These and many more denials of sin were made and it sometimes happened that the confession was inscribed on one wall of a tomb while elsewhere were shown captives taken in war, slaves oppressed by labor, and other incidents in the earthly career of the departed which lead us to infer that the gods were supposed to be too mighty to take notice of most remarkable contradictions.
After the confession of the candidate for admission to the realm of Osiris, his good and evil deeds were weighed in a balance and if his virtues outweighed his failings, he was admitted to the land of the departed, a counterpart of his own Egypt.
A vast priesthood was required to preside over a religious system so complex as that of Egypt and the priests gained great influence over the people. The reason for this is apparent when we consider the prevailing ideas of the country. The body of the dead must be preserved, for upon its preservation depended the fate of the soul. To this end the body must be properly embalmed and entombed. The embalmers were under the control and supervision of the priests. Again, the soul of the departed must be assisted upon its perilous journey to Osiris by prayers said over each finger and each portion of the body. These prayers could be offered only by the priests themselves. Such a condition as this gave the priesthood of Egypt an opportunity to make itself supreme in the land, and this opportunity it was quick to seize upon.
Temples.
Many questions concerning Egyptian worship still remain unanswered. What part did the citizen take in the worship of his national gods? What effect did the worship of these gods have upon his life? We do not know—we cannot tell. It appears that his ancestral gods, worshipped at an altar in his own house, where of first importance. Some understanding of the temples and temple ceremonies cannot fail to throw light upon this old religion. Several of the old ruined temples may be seen today, standing like forest trees which have outlived their neighbors.
There is not in all Egypt a temple perfectly preserved; but by locating here an avenue of approach, there, a gateway, finding courts in other places, and halls and chapels, one comes at length to piece the whole together and to get some conception of the original entirety of the ancient temple.
In Greece the people built temples to their gods. In Egypt the king built them. Offerings were brought to the shrines of the Greek gods by every citizen in the land. In Egypt most of the gifts came from the king. To be sure there were special offerings made by all on feast days, but the king and the priests were alone responsible for the Egyptian temples; and while throngs accompanied processions thither on days of sacred festival, there is nothing to show that they had any part in the ceremonies.
The general plan of the temple was this: an avenue of approach—varying in length, and lined usually on either side by rows of sphinxes—led to a gateway, guarded by towers. In the Old Empire these towers served for defense, and seem later to have been preserved for decorative purposes. The gate admitted one to a court, open to the sky and outlined by pillars. In direct line with the gateway was the entrance to a large hall, supported by columns and lighted by small openings under the roof. Within this hall were celebrated the sacred festivals. At the end of the hall a small chapel was built which contained an image of the god of the temple. Sometimes two other chapels were placed, one on each side of this, and contained images of the god's wife and son, or his wife and daughter. The images sometimes represented the animal sacred to the god, or, again, would have a human body and merely the head of the sacred animal or bird. Later an image of the god himself was attempted. The tiny room or cell wherein these were kept was called the Holy of Holies. Before the door were inscribed these words: Four times must he purify himself who enters here.
Some temples were much more elaborate and complex than the simple one just described.
The doors of these chapels were always left sealed, and whenever they were opened, a clay seal was affixed. Having purified himself, the priest would fill the hall with the smoke of incense, break the seal, open the door and fall down, offering incense and kissing the ground before the image. Then a hymn of praise was probably sung.