Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt

by Emily Teeter

This book is a vivid reconstruction of the practical aspects of ancient Egyptian religion. Through an examination of artifacts and inscriptions, the text explores a variety of issues. For example, who was allowed to enter the temples, and what rituals were preformed therein? Who served as priests? How were they organized and trained, and what did they do? What was the Egyptians’ attitude toward death, and what happened at funerals? How did the living and dead communicate? In what ways could people communicate with the gods? What impact did religion have on the economy and longevity of the society? This book demystifies Egyptian religion, exploring what it meant to the people and society. The text is richly illustrated with images of rituals and religious objects.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Religion, Egyptology, Ancient History

268 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2011

About the author

Emily Teeter received her PhD in Egyptology from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Her areas of specialization are the religion, social history, and the material culture of ancient Egypt. After recently retiring after a long career in the Oriental Institute Museum, she consults for museums and Egyptology projects throughout the world. Over the last decades, she has developed and led tours to Egypt and many other areas of the Middle East.
Emily has written a wide variety of popular and scholarly articles and published many books, including Baked Clay Figurines and Votive Beds from Medinet Habu; The Presentation of Maat: Ritual and Legitimacy in Ancient Egypt; Ancient Egypt: Treasures from the Collection of the Oriental Institute; Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, and Egypt and the Egyptians (which has appeared in Arabic and Turkish editions). She has curated many permanent and temporary exhibits of Egyptian artifacts in major museums in the United States. Dr. Teeter has conducted fieldwork in Alexandria, Giza, and Luxor, and she has appeared on many television programs about Egypt. Emily also has a deep interest in the later periods of Egyptian history and culture.
She is the past President of the American Research Center in Egypt, and she continues to serve on their board. She is a Research Associate of the Polish Centre for Mediterranean Studies, an Associate of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and she sits on the editorial boards of several prominent academic journals.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 200 pages, this is a relatively short text on the religious practices of the ancient Egyptians. It is well written and clear, as well as lavishly illustrated with examples of all that Teeter is discussing. If one is interested in learning the basics of these religious practices, I can't think of a better book to pick up. It covers the use and kinds of priests, what the world of the temple was like, Festivals, how one contacted the deities, death and funeral rites, and the uses of magic, along with a brief discussion of the Amarna period. The only down side is that it is quite pricey. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book.

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very good look at how Egyptian people lived their religion on a day to day basis. Interestingly, this author contradicted a lot of what Toby Wilkinson wrote in his history of Egypt that I read. Teeter’s account of Egyptian religion stated that the afterlife was generally seen as open to all and one’s fate rested on character whereas Wilkinson wrote that the ancient Egyptians initially only believed in an afterlife for the elite. I’m inclined to put more stock in Teeter’s account given that Wilkinson seemed to have some weird and ahistorical sociopolitical axe to grind against the ancient Egyptian people in his account of their society. Also, Wilkinson’s account focused very little on religion. I learned a lot of interesting things from this book - the way that ancient Egyptians spoke to the dead, the way that the religion was supported by a hierarchy of different ranks of priests, and the way that figures of enemies were created and then destroyed so as to curse them, for instance. The best part of the book was probably near the beginning as this is where the author talks about the overall cosmic worldview of the ancient Egyptians. I would have liked to have seen more of this sort of touch throughout the work. Overall, however, a great look at how ancient Egyptian religion was lived on a day to day basis.

[Iset · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a broad knowledge of the myths and legends of ancient Egypt, and just want to pick up a book explaining how religious life worked instead of more tales of the gods, this is the book for you. Teeter explains in a very clear and lucid way all you need to know about its functioning, from the ranks and roles of the priesthood, to the varied ways ordinary people could try to communicate with a deity, to the feasts and festivals that formed a crucial part of the calendar. The text is very well-referenced throughout, professionally objective, but yet still written in an accessible way that everyone from the general audience up could read and be engaged by. All in all, an excellent resource.

9 out of 10

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessibly-written overview of the major aspects of Egyptian religion from the Predynastic Period to the Roman Period, suitable for academics whose foci lie elsewhere and interested laypersons alike.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a very good introduction to the subject. So much of what remains from the ancient Egyptians is from religious ceremonies and yet it is hard to understand them without a book like this one. This book has no narrative. Each chapter follows a specific aspect of religion and shows evidence for how it was practiced but this becomes repetitive. A overarching narrative tying the sections together and providing greater meaning would have improved the book significantly.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying account of how Egyptian religion actually worked - much more interesting than the usual (in my experience) approach of simply retelling myths, which, as I've probably complained elsewhere, are dull and impenetrable without the exertions of archaeologists and folklorists to explain their history and development. Otherwise you're left with stories that resemble Robert Benchley's "Opera Synopses," except for not being funny.

