With up to seven-hundred gods and goddesses the mythology of the ancient Egyptians was complex and, like all religions thus far, would undergo changes in theory and practice over time. There’s something so compelling about the ancient Egyptians that their culture and beliefs are still popular today. Although most of the country no longer practices the religion of the ancie With up to seven-hundred gods and goddesses the mythology of the ancient Egyptians was complex and, like all religions thus far, would undergo changes in theory and practice over time. There’s something so compelling about the ancient Egyptians that their culture and beliefs are still popular today. Although most of the country no longer practices the religion of the ancients, figures such as Isis, Osiris, Horus and Set still pop up in movies, music, art and philosophical discussion. One of the most intriguing things about the Egyptian mythology is that there are actually a number of parallels between it and later mythologies, such as that of the Greeks, the Romans; even modern day Judaism, Christianity and Islam have many similarities with these ancient myths. But there is that which sets the mythology of the ancient Egyptians apart. Somehow it’s regal and elegant. Like many other mythologies, there are tales of good and evil, sex and violence, creation and destruction, love and loss. The phenomena of nature, humans, animals, emotions, life, love and death are contained within the vast and often inscrutable sources from which we have come to glean the meaning behind the glyphs and learn more about one of, if not the most, important cultures and mythologies the world has seen. It’s important to note that many of the Egyptian myths that we are aware of only began to be recorded during the old kingdom (approx. 2686-2181 B.C.) through use of what we now call The Pyramid Texts. These were prayers, myths and incantations carved into the walls of the burial chambers of ancient Egypt’s most important figures to ensure their safe passage to the afterlife. The origins of Egyptian mythology are lost to antiquity; however, what we do know is more than enough to keep one busy studying for a lifetime. The pharaohs would come to be regarded as gods upon the earth, incontestable gateways between all of mankind and the realm of the gods; however, little mention of the pharaohs themselves will be made in this particular text. Here, we are primarily concerned with that which is outside the realm of governance; at least as far as it doesn’t concern the religion of the ancient Egyptians. In Egyptian mythology, we have the idea of the soul, of justice, balance, both on earth in life and after death in an afterlife… for a very short period, we even see a transition from paganism (belief in multiple gods) to monotheism (belief in one god,) although this change would not last. The principles and morals of the ancient Egyptians are brought to life through their mythology. One of the easiest ways of understanding a people is to familiarize one’s self with their beliefs, whether religious or secular, and I am very excited to take this journey with you into a realm of better understanding one of the most enigmatic societies that the world has ever known.