"Denial...it's not just a river in Egypt" is a statement we have probably all uttered. However, we cannot deny that there were many great things achieved by the amazing civilization of ancient Egypt. In this essay, we will examine three of the achievements that still fascinate us today, thousands of years later, the religious beliefs, the development of hieroglyphic writings, and the mummification of the dead.
             Religious Beliefs
             The Egyptians had many cults in the early days of Egyptian religion with over 2,000 gods and goddesses. These gods and goddesses had an indirect relationship with the Egyptian people. They would most often be animal gods like Anubis (the Jackal) who was linked with the dead and funeral arrangements. Jackals were often seen on the outskirts of the desert where the Egyptians buried their dead. In the development of early Egyptian religion, people in one region of Egypt often worshiped different gods than those in another region. They would build shrines inside their home to gain favor with certain gods to help in their daily life, for example, Thoth the god of scribes.
             In the Dynastic period gods and goddesses began to take a more humanistic look with human bodies but kept animal features like the god Taurt who had the head of a hippopotamus, the tail and back of a crocodile, and claws like a lion. There were very few animal gods still being worshiped by this period. One exception was Apis (the Bull) in Memphis. By the end of the Early Dynastic Period, when the two regions of Egypt were unified, a national religion began to form from the many tribes and regions. Of course, there were many inconsistencies and variations as the different priests were trying to systematize the gods, goddesses, and myths among the population.
             The next evolution in the development of ancient Egyptian religion happened at the time of the Old Kingdom during the 5th Dynasty....