Cat Superstitions example essay topic

The Egyptians' civilization was based on religion where their beliefs were very important. They believed in polytheism, which was the belief in many deities. They worshipped as many as two-thousand gods and goddesses. Some gods were worshipped locally, others were worshipped nationally. Some of the various gods were part human and part animal.

The god Horus had the head of a hawk and a body of a human. Bulls, cats, and crocodiles were considered very holy. The chief, immortal gods of the Egyptians were Aman-Ra, which was the sun god and lord of the universe, the other was Osiris which was the god of the underworld. Osiris was not an evil god, he actually made afterlife peaceful. A "bible" was created in 1240 B.C. called the "Book of the Dead".

The people of this time spent more time preparing for the survival in the next world (death) than in this world. They spent massive amounts of time and money on this task. Death was known as a transitional stage to a better life. They have three souls; the "Ka", the "Ba", and the "Ak". They have their own version of how the world began.

At first, the world was an ocean in darkness. A mound of dry land rose up and the sun god "Re" appeared. He created light and all things. The Egyptians made temples for gods to dwell in. They build a temple in each city for the god of that city. Priests cared for the temples, attended to the needs of the people, were advisors, and were in charge of the funerals.

They were basically the authority. Egyptians didn't second guess the priest's answers to the questions they asked. The Egyptians had a few superstitions that affected their lives. First were the cat superstitions. When a rich person's cat died, they were immediately mummified elaborately with ribbons and dye. The body was placed in a bronze box with a bronze statue of the cat on top.

A poor man's cat didn't have such an elaborate death procession. It was rolled up in a simple lump, but it was carefully and respectfully done. Another cat superstition was when the cat died a natural death, the owner should shave his eyebrows in respect. When a cat died, the owner tried to go somewhere else so that he couldn't be blamed for the murder of the cat. Osiris, the sun god, supposedly changed into a cat to battle with a serpent-like darkness. The Egyptians had a superstition that was associated with the burial process.

They had small figurines called "Ushabtis", which literally translates into "answerer". They were placed in the tombs of the deceased which were believed to help the Egyptian come to life and perform any necessary, unpleasant chore in the afterworld, such as plowing the fields. The figurine is made from a type of fired clay. The ring at marriage ceremonies came partially from Egyptians. They believed that the ring finger follows the "vena amor is", the vein of love that runs directly to the heart.