This book by the renowned Egyptologist and linguist Pascal Vernus captures the very essence of ancient Egypt -- a civilization thoroughly impregnated by the multi-formed and continually inspirational presence of the divine. Accompanied by 150 color photographs of Egyptian artifacts and landscapes, Vernus' exploration of Egyptian divinity reveals the central role it played in this endlessly fascinating ancient culture.

The ruling class and their interpretation of the divine fashioned Egyptian civilization's every aspect. The pharaohs and priests communicated the needs of the gods to their subjects: they dictated the principles of the cosmos, such as its genesis and the necessary rituals for appeasing the gods; and they determined the individual's quality of life in this world and the next. Through this symbiotic relationship over millenia, the Egyptian concept of eternal life was born.

The author begins by introducing the three orders of being according to the Egyptians: mineral, plant, and animal, which participated in a kind of sacred ecology with the gods. Vernus also looks at their concept of world order and their creation myths, The elaborate after-death rituals, which have come to characterize the Egyptians in our minds, and the reasons for these rituals are fully detailed as well. How these beliefs and rituals were played out in daily life is also described.