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Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs were centered around a variety of complex rituals that were influenced by many aspects of Egyptian culture. Religion was a major contributor, since it was an important social practice that bound all Egyptians together.
Thus, non-royal women disappeared from the high ranks of Hathor's priesthood, [131] although women continued to serve as musicians and singers in temple cults across Egypt. [ 132 ] The most frequent temple rite for any deity was the daily offering ritual, in which the cult image, or statue, of a deity would be clothed and given food. [ 133 ]
Many religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and various pagan belief systems, believe in the soul's existence in another world, while others, like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe in reincarnation. In both cases, these religions hold that one's status in the afterlife is determined by their conduct during life.
Egyptian myths were stories intended to illustrate and explain the gods' actions and roles in nature. The details of the events they recounted could change to convey different symbolic perspectives on the mysterious divine events they described, so many myths exist in different and conflicting versions. [ 43 ]
The Annunciation by Guido Reni (1621). Miraculous births are a common theme in mythological, religious and legendary narratives and traditions. They often include conceptions by miraculous circumstances and features such as intervention by a deity, supernatural elements, astronomical signs, hardship or, in the case of some mythologies, complex plots related to creation.
In the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against her single "Feather of Maat", symbolically representing the concept of Maat, in the Hall of Two Truths. This is why hearts were left in Egyptian mummies while their other organs were removed, as the heart (called "ib") was seen as part of the Egyptian soul.
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The purpose of marriage was to have more children and descendants of the family. [5]In the New Kingdom, there was a saying that: "Take a wife while you are young That she make a son for you She should care for you while you are youthful It is proper to make people Happy is the man whose people are many He is saluted on account of his progeny."