Lanny Bell Assignment

Art and Archaeology of Egypt

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Art and Archaeology of Egypt

The new kingdom ‘divine’ temple

The article highlights some of the practices Egyptians had before there the building of the divine temple came in. Earlier on, different religious sites were used as religion areas, where Egyptians could go, and offer sacrifices among other things. The article also demonstrates some of the changes that have been done in order to improve the structure of the temple. Before then, religious leaders played an important role in guiding people when it comes to most of the social activities. Religious leaders for instances acted as intermediates between the people and the gods, and they could be used in performing different tasks like asking for forgiveness on behalf of the society. The role of religion and how Egyptians people perceive it has been seen to be very important in this context.

According to the article, Lanny Bell explains some of the changes that have taken place in temple architecture. All the designs used in the creation of the temple is based on the rules, which are created by either God or human beings. The relationship between people and the Gods has also played an important role in designing of the temples (Bestock 2017). For instance, the divine temple is created with strong/rigid walls, which are believed to be used as a form of protection from the outside world. This includes malicious people as well as evil spirits. Apart from that, the temple areas are also secured, which is also a measure of ensuring that the place remains sacred. The levels ground levels inside the temple also vary, which are used to distinguish people in accordance with their position in the society, church and the level of purity.

The main points found in the article include the role of the temple, which is to bring people together and unite them. The author also specifies that the temple was used as a festive area, and many festivals activities could be done from the church. The respect the temple received is also demonstrated in the way it is decorated, different from other buildings, the kind of rule created to govern all the activities that take place within the area among other things. Looking at the fact that it acted as the structure which united people, we find it is true since, it is the only place where people, despite their position in the society or social status were allowed to enter. It is one of the structures which has the ability to accommodate diverse people. The size of the temples created was also large enough, to ensure that move people are accommodated in case of ant event or simply for worshipping purposes.

One of the things about these religious issues that are not convincing is the idea of having divine images and barques playing the role of transmitting people’s prayers to God. Well, this tends to be some sort of belief among the Egyptians, which is misleading. This is because of the idea of having any message passed to another place by the use of a statue is impossible. Although it was among some of the major practices among the Egyptians, as time goes by these are some of the things that are experiencing much change. It is very important for people to understand the right procedure when it comes to prayers among other forms of religious practices (Bestock 2017). But then the issue is that with the Egyptians so they relied so much on the written rules, which prevents them from performing what is technically right. It is one of the societies that is much glued to rituals.

References

Bestock, L. (2017). Violence and power in ancient Egypt: image and ideology before the New Kingdom. Routledge.