Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt

by Leslie C. Kaplan

Looks at the different gods the Egyptians worshiped, how their changing political systems impacted religion, and how Egyptians' idea of the afterlife is reflected in their art.

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

appropriate for 3rd-6th grade

[Hamza Mounir]

The nonfiction book "Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt" was written by author Leslie C. Kaplan. From the secret symbols concealed in ancient Egyptian art to the many gods they believed in, Kaplan's book explains all about the art and religion of ancient Egypt. For the ancient people of Egypt, all the mysteries in life like how the sun makes light and the river flows, are believed to be controlled by gods and goddesses. To honor their gods, the Egyptians used artwork as a tribute for peace in their afterlife. Along with believing in elemental gods, the ancient culture also believed in many myths. One of the most famous myths is about how at first, there was only ocean and darkness. Ancient Egyptians believed that death doesn't end your life, but sends you to another life called the afterlife. When Pharaohs, kings of Egypt, were buried, many supplies that might be needed in the afterlife were buried too. Egyptians believed that all the supplies would be used in the afterlife to live more comfortably. To worship their gods, they built huge temples where statues would be house and protected. In these temples worked priests who claimed they could directly speak to Gods. They cleansed themselves with sacred water and made offerings. Magic played a large part in ancient Egyptian religion too. The dead were buried with amulets that protected them when they traveled to the underworld. People also used spells and rituals to treat the injured. Thus, the Ancient Egyptians were a sophisticated culture because of their religious and artful properties.

"Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt" is a nonfiction book that relates to many modern jobs in this present time. The study of Ancient times is called archeology, but the study of Egypt is more commonly known as Egyptology. All the information in this book has not been found and discovered by the author Leslie, but from world renown archeologists and Egyptologists. These people spend their days in ancient ruins decoding languages and symbols that have never been seen before. All we know about Ancient Egypt to this day wouldn't be possible without these careers. "Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt"is truly nonfiction for several reasons. First, the book retells actual human history and recovers what has happened around 2500 B.C.E. Also, this book by Leslie C. Kaplan is based on certified sources with accurate information. My personal favorite photography from the book was the image of Horus on the first page of the book. The photography captures all that is described in words and transfers it through sight. Thus, "Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt" relates to modern careers, is a true nonfiction read, and contains one of my favorite pictures in all the book world.

I would recommend this book to every 7th-grade history class because of how well it fits into the curriculum. "Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt" is perfect for in classroom use and for studying purposes. The story is short and concise making it possible for any type of student to understand the contents. Though I wouldn't recommend this book to an audience looking for an in-depth explanation of Egyptian history. Henceforth, I would recommend this book for middle school classroom use, but not for historians looking for in-depth history of Ancient Egypt.

[Alya Sekkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leslie C. Kaplan an awesome author wrote the teachable and capturing book named Art and Religion In Ancient Egypt. This book is the perfect book to make you learn and understand every small detail and information about art and religion a long time ago in Egypt. This book is really persuasive with all the facts in it, but the three most important facts are about the gods and goddesses, the priests, and statues and sculptures. Egypt’s mostly recognized gods are Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis, Re, Ptah, Osiris, Seth, and Thoth. Egypt’s mostly recognized goddesses are Isis and Hathor. Priests are the ones that acted as the king’s representatives in the temples and they spent a lot of time in the temples in order to take care of the gods’ orders. The Priests also showed rituals to the gods during daybreak, at noon, and at night. In order for Egyptians to honor their king, queen, and gods they made artworks such as statues and sculptures. The Egyptians also did this in order to have a reward on earth or during the afterlife. On some art works were hieroglyphics. These are the three main facts the reader should know about this book.

Some important contributions to history and the world were made were the hieroglyphics. It was a kind of writing with pictured symbols that helped many people develop and improve their education skills by having more knowledge. Another contribution is the statues and sculptures. It is important because the people that worked hard to make these statues and sculptures were payed back by having a reward on earth or during the afterlife. The person’s (pharaoh) achievement was to be a good ruler for his people and to always be fair. The achievements were to control a big empire, to pray in the temples, priests had to do their jobs, there should be music and dancing, and people should make art works, and painting in the tombs. The person’s achievement was to achieve their specific job and to commit no harm. These are the specific things people have to achieve in Ancient Egypt.

The writer highly recommends this book to every student or eve adult that wants to discover art and religion in ancient Egypt. This book is really teachful, capturing, informative, easily understood, and well organized. This book is mainly a book that teaches many things to a person about how life was in Ancient Egypt. This book is also an awesome book that contains a lot of information to help you for a project about Ancient Egypt. Don’t forget that this book is really persuasive for every person of any kind of age. Now it’s your choice whether you want to learn more about Ancient Egypt or not. If you want to check this book out it’s in the upper school library!

[Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, sweet, to the point, though there is a little repetitiveness on the subject of how the Egyptians wanted the afterlife via scenes of art. It's a good, simple book with a good simple intro to Art and Religion in ancient Egypt, just like the title says.