Term Paper on History of Egyptian Philosophy from 500 BCE to 400 BCE
Philosophy’s history in the world is as old as the history of a man himself. This is an account of the history of Egyptian philosophy from 500 BCE to 400 BCE. The year 500 BCE was very important in the history of philosophy itself. This is the year when the Chinese philosopher and the Taoist founder Lao Tze, managed imperial archives and, is curator of royal archives and The Analects of Confucius was made. Later in the following century many significant changes occurred in the philosophy literature. Such as in 435 BCE Phidias sculpted the Zeus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world and in 432 BCE Greek astronomer Meton adjusted the lunar calendar to a solar year. It was in this century that Euripedes' Medea, Euripides' The Trojans and Sophocles Oedipus Rex into being. All these works continued to flourish till the last true and official pharaoh of Egypt, often considered to be Cleopatra. Egypt became part of the Roman Empire after her death in 27BC. The Egypt before Cleopatra was rich in all respects ranging from the family, religion, and sport to the philosophy and sciences of astronomy, medicine or mathematics and many others.
Egyptian Philosophy
The Egyptian Philosophy is very rich and parallel to that of Greek. The
Egyptian of ancient Africa were superior intellects who contributed valuable
gems to the crown of philosophy with the passage of time. Their contribution
is more expressive during the period from Pharaoh of the Third Dynasty to
Pharaoh Khufu of Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty. They contributed to the
understanding of mathematics and knowledge of astronomy. Their knowledge,
belief and practice of their unique philosophy regarding the Gods, world,
mankind and the concepts of power are depicted by their monuments that are
with us even today such as the Great Sphinx of Giza, the half human animal
figure that dates back to the ancients of the ancients.
The most influential effect and inspiration for the Egyptian philosophy have
always been that of the Kemet or Ta-merry, the center of learning. Even the
great Greek philosophers benefited the source of wisdom and knowledge from
Egypt (Kemet). Erik (1982) has discussed that the Egyptian philosophy has
most contributions from the Kemetic religion, Kemetic concepts of Deity.
Barbara S (1999) also discusses that the ancient Goddesses such as Nut, Nit,
Nekhebet/Wadjet, Hethert, Mut and their temples and clergy represented the
philosophy of feminine aspects of Kemetic deity.
It was Socrates the great Greek philosopher who was put into prison because of his appreciation and knowledge of the foreign philosophy of Egypt. All Egyptian temples during the olden times including the period from 500 BCE to 400 BCE carried inscriptions on the outside addressed to the Neophytes. And among them was the injunction "Know Thyself” which was copied by Socrates. Another influence on the Egyptian philosophy has been that of the secret order of ‘Egyptian Mystery’ system. This was a school of philosophical thoughts that only gave membership by initiation and a pledge of secrecy. It was under these circumstances that the Egyptians developed the secret systems of writing and teachings, and forbade their initiates from writing what they had learned. After nearly five thousand years of prohibition against the Greeks, they were permitted to enter Egypt for the purpose of their education.
The ancient Egyptians believed that civilized behavior of self-control and
kindness were the center of life. Their civilization and living philosophy
were based on the value and significance of education. Ancient Egyptian
philosophy also includes the ‘magic’ and this has been discussed by Ritner
(1993). In his dissertation, Ritner discusses the role of ‘magic’ I the
ancient Egypt. There were many structures and forms of rites practiced in
Kemet. There are diverse symbolic, physical and theological points of
interest, from the use of prayer for medicinal purposes to execration,
blessing, divination and other ritual as "magic."
According to the Egyptian philosophy, temples were considered the homes of
the gods. Meeks, Dimitri and Favard cover the philosophical intricacies of
ancient Egyptian religion and state that the significant components of the
Egyptian philosophy are the Gods, Godesses, rites, temples, and the
priesthood. There were unique temples for each type of God, who was
considered usually enshrined in the sanctuary. The ancient Egyptians revered
their gods and spent a great deal of time making offerings and praying to
their favorites as per their needs and situations. The most obvious of their
beliefs used to come out during the times of the festivals. These were the
times of exciting opportunities for the Egyptian people to view the
god-statues to whom they prayed every day.
Works Cited
Hornung, Erik; [translated from German by John Baines]. Conceptions of God
in Ancient Egypt: The One and The Many. Cornell University Press, 1982.
Lesko, Barbara S. The Great Goddesses of Egypt. University of Oklahoma
(Norman) Press, 1999.
Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Favard; [translated from French by G. M.
Goshgarian]. Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods. Cornell University Press.
Ritner, Robert Kriech. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice.
Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Studies in Ancient Oriental
Civilization #54, 1993.
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