What is the position of high priest?

The host of full-time sacrifice in ancient times became the high priest.

The high priest is the only one who can enter the most holy place. 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.

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 been derived from this.