Egyptian View of the Afterlife Essay

The Egyptian believed that before the mortal one is ready to take the journey, he or she would designate a person to manage their death. This designated person would take on the responsibilities of preparing the body and tomb for burial. The person getting ready to take the journey would read from "The Book of The Dead" and there he or she would retrieve their secret name. Not allowed to be talked about was the secret name, until a certain time in the journey and would enable the dead to overcome obstacles and follow the right path of the underworld. It also granted protection and help of the gods. After the secret name is given, then he or she would then prepare their tomb. The tomb is an important process, usually the deceased were mummified and buried in a minimum of two boxes,

They believed that the gods punished them with floods and or famine. Their pessimistic outlook on life made them have bad premonitions towards their afterlife. They believed that at death that they were going to descend forever into a dark underworld, a huge cave filled with nothing but dust and silence. They tried to enjoy life as much as they could but did not look forward to the afterlife. Death was not the paradise that the Egyptians believed in. It was considered eternal hell. (Hause, 2001, pg. 10)

The Egyptians also worried very much about the after life and made many preparations before the afterlife. There graves were very important to them, and they also did much to keep them from decaying after they passed. That is why they had the idea of mummification to allow them to not decay long after they passed. We also pay a lot of money to allow us to keep from decaying on our burials and the coffins.

Ancient Egyptians believed that if they lived a good life that they would be allowed to live in a paradise in death. When an Egyptian would die, they would be mummified. Properly burying and preserving the body was very important because they believed that the soul would not actually disconnect from the body. Organs deemed important were put in jars and buried with the body. The heart was left inside the body. Once the body was cured in preserving solutions, it was then wrapped in linen cloths. Rich individuals were buried in temples with their most prized possessions. A priest would pray to Anubis for the dead to help them on their journey.

The temples, pyramids, tombs, and religious artifacts left behind all tell us that the Ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the dead. Their belief in immortality was the fundamental driving force behind their religion. “The formulae which were declared to have been recited during the performance of ceremonies were written down and copied for scores of generations, and every pious, well-to-do Egyptian made arrangements that what had been done and said on behalf of Osiris should be done and said for him outside and inside his tomb after his death.” (Liturgy of Funeral Offerings, pg.2) This illustrates just how important the ceremony and the process was to the Egyptians. Their belief in the afterlife and the importance of the ceremonial steps taken to get them there caused them great concern with their own funerals. Today, everyone has an idea of what they would like to do for their own funeral as well. We may follow in the same patterns as our family heritage has done for generations with either a traditional funeral or cremation, or we may have a newer alternative in mind for our self. Even though we may not be preparing for an afterlife, we still have an

Regardless of social strata, death and the afterlife were almost always valued by the living in ancient Egypt. The afterlife was birthed and designed for great societal rulers but eventually trickled down and was adopted by other levels of society (Murnane in Obayashi, 1992, p. 42). Death was interpreted as “new life in another state” by ancient Egypt, and the ultimate goal of immortality could be attained if specific burial arrangements were made for the dead. This was to avoid a final death of the soul known as the “second death,” and measures such as burial with food, drink, and personal possessions, were taken to aid the soul on its journey into immortality (Murnane in Obayashi, 1992, p. 36).

The Ancient Egyptians everyday lives really showed through in their beliefs and religion. They were polytheistic and believed in over 2,000 gods including Re, the sun god, Osiris, the god of death, and Isis, the goddess of maternity who also resembled the ideal mother and wife. To them, their pharaohs were not just pharaohs, they were the actual gods themselves. They also believed in the afterlife. When they died it was really just a continuation of their regular life. The god Anubis weighed their souls, if it was lighter than a feather, they were free to pass into the afterlife, any heavier and the Devourer of Souls would eat it. The Egyptians would also mummify their pharaohs to preserve their bodies for the afterlife. The process was very

Religion was a very big part in every ancient Egyptians life much like the Mesopotamians the Egyptians with great distinction considered themselves laborers with the gods. The Egyptians also believed their gods would prevent the reoccurrence of previous states of chaos and that a mortal human’s duty was to give thanks and

The ancient Egyptians had a purpose for everything they did especially relating to the afterlife. The ancient egyptians used hieroglyphs and other symbols to lead their dead on the journey through the gates of hell. The Sarcophagus of Hatshepsut is a great representation of this. Once the person would arrive in the afterlife they would need to read the hieroglyphs on the side of the Sarcophagus which would help lead them on their journey. This shows how important their dead were to them. The egyptians believed that everyone needed help when going through these gates. A second item that showed how important the bodies were to the egyptians was the canopic jars. These jars were used to hold the organs and insides of the dead bodies. They would

In ancient Egypt much like today the more money or power or influence you had the grander your burial. people with more money had grander sarcophaguses or caskets as they are known today. There burial place was also a status symbol many not smooch today but within western culture and also other cultures rich influence family had tombs were they could lay to rest all the dependents of the family Egypt had large pyramids that served as tombs. Though our tombs were not booby trapped like the Egyptian pyramids.

Furthermore, the Egyptians were polytheistic meaning that they believed in many gods. They also believed in the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that if they mummified their dead and buried the dead’s riches with them, then they would be well off in the afterlife.

The ancient Egyptian’s views were very different than those of the views of the Mesopotamians who viewed the afterlife as this dark and gloomy place where no matter what your status was on earth everyone was the same in the afterlife. The Mesopotamian’s believed that the afterlife was the total opposite of life on earth; people would eat clay, drink dirt and wear garments made out of feathers. In contrast, the Egyptians viewed the afterlife as a mirror image of life on earth. Egyptians were buried with their most valuable possessions so that they would have these things in the afterlife as well. The Egyptians praised their pharaohs and believed that the pharaohs served with the gods in the afterlife. The path that they take to get there was

The ancient Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife was greatly influenced by their understanding of the gods. The gods were said to have created many ideas involving life after death and how to act in order to be happy in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, the soul of any living creature was known as the “ka” (“Egyptian

The Egyptians also believed in the afterlife, which means they believed they live as they were on earth in the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was one of the gods. They also believed in mummification, which was the preservation of the corps for burial. In Ancient times you were wrapped in animal skins and organs then buried. If you were a part of the royal family you were put in a tomb or burial chamber.

The ancient Egyptians relied heavily on their religion. In addition to their religion, the Osiris myth was famous among the people because it implied that any deceased individual can get to the afterlife. The deceased would endure a ritual of mummification. Their organs