The Position of the King in Egyptian Religion - Essay Example

First, the king has a divine function. Second, the king has a human form. Lastly, the king has an influential political role to implement in his subjects.

First, the king has a divine function. The king is considered a god. The Egyptians were believed to have conceived the world as a social process that from dawn to dusk. The Egyptian king helps maintain the balance of the universe after its original maintainer was treacherously killed. The king is also helped by the Egyptian priests in the maintenance of a universe that moves in complete harmony. This theory of the delicate balance that the Egyptian universe hangs shows that the king plays a very precarious role indeed.

The King’s power then extends beyond the horizon in Egypt because the sky also extends to the far reaches of the king of Egypt. The king is also called by such names as gods of the provinces, gods of the towns of the earth, and other names (Quirke 70). As a god, the king grants prizes and rewards to his subjects that follow his every command. The book Ancient Egyptian Kings states that the kings were revered as gods through the construction of monuments like the landmark Pyramid. Egyptian society looked at the king as an elite member of society.

Many quarters in Egypt even consider their king as more important than their gods in heaven. The country could not run without the king god ruling over them. In fact, the king is considered as the unifying apex of any dualities that form the Egyptian society. The king serves as the mediator between the people and the Egyptian gods up in the sky. The king god of Egypt is replaced by heredity. This means that the next King -god must be the son of the current king. In addition, the god Horus was worshipped in Egypt by many people.

The goddesses namely Wadjet and Buto, Saisin were linked to the Egyptian king (Baines, 100). The king gods were often helped by their temple priests. The king built temples in the form of pyramids. And the province of Fayoum is one of the largest oases in Egypt. This is located Southwest of the Egyptian capital city of Cairo. The temple is antique. " the kings of the 12th Dynasty (1991-1786 BC) chose to build their capital city here and to be buried in pyramids built nearby, on the edge of the desert.

Subsequently, priests and other personnel were employed in the pyramid temples, where the king's mortuary cult was performed after his death and burial. Around this nucleus, the community soon developed and lawyers, doctors, scribes, craftsmen, tradesmen, and all the other elements of a thriving society came together.1" The above quote shows that a major portion of an ordinary Egyptian's life is spent constructing the pyramids. The pyramids have always caught the amazed and awe of their spectators.

For, the ordinary people of today do not know how such a huge mammoth building was built with the primitive instruments that the Egyptians used during those time period. The pyramid is the resting place of the pharaoh or king when he dies. It has a locking mechanism so that no one can enter the tomb after the king is buried. For, this pyramid lock is used to prevent the looting of the treasures hidden inside the dead king's pyramid chamber.