tellectual classes. Beliefs regarding the after-life took definite shape. The "land of shades" was organized like the land of Egypt. Ideas of right living and good government prevailed, and the growth of ethical thought was reflected in the conception of a Judge of the Dead who justified or condemned men after consideration of their actions during life. The attributes of the principal gods were defined; their powers and their places were adjusted; they were grouped in triads and families; and from the mass of divergent beliefs was evolving a complex mythology which was intended not only to instruct but to unite the rival beliefs prevailing in a community.
Egyptian religion as a whole, however, was never completely systematized at this or any subsequent period. Each locality had its own theological system. The old tribal gods remained supreme in their nomes, and when they were grouped with others; the influence at work was more political than intellectual in character. The growth of culture did not permeate all classes of society, and the common people, especially in rural districts, clung to the folk beliefs and practices of their ancestors. A provincial nobleman, supported by the priests, secured the loyalty of his followers therefore by upholding the prestige of their ancient god, who could be linked, if needs be, with the deity of another tribe with whom a union had been effected. If the doctrines of a rival creed influenced the beliefs of the people of a particular district the attributes of the rival god were then attached to their own. When Ptah, for instance, ceased to make intellectual appeal as a creation artificer he was exalted above Ra and the other gods, whom he was supposed to have called into existence by uttering magical words.
Ptah, as we have seen, was linked with Osiris. The combined deity was at once the god of the industrial and
