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Posted: September 9th, 2023
Does Divinity Exist in Nature as the Egyptians Once Believed?
Does Divinity Exist in Nature as the Egyptians Once Believed?
The ancient Egyptians held beliefs about divinity in nature that differed significantly from modern perspectives. Their close relationship with the unpredictable yet vital Nile River shaped many aspects of how they understood the divine. While their views would not align fully with modern religious or scientific thinking, examining their approach can offer insights into how people have comprehended the spiritual dimensions of the natural world throughout history.
The Egyptians saw manifestations of divinity all around them in nature. They believed various deities were closely tied to particular natural phenomena that governed the cycles of life along the Nile Valley. For example, the god Khnum was thought to control the river’s annual flooding and was often depicted as having the head of a ram, an animal associated with flooding (Wilkinson, 2003). The goddess Hathor represented the fertile forces of nature, especially related to women’s roles in birthing new life. She was sometimes portrayed as a cow, symbolizing motherhood (Lesko, 1999).
Other gods had dominion over the sky, earth, deserts and other landscapes. The sun god Ra sailed through the heavens each day and was revered as a creator deity. The earth goddess Geb and sky god Nut were believed to embrace each other daily in a symbolic act that separated night and day (Bunson, 2009). Deities like Set and Sobek ruled over wild, dangerous domains outside of the cultivated river valley where most Egyptians lived. This pantheon of nature deities provided a framework for understanding the rhythms and mysteries of the natural order from an Egyptian religious worldview.
Modern scientific perspectives have displaced the idea that divine powers directly govern natural phenomena. However, some scholars argue vestiges of such beliefs can still be found in expressions like “Mother Nature” or attributions of gender to hurricanes (Sjöö & Mor, 1991). The Egyptians offer a case study in how early cultures made sense of their environment through a religious lens that saw the fingerprints of various gods and goddesses woven throughout the fabric of nature. Their beliefs reflected close observation of the natural world combined with mythological attempts to explain it. While their specific theological understandings have been superseded, their example shows how divinity has been found by some in the awe-inspiring mysteries of nature.
Bunson, M. (2009). Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Infobase Publishing.
Lesko, B. S. (1999). The Great Goddesses of Egypt. University of Oklahoma Press.
Sjöö, M., & Mor, B. (1991). The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth. HarperCollins. essay writing service.
Wilkinson, R. H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
In summary, the ancient Egyptians saw manifestations of divinity all throughout nature, personified in various gods and goddesses that governed particular natural phenomena and landscapes. While their specific theological beliefs have been replaced by modern science, their example shows how some early cultures comprehended the spiritual dimensions of the natural world through a religious lens that imbued nature with divine presence and meaning. Traces of such perspectives toward nature and divinity can still be seen in modern expressions today.