Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt

Sacrifice in ancient Egypt is one of the most prominent concepts embodied by ancient Egyptian civilization throughout the ages. It was an essential part of the religious and spiritual beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, especially since the ancient Egyptians had many gods as they believed in the afterlife.

Sacrifice was for them the most important way to communicate with the gods and obtain their satisfaction.

This is evident in many inscriptions and writings on the walls of many Egyptian temples and how sacrifice in ancient Egypt expressed respect and appreciation for the god. Many offerings were presented, the most important of which were birds, mice and many foods.

In this article, we will learn about sacrifice in ancient Egypt and how it was a basis for some social and moral values ​​​​of the ancient Egyptians.

Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt

Sacrifice in ancient Egypt was one of the most important things that express the religious cultures in Egypt and was considered part of the social and economic culture in ancient Egypt. They used to choose the animals to be slaughtered with great care and offer the best and most beautiful types of animals.

These animals were decorated before slaughtering. Many sacrifices were slaughtered to get closer to the gods.

It was considered a basic ritual in worship and religious holidays so that they would obtain the satisfaction of the gods and goodness, prosperity and wealth would prevail in ancient Egypt.

These offerings were presented to the gods under the supervision of a group of senior priests who were in the temples. Many offerings were presented to the gods from different types of meat, whether cows, sheep, goats or others in addition to offering bread and cakes. Banquets were held at temples and tombs.

They appreciated these animals and fed them. They used to tie the front legs and tie their eyes with cloth before slaughtering so that the knife would not be seen during slaughter, out of respect and appreciation for these offerings.

The method of slaughtering in ancient Egypt

The sacrifice in ancient Egypt was slaughtered by the butcher and some assistants. The butcher would slaughter and another person would help him and pour water over the sacrifice to purify it.

The head butcher would supervise the slaughtering process cut the meat and hang it until it was completely dry. After that, it would be placed on tables and presented as offerings to the gods.

The sacrifice would be cleaned well and the most delicious types of food would be made for the poor.

The thigh of the bull was considered one of the most delicious parts of it.

The ancient Egyptians were keen to offer the largest and best types of animals for sacrifices. They would do this on holidays, occasions and some other days of the year.

Offerings to natural phenomena

Sacrifice in ancient Egypt was offered to the god, but there were some offerings that the ancient Egyptians offered to some natural phenomena and were offered specifically earthquakes thunderstorms, volcanoes and some other natural phenomena.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile did not flow every year except after presenting a beautiful virgin bride to it. 

They believed that it was a symbol of prosperity and fertility for the ancient Egyptians, so a specific holiday was set in which they would throw a beautiful bride called the Bride of the Nile until it was satisfied and continued to flow.

This ancient Egyptian custom continued among the ancient Egyptians until Egypt was conquered by Amr ibn al-Aas and the entry of Islam.

This custom continued in ancient Egypt even during the Sumerian, Babylonian, Finike, Greek and Roman civilizations.

Sacrifice in some other civilizations

After we learned about sacrifice in ancient Egypt, we will now learn about sacrifice in some other civilizations such as the Zinc and Inca civilizations. These peoples lived in Mexico and worshipped the sun.

These civilizations believed that human blood represented the sacred life force, so they offered human sacrifices to the gods to protect them from natural disasters. They believed that human blood was what made the gods satisfied with them.

As for the Peruvian civilization they sacrificed children between the ages of six and 15 years. They believed that it was one of the most important sacrifices offered to the gods to protect them from drought problems and wars.

They slaughtered children between the ages of six and 15 years and offered them as a sacrifice to the gods.

Sacrifice in Modern Egypt

After we learned about sacrifice in ancient Egypt, we will now learn about sacrifice in modern Egypt. After Amr ibn al-Aas entered Egypt, the Egyptians began to sacrifice on Eid al-Adha to revive the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, at the time when our master Abraham peace be upon him was ordered to slaughter his son Ismail, then God sent down a ram from the sky to redeem Ismail.

To this day we slaughter sacrifices on Eid al-Adha to revive this memory, and the meat of these sacrifices is distributed to the poor and needy, and part of it is distributed to relatives and household owners.

Many Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha all over the Islamic world and sacrifice some animals such as sheep cows and goats, and they draw closer to God Almighty and choose the best types of animals for sacrifice.

The beginning of offering sacrifices

The beginning of offering sacrifices is considered to have been since the beginning of life as the sons of our master Adam offered sacrifices, and these were the first sacrifices to be folded in history as God Almighty said in His Noble Book, “And recite to them the story of the two sons of Adam in truth when they offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them and not from the other.

” After that, offering sacrifices spread until the advent of the Islamic era and the entry of Islam into Egypt so sacrifices were slaughtered on the blessed Eid al-Adha, and there are some people who offer sacrifices as charity on days other than the blessed Eid al-Adha, and they are distributed to the poor and needy but Islam forbade the offering of human sacrifices and the eating of human flesh.

FAQS

Did the Egyptians worship Pharaoh?

The Egyptians did not worship Pharaoh himself, but they worshiped some other gods and they were They believed that Pharaoh was a link between them and these gods and they submitted to him in everything but there were some pharaohs who claimed to be gods, and the most important of them is the Pharaoh of Moses who claimed to be a god and asked all classes of people to worship him.

What are the offerings of the pharaohs?

The pharaohs used offerings as a means of getting closer to God and the offerings were slaughtered on many holidays and formed a large part of the funeral and religious rituals in ancient Egypt.

This was drawn on the walls of many temples and tombs, and they believed that they were gaining the pleasure of God and they believed that these offerings would help them in the other eternal life that they would enjoy after death according to their belief at that time.

Are there still people who practice the ancient Egyptian religion?

After the advent of Islam there are no longer people in Egypt who follow the ancient Egyptian religions, but there are some people in different parts of the world who still worship the sun and some ancient Egyptian gods and believe them to be part of their spiritual and religious beliefs.

At the end of this article, we have learned about sacrifice in ancient Egypt and why the ancient Egyptians offered offerings and sacrifices to the gods, We hope that you liked this article.