Introduction I The hymns and prayers of a people are its conversation with the gods. Sometimes there were many gods; sometimes, as in later religions, there was one. Over the long span of their recorded history (some three millennia), the ancient Egyptians began with many gods, usually local and often conflicting in their natures, characters, and jurisdictions. But over time, the Egyptian religion developed (however unconsciously, or consciously shaped by the theologians of the day) into one that