Death
The first ancient Egyptians buried the deceased in dugouts in the desert. The desert heat created lifelike and dehydrated mummies. Later on, they began putting bodies in coffins to protect them from animals. They soon stopped, though, because the bodies decayed without the effects of the desert sand. They slowly developed a process of preservation called mummification, which used embalming techniques and strips of linen wrapped around the bodies.
Gods & Goddesses
The Ancient Egyptians believed that before anything else, Nun existed as waters of chaos. One day, Ben-Ben, a hill, rose from the waters of chaos. Atum, the first god, was on the hill. He then decided to spit out Shu, god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. Shu and Tefnut had two children; Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Shu helped lift Nut so she created the sky over Geb, who became the Earth. Nut and Geb had four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. Osiris and Isis were King and Queen of the Earth. Seth soon killed Osiris out of jealousy, and became the King of the Earth. When Osiris and Isis had a son named Horus, he fought with Seth to regain the throne. Horus became King of the Earth, and Osiris stayed King of the Underworld.
Pharaoh
The pharaoh was the most powerful person in all of Egypt. They held the titles of "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High Priest of Every Temple." They controlled anything political and religious. He represented the gods for the Egyptians, and built temples and performed religious ceremonies. They also went to war for their people. The picture to the left was found as part of Pharaoh Ramses the second's sarcophagus.