A Connection Between Religion and Art Egypt was an ancient civilization that thrived on the Nile River and still exists as a country today. As new knowledge continued to flow into Egypt, the art, medicine, and architecture of the civilization developed to produce great and remarkable achievements that are still admired and used to this day. Art, medicine and architecture had been influenced by the religion of ancient Egypt. Egyptian religion contained three main aspects: the worship of the gods, the role of the king, and the belief in life after death (Marston 34). The way these three ideas influenced Egyptian arts is evident in the carvings within the art, the development of mummification, and the numerous pyramids that reside in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were a polytheistic people who worshiped over 2,000 gods (Beck 36) . Many of the gods were local deities and worshiped by only a few cities. Only the few major deities, deities of natural forces, were widely known and worshiped (Marston 35). For example, the king of the gods, Horus, who held the title "god of the sky" and "protector of the pharaohs" had cult temples, received offerings and statues in his honor. Egyptian gods were often depicted with a human body and an animal head. Each god had his own purpose and was associated with symbols and traits. These features were what the ancient Egyptians used to represent their gods in paintings, carvings, and sculptures. Much of ancient Egyptian art is based on their gods and pharaohs. A statue of Pharaoh Khafre was found in 1860; in this sculpture, Khafre sits on the throne, with his head and neck embraced by Horus (Morris 12). The statue of Khafre is adorned with the sky god, who in this case is depicted as a falcon. H... in the center of the sheet... on the far right is Isis, one of the most important goddesses of Egypt. Works Cited"Ancient Egyptian Medicine: The Study and Practice of Medicine in Ancient Egypt." Encyclopedia of Ancient History. 2012. Encyclopedia of Ancient History Limited. Network. May 4, 2014. Beck, Roger B., et al. History of the ancient world: interaction models. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003. Print.Dollinger, André. “Ancient Egyptian Medicine in Illness and Health: Preventive and Curative Health Care.” Ancient Egypt: medicine. 2000.W3C. Network. May 4, 2014. .Marston, Elsa. The ancient Egyptians. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1996. Print.Morris, Neil and Lisa Springer. Arts and culture of ancient Egypt. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2010. Print.