Religion in Ancient Egypt.

Egyptian culture was based upon religious belief and many of their greatest monuments and festivals were a result of a desire to please Gods. In ancient Egypt there were many different Gods. They did not have one god as most modern religions do. Each god would need to be pacified in order to ensure good health and prosperity.

Religion played a major role in the development of Egyptian medicine. The believe in the afterlife meant that bodies were cut open and parts removed. This would have improved anatomical knowledge (the extent to which physicians benefited from the embalming process is debatable as it is more than likely that specialist embalmers existed who would not act as physicians). These religious beliefs also prevented the further dissection of the body: it had to remain intact to get to the afterlife. In this way it can be argued that Religion both aided medical development and prevented it.

Ancient Egyptian Medicine - pages in this unit

Egyptian Medicine - Egyptian Doctors and Physicians - Alexandria and the development of Medical training - Surgery in Ancient Egypt - The role of religion in Egyptian Medicine - Mummification - Activities relating to Egyptian and Ancient Medicine - Image gallery

Recommended Books - see the Books section for a wider variety of recommended books on this topic.

	Prehistoric and Egyptian Medicine The first part of the History of Medicine series. Written by Ian Dawson, this book provides students and adult readers alike with an excellent introduction to Medicine in Ancient Egypt. The text is supported by an excellent selection of images and is an excellent preparation for the GCSE Course in Medicine Through Time whilst also being suitable for interested 'grown ups'.

Textbooks	Revision Guides

In this unit:

Recommended Resources

Medicinethroughtime.co.uk - new site. Including Blog and use of twitter for free text / IM revision tips.

SchoolsHistory.org.uk highly recommends these sites:

Schoolhistory.co.uk - fantastic range of interactive games, revision materials and links.
ActiveHistory.co.uk - outstanding use of ICT to engage pupils.
Thinkinghistory.co.uk - a brilliant range of learning activities from Ian Dawson
JohnDClare.net - simply the best for Modern World GCSE students
History.org.uk - resources and CPD materials from the Historical Association.
Historyboxes.com - make your lessons 'real' with artefacts and living history provided by experts
Schoolshistory.com - same author as this site, just put together in a slightly different way!