The Religion of Ancient Egypt

by Peter le Page Renouf

THE HIBBERT LECTURES, 1879.

---

LECTURES

ON THE

ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF RELIGION

AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE

RELIGION OF ANCIENT EGYPT.

DELIVERED IN MAY AND JUNE, 1879.

BY

P. LE PAGE RENOUF.

WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,

14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;
And 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.

---

1880

LONDON:
PRINTED BY C. GREEN AND SON,
178, STRAND.

 

To my dear Wife,

IN GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE

OF OUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE LAND

WHOSE ANCIENT RELIGION

IS HERE VERY IMPERFECTLY DESCRIBED.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LECTURE I.

The Sources of Information respecting the Ancient Egyptian Religion.

PAGE

Early Christians on the Egyptian worship

​

1

Heathen writers on the same subject

​

2

How far can such evidence be relied upon

​

4

Modern attempts at investigation

​

9

Decipherment of hieroglyphic writing

​

11

Dr. Young

​

12

Champollion

​

14

His successors

​

19

Recovery of the ancient language

​

20

Publication of Egyptian texts

​

22

Most of the texts are of a religious nature

​

26

LECTURE II.

Antiquity and Characteristics of Egyptian Civilization.

Egyptian chronology depends upon monuments recording contemporary facts

​

32

Monuments mentioning the year of a reign

​

33

Monuments furnishing evidence of a succession of reigns

​

34

Royal lists and their verification by the monuments

​

37

Royal list of Abydos

​

38

Evidence of the reality of sovereigns named

​

39

Omissions of this list

​

41

Genealogies

​

46

Manetho

​

47

Absolute dates

​

48

Egyptian monarchy anterior to 3000 B.C.

​

49

Pre-historic antiquity of human race in Egypt

​

50

Egyptian ethnology

​

53

Language

​

55

Art

​

61

Moral code

​

71

Castes

​

78

Monogamy

​

79

LECTURE III.

The Gods of Egypt.

Identity of the religious institutions from first to last

​

80

Temples

​

82

Triads and enneads

​

83

Local character of Egyptian worship

​

83

The deities innumerable

​

85

Mean notions concerning these deities

​

87

Simplification of the list

​

87

Is the religion really monotheistic?

​

89

Evidences as to the meaning of the word Nutar

​

93

The Power

​

100

The Powers

​

103

Myth and legend

​

104

Rā and his family

​

109

Osiris and his family

​

110

Horus

​

113

Set

​

116

Thoth

​

116

The reign of Law

​

119

LECTURE IV.

Communion with the Unseen World.

Sepulchral rites

​

124

The tombs and their inscriptions

​

127

The ka or genius

​

147

Souls, shadows, apparitions

​

152

Possession

​

154

Dreams

​

155

Oaths

​

157

Angels

​

158

Destiny

​

159

The king's divinity

​

161

LECTURE V.

The Religious Books of Egypt.

The Book of the Dead

​

172

Beatification of the dead

​

179

The renewed existence "as upon earth"

​

180

Transformation

​

181

Identification with Osiris and other gods

​

184

Amulets

​

191

Words of power

​

192

Moral doctrine

​

194

Other sacred books

​

200

LECTURE VI.

Religious Books and Hymns: Henotheism, Pantheism and Materialism.

Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys

​

204

Book of glorifying Osiris

​

205

Book of the Breaths of Life

​

207

Rhind papyri

​

209

Magical literature

​

210

True notion of God

​

215

Henotheism

​

217

Pantheism

​

230

Materialism

​

239

Influence of Egyptian upon foreign thought

​

243

Conclusion

​

249

Contents (not listed)

Index