Four Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
____, ___-____, 2027
7:00 - 8:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$125 Paid Patreon Members / $145 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Ancient Egyptian gods weren't distant, static icons; they had elaborate backstories, day jobs, messy family dramas, and personal fan followings, and some of them are still being worshipped today. This four-part series will treat the Egyptian pantheon less like a museum wall label and more like a cast of characters with backstories that rival today’s best (and worst!) reality tv icons. Over the course of four weeks, we will explore the myths that made them famous, the temples that cared for and employed them, the ordinary people who prayed to them at home, and the surprisingly long afterlife they've had completely outside of Egypt, from Greek philosophy to Freemasonry to Marvel. This class aims to be academic in substance, irreverent in tone, and highly entertaining all the way through: expect real theology alongside real gossip. For expert and amateur alike, no previous background on the subject required.
Class 1: Who's Who — Meet the Pantheon
Egyptian religion never had one fixed pantheon; it's a patchwork of local gods, regional cults, and constant syncretism (gods merging, absorbing, and rebranding each other over 3,000 years). We will meet the core cast, but also get familiar with the guest stars, cross over characters, and the fan favorites. We will establish what made a god a god, how they were brought to life, and how they could die.
Class 2: Temple Life & Personal Worship: Two Very Different Platforms
We will discuss the lines between state religion (the temple) and popular religion (everything else), and how and when they blurred. We will also go over the systems of care for the gods, and what actually happened in ‘god’s house’ and who was allowed to see behind the curtain.
Class 3: Mythology: The Stories Behind the Statues
We will delve into the myths and legends, from magic, to love stories, to death rituals, and all of the moments of gods behaving badly. We will learn how these stories functioned simultaneously as theology, royal propaganda, and popular entertainment.
Class 4: The Afterlife of the Gods: Egypt's Influence Beyond Egypt
Why are the ancient Egyptian gods still deeply ingrained in pop-culture long after ancient Egyptian civilization ended? This class will cover trends from 18th and 19th esoteric religion, 1920s Egyptomania, to modern pop-culture comic books and movie franchises’ and what it actually means for a "dead" religion's gods to still have working fan pages.
Egyptologist-in-Residence Ava Forte Vitali aims to bridge the gap between the academic community and the eager, interested public. Ava is an adjunct professor at Adelphi University, and is a contributing author to the college textbook, “Art and Its Histories,” an upcoming book on Star Trek and Archaeology, and consults on ancient Egypt for books, movies, and videogames)
Images: Charles K. Wilkinson, Queen Nefertari being led by Isis, 1930, tempera on paper facsimile of a New Kingdom wall painting, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 30.4.142); Norman de Garis Davies, Userhat Adoring Deities of the West, Tomb of Userhat, 1930, tempera on paper facsimile of a New Kingdom wall painting, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 30.4.31); Statuette of a canid-headed god, probably Anubis, Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE), plastered and painted wood, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 38.5); Mourning Isis and Mourning Nephthys, Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE), wood, paste, and paint, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession Nos. 12.182.23b and 12.182.23a).
Four Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
____, ___-____, 2027
7:00 - 8:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$125 Paid Patreon Members / $145 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Ancient Egyptian gods weren't distant, static icons; they had elaborate backstories, day jobs, messy family dramas, and personal fan followings, and some of them are still being worshipped today. This four-part series will treat the Egyptian pantheon less like a museum wall label and more like a cast of characters with backstories that rival today’s best (and worst!) reality tv icons. Over the course of four weeks, we will explore the myths that made them famous, the temples that cared for and employed them, the ordinary people who prayed to them at home, and the surprisingly long afterlife they've had completely outside of Egypt, from Greek philosophy to Freemasonry to Marvel. This class aims to be academic in substance, irreverent in tone, and highly entertaining all the way through: expect real theology alongside real gossip. For expert and amateur alike, no previous background on the subject required.
Class 1: Who's Who — Meet the Pantheon
Egyptian religion never had one fixed pantheon; it's a patchwork of local gods, regional cults, and constant syncretism (gods merging, absorbing, and rebranding each other over 3,000 years). We will meet the core cast, but also get familiar with the guest stars, cross over characters, and the fan favorites. We will establish what made a god a god, how they were brought to life, and how they could die.
Class 2: Temple Life & Personal Worship: Two Very Different Platforms
We will discuss the lines between state religion (the temple) and popular religion (everything else), and how and when they blurred. We will also go over the systems of care for the gods, and what actually happened in ‘god’s house’ and who was allowed to see behind the curtain.
Class 3: Mythology: The Stories Behind the Statues
We will delve into the myths and legends, from magic, to love stories, to death rituals, and all of the moments of gods behaving badly. We will learn how these stories functioned simultaneously as theology, royal propaganda, and popular entertainment.
Class 4: The Afterlife of the Gods: Egypt's Influence Beyond Egypt
Why are the ancient Egyptian gods still deeply ingrained in pop-culture long after ancient Egyptian civilization ended? This class will cover trends from 18th and 19th esoteric religion, 1920s Egyptomania, to modern pop-culture comic books and movie franchises’ and what it actually means for a "dead" religion's gods to still have working fan pages.
Egyptologist-in-Residence Ava Forte Vitali aims to bridge the gap between the academic community and the eager, interested public. Ava is an adjunct professor at Adelphi University, and is a contributing author to the college textbook, “Art and Its Histories,” an upcoming book on Star Trek and Archaeology, and consults on ancient Egypt for books, movies, and videogames)
Images: Charles K. Wilkinson, Queen Nefertari being led by Isis, 1930, tempera on paper facsimile of a New Kingdom wall painting, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 30.4.142); Norman de Garis Davies, Userhat Adoring Deities of the West, Tomb of Userhat, 1930, tempera on paper facsimile of a New Kingdom wall painting, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 30.4.31); Statuette of a canid-headed god, probably Anubis, Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE), plastered and painted wood, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 38.5); Mourning Isis and Mourning Nephthys, Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE), wood, paste, and paint, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession Nos. 12.182.23b and 12.182.23a).
