Egypt Under Ramses II

Discover the legal documents and the papyruses that have come down to us from the age of King Ramses, it is clear that his reign was one of peace and prosperity. Women participated in government, and several became pharaoh at different times during the New Kingdom. Even the humblest workers could seek redress at the highest court if they felt they were being treated unjustly. There were, however, exceptions to the rule in this land of Maat, the Goddess of Justice. Evidently certain priests began to abuse their authority.

In Ancient Egypt, religion was all-important। As Egypt became larger and larger, some of the priests began to take advantage of their growing power. The profession of scribe, a sort of combination lawyer, civil servant, academician and tax collector, was highly respected, but there were also those within the profession that used their position unethically.

With regard to the Egyptians, perpetuation of the empire depended not only on repelling invaders (as Ramses too spent his fair share of time doing), but also on maintaining the magical link with the celestial world. The themes that can be found in the temples of Ramses' day can be found throughout Egyptian history: "King Ramses is received by Amon and presented with the Key of Life," "Ramses presents a statuette of Maat to Horus, demonstrating that rules of judicial in his kingdom," "Ramses is protected by Hathor, Amon,..." A tremendous empire needs tremendous temples to sustain this magical consciousness.

One of the greatest wonders of Ancient Egypt under Ramses II, and in general, is not made of stone. It is the simple truth that this great civilization existed in harmony, with very little internal strife, in a structure that is analogous to a giant extended family, the king and queen representing the parents in this analogy, the nobles the older brothers and sisters, and the citizens the children whom feel with the happy Childhood.

The analogy could be taken further to show the wise initiates as grandparents,.. . This fact about Ancient Egypt, which in some methods reaches a peak under king Ramses II, is rarely presented in our days versions of history.

Ramesseum (General view of the main ruins)

This is another cause, in addition to the magical ones alluded to above, that the temples and monuments of ancient Egypt contain phrases and statements that to us, may seem like bragging or boasting. As West says, when Ramses II claims he has built a monument to his father, Amon, and states that there has been no other like it before, "the king was no more boasting than was Christ in the Gospels when he declared, I am the way, the truth and the life".

The topic of the Religion of ancient Egypt is complex and requires serious study to understand, but it doesn't require much effort to see that modern perspectives of the ancient ways are unfortunately colored, if not completely opaqued, by prejudice against conceptions of universe and deity that do not agree with those which are currently accepted. Remains, Temples and Statues.