Pharaohs Power His Religious Significance
The main authority of the Egyptian religion was the pharaoh. He had divine right over the people and was considered a god. The pharaoh's power was ultimately defined by his supreme religious significance. This has been proven through the pharaoh's divine kingship, rituals, buildings and statues.
Divine Kingship is the belief that the Pharaoh was not only the King but also a god. The Pharaoh was associated with Horus, son of Re the sun god. Later it was believed that at death he rose to become Osiris, king and judge in the Underworld. He would help the Egyptians in their afterlife. Due to their beliefs, the Pharaoh held an immense amount of power. http://www.historylink101.net/egypt_1/religion.htm, (2006).
Since he was considered a god, the pharaoh lived apart from other men, and his subjects subscribed to rituals that dignified him as a divine king. All those approaching him, for example, had to prostrate themselves on the ground. When the pharaoh died, Egyptian funerary rituals were performed that were thought to guarantee that he survive in the afterlife as a god, apart from other men. Encyclopaedia Britannica Standard Edition 2005.
The pharaoh was the most important and significant person in Egypt. As a god-ruler, he was the bond between the people and their gods. He therefore had to be protected and cared for. The pharaoh led a busy life. He was the high priest, the chief lawmaker, the commander of the army and in charge of the country's wealth. He had to be a clever politician too. The ancient Egyptians believed that on his death, the pharaoh became god in his own right. Steele, P. (1997).
The Egyptians believed their pharaoh to be a god. Pharaohs were very rich and powerful. Egyptians would have done mostly anything the pharaoh said. Disobeying the pharaoh was not only disrespectful, but against their religion. All Egyptians worshiped the pharaohs....
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