allowed them to flourish and to influence the cultural
development of the entire land. The priesthood was not
viewed as a separate class, however, until the New King-
dom (1550–1070 B.C.E.).
HELIOPOLISwas an early center for the solar cult in
honor of RÉ’ and ATUM, and many priests were engaged in
the ongoing functions of the temples and shrines. The
high priest of Heliopolis was called the “Great One of the
Seers” and held many responsible positions in the Early
Dynastic Period (2920–2575 B.C.E.) and Old Kingdom
(2575–2134 B.C.E.) administrations. In some eras the
head of the Heliopolitan cult was a member of the royal
family, but most often the position was in the hands of a
dedicated and talented commoner. The high priest of
MEMPHIS, dedicated to the god PTAH, was sometimes
called the “Great One Who Rules The Artificers,” and
many gifted men served in this capacity, including
IMHOTEP, the builder of the STEP PYRAMIDfor DJOSER.
In the New Kingdom, the high priest of AMUNin
THEBESheld even greater powers. He was called the chief
prophet of Amun. Other temples of Egypt came under his
jurisdiction at this time, as Amun became the most pow-
erful deity of the land. The Amunite priests were nor-
mally men dedicated to the service of their god and
nation in an administrative capacity. MENKHEPERRESENB
(1), a high-ranking Amunite during the reign of TUTHMO-
SIS III(1479–1425 B.C.E.), for example, was an architect
and the head of the palace and the city of Thebes.
During the Third Intermediate Period (1070–712
B.C.E.) the priests of the temple of Amun at Thebes
usurped the robes and ranks of the pharaohs while per-
forming priestly and military duties because of ongoing
rebellions in Upper Egypt. The self-proclaimed pharaohs
ended with the collapse of the Twenty-first Dynasty
(1070–945 B.C.E.), however, and the priesthoods re-
mained traditional in their performances and services.
The importance of such ministers of the gods faded dur-
ing the Late Period (712–332 B.C.E.) but arose with the
invasion of Egypt by the armies of ALEXANDER III THE
GREAT(r. 332–323 B.C.E.).
The rulers of the ensuing Ptolemaic Period (304–30
B.C.E.) restored many of the priesthoods as tools for
keeping the native population of the Nile Valley in
check. Such rulers, however, worshiped the Greek pan-
theon of deities, making only the required devotions to
the traditional gods of the Nile Valley on state occa-
sions. The priests of Egypt, allowed to serve in peace,
continued their own traditions and vied with one
another and the imported foreign cults to provide the
people with devotional events and inspirational celebra-
tions. The traditions of these priesthoods, especially
those involved in the mortuary rituals of the nation,
flourished as the Greeks and then the Romans adopted
the funerary customs of the land. Egyptian priests also
went to other nations to spread the cults of the popular
deities, such as ISISand OSIRIS. These cults remained
active during the Roman period in many cities of the
world at the time.
Priests officiating in smaller temples were called web
or wab.The webpriest also served as a purificator during
rituals and cultic rites. The sempriests were mortuary rit-
ualists. The hem-kapriests performed funerary rites and
the hem-neterassisted in the temples. The kheri-hebpriest
was the lector, the master of mortuary rituals for the royal
clans, and was attended by the heri-shesheta,the head of
mysteries (called kheri-shesheta in some sects). Other
high-ranking priests of lesser temples were called uab-aa
amihru, ur hekau,or neter atef,depending upon their role
and their cult.
In the Old and Middle Kingdoms there were priest-
esses associated with the goddess cults, but during the
New Kingdom their role was reduced to singing or to the
various aspects of devotional groups. There is no evi-
dence of temple prostitution in ancient Egypt, despite its
existence in other contemporaneous societies.
In most periods the priests of Egypt were members of
a family long connected to a particular cult or temple.
Priests recruited new members from among their own
clans, generation after generation. This meant that they
did not live apart from their own people, and thus they
maintained an awareness of the state of affairs in their
communities.
Most priests in Egypt married and were succeeded by
their children. Regulations concerning sex, however,
were very stringent in every era, and priests were also
obliged to fast before and after ceremonies and to main-
tain regularity in their own lifestyles and in their dress.
Priests wore white linen in the temple and sandals, which
were common only to the nobility or temple servants in
each historical period. Leopard skins, pendants, and
plaited hairpieces denoted their ranks and offices.
Temples were the center of each town or village, but
they were not open to the public except on certain feast
days. The priests alone entered the temples and worked
in a series of chambers of increasing seclusion. The rank
of the priest determined his access to interior sanctuaries.
During their initial training periods, priests were taught
quietude, modesty, and self-sacrifice. A spirit of dedica-
tion to the god and to the nation was also cultivated.
Priests served full-time or part-time, and for cen-
turies the temples of Egypt mandated unity and honor
among the people. Each morning the priests dressed,
incensed, and anointed the statue of the god of the tem-
ple with oils. The interior shrine was then closed and
sealed against intruders. At noon, purifying water was
added to the holy fonts, and the sanctuaries were swept
and washed again. At night more offerings were made,
but the sanctuary was not opened. On certain days, in
some eras several times a month, the god was carried on
arks or ships into the streets or set sail on the Nile.
There the oracles took place and the priests answered
petitions.310 priests