century , Christians suppressed the veneration of Egyptian deities . The last formal cults , at Philae , died out in the fifth or sixth century . Most beliefs surrounding the gods them... |
41.89676284790039 159 WikiText2 |
496 = South of Heaven = |
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497 South of Heaven is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer . Released on July 5 , 1988 , the album was the band 's second collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin , whose production skills on Slayer 's previous album Reign in Blood had helped the band 's sound evolve . |
31.078344345092773 55 WikiText2 |
498 South of Heaven was Slayer 's second album to enter the Billboard 200 , and its last to be released by Def Jam Recordings , although the album became an American Recordings album after Rick Rubin ended his partnership with Russell Simmons . It was one of only two Def Jam titles to be distributed by Geffen Records ... |
29.675689697265625 99 WikiText2 |
499 In order to offset the pace of the group 's previous album , Slayer deliberately slowed down the album 's tempo . In contrast to their previous albums , the band utilized undistorted guitars and toned @-@ down vocals . While some critics praised this musical change , others β more accustomed to the style of earlie... |
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