ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, it was standard for pharaohs to be

worshipped Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

posthumously as transfigured beings amongst the royal ancestors. This was generally performed in the form of a

mortuary cult A mortuary cult (also called a funerary cult or death cult) is a ceremonial and religious form of a cult fostered over a certain duration of time, often lasting for generations or even dynasties. It concerns deceased people kept in the memories of ...

. During the pharaoh's lifetime, they were generally recognized as having divine properties, in accordance with

imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult (religious practice), Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejor ...

government. However, it was exceedingly rare for a pharaoh to have a cultic devotion of worshippers during the pharaoh's lifetime. Such followers would equate the pharaoh's divinity status to that of an actual deity. Only a few pharaohs had such cultic worship established. This was usually as a result of successful self-deification attempts typically substantiated by military accomplishment or political leadership.

Pharaohs deified during their lifetime

A few pharaohs have been confirmed to have been honored with cultic worship as deities during their lifetime. Ptolemaic pharaohs were also deified during their lifetime, although the theological context is different from that of the pharaonic era deifications. Notably, aside from Senusret III, all confirmed cultic devotion to deified forms of pharaohs occurred within relative chronological proximity to each other.

Pharaohs possibly deified during their lifetimes

There is some evidence or speculation that other pharaohs were deified during their lifetimes. Because deification during a pharaoh's lifetime increases a leader's power within their religious circle, it was a sought-after. Various pharaohs attempted self-deification during their lifetime, but not every attempt was successful.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer * Pharaohs Pharaohs Pharaohs Pharaohs Deified people Lists of deities Lists of religious figures Religion-related lists Apotheosis