Bao Bao Chen, Period 2, 12/16/2020, Day A

Bao Bao Chen

Modern Mythology 2021

12/16/2020

Period 2

Reading & Learning

• Write about your thoughts regarding the most current reading.
• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.
• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

As much as I love mythology, I rarely read about Egyptian myths. While I could recite Greek myths off the top of my mind, I can barely name one or two Egyptian gods after a few minutes of thinking. My primary understanding of Egyptian myths was that they saw their gods and pharaohs as divine beings and the gods were typically depicted as half-human-half-god beings. One of the most interesting aspects I found about Egyptian culture was mummies and their whole "funeral" process. When I discovered that Ancient Egyptians found life after death to be more important than life itself, a lot of the pieces regarding Egyptian culture clicked in my mind.

In class, I learned that similar to other cultures, the Egyptians believed in living a good and devoted life because they wanted to reincarnate or live a blissful afterlife. It was surprising to find out that their biggest fear was having their soul eaten by Ammit or in other words, having their souls destroyed. To them, their time living was finite while the afterlife was eternal. The whole emphasis on living a good life solely on the afterlife always surprised me. Perhaps its because I don't have a specific belief or as strong devotion as these Ancient Egyptians had but having such faith in something that you aren't sure really exists and living your entire life based around it baffles me.

While learning about Egyptians and their views on death did allow me to see resemblance to other cultures. As I learned from reading Greek mythology, many ancient myths were explanations of the unknown. Just like how the story of Persephone and Hades is used to explain the four seasons, the Egyptians explained the rising of the Sun as the deceased pharaoh's battle with the forces of chaos in the underworld.

The current focus on myth from Egyptian has given me more insight on Egyptian culture and lifestyle. It allows me to see how people innately think especially in a time with limited technology and no science to explain everything.