Heracleopolis was the capital of Lower Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. This was a period of time when the Egyptian state was not unified. The Ninth and Tenth dynasties ruled Lower Egypt from Heracleopolis, whilst their rivals ruled a separate government in Upper Egypt (from their capital, Thebes).

Ancient Egyptian art tended to conform to the notions of ancient Egyptian worldview. As such, order and harmony were constant themes. The inundation of the Nile, a precarious and uncertain time in Egyptian life, was never depicted. Instead, the Nile was always depicted as if it were orderly and constant.

During the Old Kingdom period, artistic representation gradually became more and more uniform (in the Memphite style). This was primarily because of the concentration of Pharaonic power in Memphis and the gradual homogenization of Egyptian culture under the Memphite standard. During the First Intermediate Period, however, authority was decentralized. This precipitated a similar shift in artistic representation; cultural attitudes became more diverse and as a result art became much less uniform.

Apep was a deity known as the "enemy of Ra." Ra was the sun god, and a central positive figure in Ancient Egyptian religion. Apep was a deity who was actually negatively worshipped, meaning that adherents worshipped Apep in order to avoid his wrath. A great deal of religious iconography discovered from this period depicted Apep's battles with Ra.

Amun was a deity of major importance in the Egyptian pantheon, worshipped as far back as the Old Kingdom. During the 11th Dynasty, he replaced Montu as the patron deity of Thebes, at times the capital city of Egypt. Amun was eventually fused with the sun god Ra, becoming Amun-Ra. He is often depicted as the king of all the gods. 

Ptah is the God of creation in the tradition of Memphis. He is also the God of craftsmen. This relates to how the Memphians understood cosmology. Unlike the rest of the ancient Egyptians, the Memphians believed that Ptah acted as a sort of intermediary. It was Ptah who carried out the wishes and constructions ordained by the Gods.

The Egyptians believed that a deceased person merged with the God of the Underworld, Osiris. They referred to the deceased as “Osiris (name of deceased).” So, for example, a man named Amenhotep who had died would be called “Osiris Amenhotep” to reflect his acquired divinity upon his death.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the bodies of the Gods were made of gold, and their bones made from silver. Gold is found in relative abundance in Egypt and was highly valued even early in Egyptian history. Silver, on the other hand, was extremely rare in ancient Egypt and generally had to be imported.

The ancient Egyptian God Bes was associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Many Egyptians wore amulets, dedicated to certain Gods, to provide protection and good fortune. As Bes is associated with pregnancy and childbirth, it is reasonable to conclude that a pregnant woman would be most likely to wear an amulet dedicated to him.

During the Old Kingdom, it was generally understood that only kings and other powerful rulers could attain immortality or access the afterlife. This changed during the First Intermediate Period, however, as more and more Egyptians were offered access to the afterlife through earthly religious devotion. This is reflected in Coffin Texts, which were much more widely used in Egyptian society than the earlier Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom.