Stanley Chen Modern Mythology 2021 Period 2 Day A 12/16/2020

Stanley Chen

Modern Mythology 2021

12/15/2020

Period 2

In my opinion, I feel Egyptian mythology is somewhat underrated. When we think of mythology, we mostly think about the Greeks. Prior to taking this class, my first introduction to Egpytian mythology was from The Kane Chronicles, trilogy of books, written by Rick Riordan. From those books, I learned the basics of Egyptian mythology. Their gods had animals as their heads, there was an afterlife, and the pharaoh was related to their gods. Other than this, I didn’t know much about Egyptian mythology. After watching the documentaries focusing on the Book of the Dead, I learned how the Egyptians viewed death and I understand how their society functioned.

The belief of the afterlife played the biggest role in life in Egypt. The Egyptians believed that if they make it through the afterlife, they would be able to achieve immortality. This idea was the biggest thing in their culture. The most important piece of documentation was the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead was a scroll that had magical spells and told how to get through the afterlife. The longer the scroll, the higher the chance of achieving immortality. Everyone was allowed to buy a scroll that was tailored for them. Each scroll would cost a lot of money and time to make, and this would show the separation of wealth in Egyptian society. Since everyone believed in the afterlife, they wanted a book that would help them achieve immortality. Their religion’s most important document became a commodity. The rich would be able to afford a larger book while the poor would get a smaller one or wouldn't be able to afford one at all. The Egyptians were an example of how religion affected the economy and the way they lived. 

The Egyptians shared many similarities to other cultures. The Egyptians believed that if they live a pure life, they would be able to enter the afterlife. If they were impure, their soul would be eaten. This same type of idea can be seen in Christianity. There is also a connection between the Egyptians and the Greeks by creating myths to explain the unexplainable. 

Learning about the Egyptians gave me more insight in their society and how their cultural beliefs and ideas influenced future beliefs.