Were the Ancient Egyptians Religious?

Image of Virgo by iStock

I have been writing some of my blogs with ideas taken from my book, Sacred Strands, the Story of a Redeemer Woven through History. Today’s blog is about the ancient Egyptians, which is in Chapter 4 of my book.

The ancient Egyptians are fascinating. The Greek historian Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians “are religious to a higher degree than any other people.” The gods of ancient Egypt were seen as creators and sustainers of life and order. The people believed in life after death.

It appears that some of their ideas flow from truths given to early man by God,  but then distorted by man’s additions of many gods with fabulous stories and myths.

Some historians have traced the pagan religions to the constellations of the zodiac, but failed to see meaning in the constellations. Christian writers, such as Frances Rolleston and Joseph Seiss, however, feel that these themes of the constellations were put in the sky in very ancient times, and then later flowed to the pagan myths and mysteries. These themes of the constellations come from an ancient truth which early man was familiar with–that of the prediction of a woman-born conqueror of the serpent. In Genesis 3 (in the Bible) we find that after the fall of man God told the serpent (Satan) that the seed of the woman would bruise his head, but that he (the serpent) would bruise his heel. This is a striking symbolism and is seen throughout history in many of the pagan myths and mysteries. We find this symbolism in the constellations. Christians believe that this symbolism of the woman-born conqueror of the serpent refers ultimately to Christ defeating Satan by his death and resurrection.

Christian historians see in the pagan myths elements and symbols of the Genesis “conqueror of the serpent” flowing down through history, even though the revelations has been corrupted by many of the pagan ideas and practices. Virgo holds in her hand some strands of grain and the large star in this area is Spica, whose modern Latin name means “seed of corn.”

We see pictures of Isis (Egyptian goddess) with her infant son Horus, which appear to be a copy of the constellations Virgo. One of the minor constellations in the House of Virgo is Coma. In the old Denderah Zodiac of ancient Egypt, Coma is pictured as a woman holding a small child. Virgo and Coma show some of the symbolism of the promised Redeemer, “the seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15).

You can get a copy of Sacred Strands, the Story of a Redeemer Woven Through History here.