The writing is workmanlike, livened by the occasional nugget like the fact that (as recorded in an Old Kingdom text) it took 80 men to lower a stone sarcophagus lid down a tomb shaft, or that one grave was protected against looters by a curse promising that thieves would suffer "being roasted over an open fire, or an ass violating the offender and his entire family."

One striking thing is that, despite the official cult being centered on the king and large swaths of temples being out of bounds to the masses, there was a kind of democracy in access to the Other Side: Stelae in public areas were carved with ears, as spots where ordinary people could petition the gods, and letters by a wide range of Egyptians to their dead family members, likewise seeking favors from beyond, were as businesslike, querulous or sarcastic as their interactions presumably were on Earth. There's also a chapter on Akhenaten's introduction of monotheism and supression of traditional worship - a period in which communication with Aten was the sole prerogative of the king, as his son. No surprise that it was undone quickly after the pharaoh's death.

[Tvrtko Balić · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting book, a useful book if you are looking for resources, and I wish I had read it sooner. Yet it is not perfect. The biggest flaw I see is that Teeter tries to make ancient Egyptian religion seem more unique than it really is or actually believes it to be this way because she doesn't understand other ancient cultures the same way. Ancient Egypt developed its own religious peculiarities due to its specific conditions, no doubt, but a lot that is described here as special is typical of ancient polytheistic religions (our understanding of Greece and Rome is very much shaped by today's values projected to that period and in many ways they were more similar to magical practices described in this book) while other things are typical of nearby and related cultures (having a holy of holies in the temples is presented here as something unique when it should be well known that the Jewish temple had one as well). Another flaws is that Teeter doesn't take enough consideration of the fact that the Egyptian religion existed over a terribly long period of time and that customs changed over that time. And finally, the book is not really a page turner, the basic ideals are described as they apply to different areas and that can make the book seem somewhat repetitive. The book could have filled the are between these by describing myths which would make it more interesting and give context to many of the rituals. But still, it is interesting read and a useful resource.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is a short text on the Religion and Ritual of Ancient Egypt, I feel it’s a wonderful and great beginner’s book for anyone wanting to learn about Ancient Egypt’s practices. From someone who practices modern Kemeticism to one just wanting to further their academic knowledge, it gives a great start and an easy read.

The first chapter covers how the Ancients believed and put it into practice. The following chapters cover the priesthood, festivals, and much more.

The only gripe I have is the last chapter covering Akhenaten’s reign. This era of the New Kingdom has been covered so many times and it usually just gets a huge eye roll from me. But that’s just me, because I’m not really interested in his reign.

Even with that chapter, I highly recommend this book.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very pleasant to read and offering many insights into an ancient culture, while offering accessibility even to readers entirely new to the field. A good starting point for interested readers.

[Travis Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dry but very informative and quick read with loads of valuable insight into ancient Egyptian culture.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accessible and enlightening short introduction to the religious beliefs and practices of the Ancient Egyptians.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and accessible.

[DAJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of Egyptian religious practice, filling a need left by the multiplicity of deep-thinking studies of theology. Temple rites and festivals, private prayers and offerings, and funerals are all here, as is what little we know about religious practice in the era of Atenism. Teeter's descriptions are evocative without feeling exaggerated or intruding on the flow of the text. I can't think of another book on Egyptian ritual that so vividly pictures what it was like to be a practitioner.

There are a couple of caveats. Most importantly, Teeter still tries to distinguish magic from the rest of the religion. I firmly believe, based on Robert Ritner's arguments in The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice, that the rituals people tend to label as "magic" and those they label as "religious" were all performed by priests and powered by heka, so there really isn't a distinction between the two. Not enough Egyptologists seem to have fully grasped Ritner's point (Teeter seems to misread it), and heka was so fundamental to Egyptian ritual that one can't write a full description of the religion without grasping it. Second, in discussing how great the division was between the state-run temple cults and the religious views of ordinary people, she clearly believes it was small. I sympathize with that position, but the reader should know that other scholars have challenged it.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Teeter does a tremendous job here

Great read if you want to get a feel for Ancient Egyptian religion. From the gods to temples, it was ane y read and enjoyable