The ancient Egyptians’ belief system is generally studied by their interpretation of three concepts of thinking mythology, religion, and philosophy. Their society centered around their attempt to explain such nonempirical questions such as; ‘Is there life after death?’ ‘How did the universe began’? Their explanations of these questions shaped their society for three thousand years. Mythology contains stories that are not to be taken literally, however have a message for the society. Myths take place in primordial time, ( in other words the ‘time’ before ‘time’) Religion has only one requirement, faith. The ancient Egyptians were the first resurrectionists meaning they believed in life after death. The creation myth of ‘Osiris’ dominated their belief system resulting in the central focus of their society. The development of the art of ancient Egyptian mummification has left much evidence as to the importance of the birth-death-re-birth concept was to their belief system, it ties together their entire existence. Since philosophy requires fact the evidence suggests that the ancient Egyptians paid little attention to this concept because although no specific proof has ever been found, most Egyptologists concur that their way of thinking concentrated on putting all the pieces of the puzzle perfectly together. (facts have a tendency to impose upon a perfect fit)
The ancient Egyptians’ belief system of life after death, (birth, death and re-birth) as explained in the myth of Osiris parallels their ties to the Nile River. The waters of the Nile were to the ancients ‘the gift of life’. The flood cycles of the Nile shaped the ancient Egyptians’ sense of time. The seasons of inundation, planting, and harvesting was the equivalent to the resurrection of life.

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