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Ancient Egypt : Old Kingdom Arbuckle, Caroline

Description

The Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt consists of the 3rd to 8th Dynasties (c.2670-2168). This was the period of Egyptian history when pyramid building was a central feature of the cult of kingship. This is the first period of Egyptian history when there are substantial textual references that provide more detailed insight into religious practice. At this point in time, the king was considered the ultimate intermediary between mankind and the gods. The kings built monumental tombs - most of them in the shape of pyramids. The kings' favourites were then buried close to the king in hopes of spending an eternal afterlife in his favour. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, this strict hierarchy begins to loosen, and people begin to have direct access to the god Osiris, gaining more control over their afterlife.

Item Metadata

Title
Ancient Egypt : Old Kingdom
Creator
Arbuckle, Caroline
Contributor
Database of Religious History (DRH)
Publisher
Database of Religious History (DRH)
Date Issued
2021-02-01
Description
The Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt consists of the 3rd to 8th Dynasties (c.2670-2168). This was the period of Egyptian history when pyramid building was a central feature of the cult of kingship. This is the first period of Egyptian history when there are substantial textual references that provide more detailed insight into religious practice. At this point in time, the king was considered the ultimate intermediary between mankind and the gods. The kings built monumental tombs - most of them in the shape of pyramids. The kings' favourites were then buried close to the king in hopes of spending an eternal afterlife in his favour. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, this strict hierarchy begins to loosen, and people begin to have direct access to the god Osiris, gaining more control over their afterlife.
Subject
Egyptian Religions; African Religions; Religious Group
Genre
Other
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-03-03
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0396016
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77440
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Asian Studies, Department of
Citation
Caroline Arbuckle. (2021). Ancient Egypt - Old Kingdom. Database of Religious History, Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia.
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Postdoctoral
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution 4.0 International