13 also from precisely this sense of being reconciled with one’s physical death. This brings us back to the Dresden Aegyptiaca, the large majority of which can be assigned to the divine cult and/or the mortuary cult; these holdings can therefore be used to identify and explain the core elements of Ancient Egyptian ideas of the afterlife and theological concepts. The following sections will concentrate first of all on some fundamental theological principles, then on the mortuary cult. The sociopolitical development and history of the Pharaonic state will, on the other hand, not be outlined in detail here; this approach corresponds to the focus of the collection of Egyptian antiquities in the Dresden Skulpturensammlung. Observations on the polytheistic religion of Ancient Egypt The religions of all early cultures are characterised by the fact that they evolved rather than being founded; they were, therefore, completely in harmony with the natural environment in the respective cultural region, and were indeed primarily determined by natural phenomena. Cosmic manifestations and astronomical observations, the alternation of day and night, the changing seasons, climatic influences on local living conditions, flora and fauna, and human life with its continual exposure to danger from birth to death: all of these elements shaped the distinctive forms of religious concepts and actions in early cultures. A multitude of divine influences were perceived, and each culture met these with its own cultic practices and religious ideas. Gods and goddesses, demons and spirits were thereby mainly associated with the forces of nature and celestial bodies, as well as with particular animals and plants and their attributes. In terms of their origins, religious beliefs in Ancient Egypt also followed these conventions, but over the course of millennia they evolved into a dense network of deities in varying constellations. The wealth of connections and correlations inevitably seems confusing at first glance, but going back to the beginning of the history of these cults makes it easier to understand how each early settlement along the Nile developed its own cults, and at least one city deity (cf. cat. no. 6) Fig. 3 Lid of a coffin, Late Period, wood, clay, plaster/ chalk ground, painted, h. 172 cm, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Skulpturensammlung, Inv.-no. Aeg 784
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