What is a priest?

The priest class in ancient Egypt has a long history and far-reaching influence, rooted in tradition. Unlike the orthodox and conservative clergy in western society, the priests in ancient Egypt did not exist to predict divination or maintain a harmonious relationship with a certain god. The position of a priest is similar to daily work. Its duty is, because Pharaoh regards himself as a god, he is regarded as the representative of Pharaoh and is responsible for maintaining the good order of Egyptian society. The mysterious nature of priests gives them another layer of importance in society, which is to strengthen the influence of religion. In the eyes of ancient Egyptians, religion is a way to acquire extraordinary abilities and meet basic needs, and it is also a procedure to control social operation. It gave birth to the hierarchy and ensured the cultural inheritance. Therefore, priests are of irreplaceable importance both in practical social function and in mysterious religious level.

A priest in a white linen robe walks out of the temple. On both sides of him are two other priests, shaking sistre, who directs the ritual music and dance. This is the scene where the Egyptians sacrificed to is is in the 1 century. )

Priests in ancient Egypt were usually selected by pharaohs or inherited their posts. No matter which method you choose, it doesn't mean that he is superior to mortals. In fact, in order to keep Egyptian society running according to the rules, priests have to live among ordinary people (which is also a rule attached to this high-ranking job). At first, the priests were single, with only a few temples, but in later dynasties, the number of temples increased to hundreds. With this growth, high-level bureaucrats need to maintain the dignity of temples, and the number of priests in temples will increase accordingly. Since then, the number of small-scale priests has increased from hundreds to thousands, and the rank of priests has also come from this.

The daily life of priests depends on their gender and rank. To a considerable extent, priests often take turns to hold positions, from daily life to offering sacrifices to gods to form an operating system. Under this rotation system, a priest will enter the temple for a month and live three times a year. Regardless of the status of priests, they need to abide by countless taboos and traditions. They can't eat fish (this food is considered to belong to farmers), they can't wear wool (almost all animals' output is considered unclean), they must be circumcised (only male priests), and it is common to bathe in the sacred and clean lake three or four times a day. Oracle priests (one of the most sacred positions) will remove body hair, and some will shave their eyebrows for purification and cleaning. They will symbolically offer food to idols, dress idols and close the secret rooms of temples at night, which is called "Stolists". It can be seen that purity and cleanliness should be achieved not only in the world, but also in the afterlife, without any difference. Moreover, regardless of their status in temples, priests who have performed such purification ceremonies are often labeled as "purists".

The rank of a priest is consistent with his duties and responsibilities. The highest rank is the senior priest, also known as SEM-priest, who has the title of "the first prophet of God". The high priest is usually a wise elder. He should not only provide decision-making advice to the Pharaoh, but also become the political leader of his temple. At the same time, he also controlled the divination ceremony and other ceremonies. Besides enjoying a high religious status, the high priest was often chosen as a consultant by the Pharaoh. However, there are also many high priests who have climbed to high positions through promotion.

Below the senior priest is a group of priests who have many special positions. The priests on the second floor are all specialized in sundial science and are responsible for the accurate timing of the day, especially for those who worship the sun god. The accurate time of the sun during the day is very important, and it also serves agricultural production. ), "astrology" (which is very important for Egypt's religion, architecture and calendar), to treat. Priests with professional knowledge know that the harmonious cycle of the universe is very important. They decide when to plant crops, when the Nile is in high tide and low tide, and even when the temple ceremony should start in the morning. The results of special research by ancient Egyptian priests are reflected in myths and legends and agricultural customs, which are comparable to modern calendars and are still used in the western world.

In addition to state management, priests also play a role in witchcraft and economy, but this does not include part-time priests, who only provide ordinary people with an understanding of Egyptian religion. Through the use of witchcraft and contact with God, part-time priests provide services to their clients, which usually include suggestions or opinions, witchcraft, therapy and rituals. They were the last priests in ancient Egypt and belonged to the "home of life" in the temple. Secular people who come to the "home of life" will meet a priest, who will explain their dreams and give them spells and amulets to offset malicious witchcraft or make it better, and at the same time provide various spells. The House of Life can give secular people many standardized therapies to cure common diseases. In ancient times, it was shrouded in a dense mysterious atmosphere. In fact, the library of Life House is strictly confidential, because it contains many sacred ritual procedures, books and the secrets of the temple itself. If it is leaked, it will hurt the pharaohs, priests and even the whole of Egypt. Although the magic of the house of life is also considered as the ritual of presiding over priests, it is undoubtedly not so important, which can be proved by many existing wands, papyrus documents and other archaeological evidence. However, in the life of ancient Egyptians, the house of life still played an extremely important role.

One of the last positions in the clergy is clerical work. This document will be highly praised by Pharaoh and priests, so that in some murals of Pharaoh's tomb, Pharaoh himself will be described as a document. Documents are responsible for copying witchcraft documents, issuing royal decrees, preserving and recording funeral ceremonies (especially in the Book of the Dead), and maintaining the necessary files of the ruling class in ancient Egypt. Documents usually take years to write hieroglyphics and constantly strive to win the praise of clergy. Being a tool of any Egyptian court or temple is considered the highest honor.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that although there is considerable historical evidence to show the importance of male priests in the hierarchy of priests, at that time, the status of female priests was equivalent to that of male priests, at least it did not reflect the inequality between them. The priestess is mainly responsible for the music and dance in the temple. In Thebes, the high priestess of Amon enjoyed the title of "the wife of God". She is the leader of musicians, who are regarded as the concubines of God and Hassall, the goddess representing love and music. In the 23rd dynasty and beyond, priestesses like this were the actual rulers of theocracy. Their duty is to worship other male or female gods with Isis as the center.

After her death, Heluben, the priestess of Amon, the God of Thebes, offered sacrifices to crocodiles representing Sobec, the god of water. However, some scholars believe that although in general, crocodiles represent Sobec, here they represent Geb, the land god.

Towns in ancient Egypt usually had their own sacred animals. But the ancient Egyptians did not worship animals. They think that sacred animals represent one of their gods. They believe that certain animals are favored by certain gods, and paying tribute to such animals is to please God. The reason why animals appeared in ancient Egyptian religion with a specific meaning is because the gods worshipped by ancient Egyptians are closely related to the animal world, not the sanctity of animals themselves.

Since the first generation of pharaohs, the majestic falcon has represented Horus, the patron saint of pharaohs. By the end of the dynasty, the Egyptians buried animals related to God in special graves to worship God. Everyone flocked to Bubastis, the worship center of the cat-headed goddess Buster, and presented their mummified cats. In other places of worship, worshippers offer mummified dogs to Anubis, who has a dog's head. Crocodiles are dedicated to the crocodile god Sobik; The fish was dedicated to Osiris (a part of his body was eaten by fish); Dedicated to Thoth the stork. Many people who love knowledge have dedicated themselves to Thoth, so that Thoth's sacrificial tomb can accommodate more than 4 million mummies of storks. Many of these and other spiritual birds are kept in captivity and sold to worshippers, who then coat them with antiseptic spices-usually beautifully packaged and masked-and take them to Thoth's grave.

The following animals are considered especially sacred:

Cats-male cats are religiously related to the God Ra. Kittens are specially raised for sacrifice.

Cattle-cattle are usually used as sacrifices to various gods.

Scarab-As a concrete symbol of God, scarab is associated with the sunrise every day and is regarded as the renewal of nature. Because of this sacred position, scarab has a wide range of performances in the art field.