here was a determined attempt to impose order on the multitude of gods and religious beliefs that had existed since predynastic times... and the sun-god Re became the supreme royal god, with the king taking the title of Son of Re" (David 155). The Egyptians overall believed that nature was an incorruptible entity and that to reach a state of human perfection in the afterlife, they too would have to change from their corruptible human shells to mimic the incorruptibility of nature. Upper and Lower Egypt were united for the first time under one ruler, however, this would come to an end around 2200 B.C.. In much of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Pharaoh was often depicted as almost larger than life, with great power and much of Egyptian art is a celebration of his accomplishments. The formation of a royal absolutism occurred during this period, with the Pharaoh and a small-centralized administration, composed mainly of royal kin and relatives, overseeing all aspects of Egyptian life. The Pharaoh was looked at as a living god among the Egyptian people, who assured the success of Egypt as well as its peace. "The Pharaoh belonged both to the world of the gods and the world of men, and he was seen as a bridge between them. Some of the local deities represented various aspects of nature, such as the earth and the sky, or the Nile and it's gifts of fertility. So the king, living in their midst, could bring the Egyptians into a harmonious relationship with their divinities and with the forces of nature upon which their whole existence depended" (Hawkes 43). In regard to the religious structure of the Old Kingdom, there was a polytheistic view of the world, as in Mesopotamia. However, unlike the Mesopotamian religion, the Egyptians worked for their kings as opposed to working for their gods. The complex concept of the afterlife was also developed during this period. The Great Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom built great pyramids to forever protect the...
