Alexander Wiese: A Short Story

Ceremonies and rituals are integral parts of any civilization, both current and ancient; among the ancient civilizations, Egypt is renowned for its religious societal rituals and afterlife beliefs. From pharaohs and luxurious burials, to lavish processions; ancient Egypt is among the most fascinating and curious cultures. Egyptian architecture is also extremely interesting in terms of location, scale, purpose, and potentially most important how Egyptian architecture can dictate movement through the space.

While both the Egyptians and Sumerians developed a sophisticated way of life with complex religion, political system, system of writing and social classes, there are numerous differences between the two groups. The Egyptian's beliefs in gods and goddesses indicated the significance of nature in their lives and every human activity. The Egyptians thought that the power of nature were superintended by the different deities. They also believed that the gods and goddesses had the power of life and death over everyone. The ancient Egyptians thought that after death they could enjoy their lives because they believed that in the afterlife people were happy, well fed, and busy with the same activities they had done in life. This belief sometimes led

The two cultures that I decided to compare and contrast is the Mexican culture and ancient Egyptians. Mexicans have embraced death as a part of life. The Mayan and Aztecs practiced human sacrifices which gave and example of acceptance of death. In Mexico when a loved one passed on to a better life the viewing traditional takes place at the family’s home. A catholic priest comes to the family’s home and leads a mass in honor of the recently departed. The coffin in placed on a table along with candles on the side. After the funeral the family members get together and pray for nine days to guide the deceased into haven and ask forgiveness for their sins.On the other hand Egyptians were buried in pyramids directly in the ground. Often bodies were

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 Egypt and Ancient Greece both believed in life after death, though the process in which they follow that belief differ greatly. The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the spirit leaves the body in the form of a little gust of wind or a puff of breath. The Greeks believed in proper burial rights that were performed in three parts, and the relatives mostly women are the ones that conduct these rituals for the deceased. Much like the modern world these rituals consist of the first step; laying out the body to be dressed, the second funeral procession, and the third step was the cremation of the body. Unlike the Greeks the Egyptians developed a process in which they prepared and preserved the dead for the afterlife, known as mummification. This process is believed to have been the purpose of the Egyptians famous pyramids, believed to be the stairs that would lead the Pharaohs to their kingdom in the afterlife. Artifacts are buried in their tombs such as gold, wine, and sculptures to accompany the dead in life after death.

Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion. Their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices. Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than an end to life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means of worship to the gods, preservation of the physical form thru mummification, substantial ceremonies and detailed burial policies and procedures. Even though many today have varying views of an afterlife, many of the funerary practices that originated in Egypt can be seen in present day funeral services.

Anthropologists can generally conclude that ancient Egyptians strove for immortality and that their beliefs of transcendence were extremely important to them, given burial sites, tomb art, and various extensive ancient texts. Pyramid texts illustrate deliberate assurance to the deceased that physical death was solely an illusion, thereby insinuating that the actual death

The Egyptians believed very much in life after death. As Taylor states in Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, “It is often observed that they appear to have devoted greater efforts and resources to preparing for the afterlife than to creating a convenient environment for living” (Taylor, 2001:12). The Egyptians viewed life on earth as one stage and death as the beginning of another. They believed that, “human existence did not end with death and that survival of the body played a part in the new life” (Taylor, 2001:12). One of the key elements in the Egyptian culture and religion was the preservation of the body. The body was the most important aspect because it was like a portal through which an individual could continue to live

The Egyptians believe that after they died they would go live with the gods in the next world.

Look at that Moshe just ran through screaming like a maniac. He yelled telling us to do something before what has happened to him and the other foreign Jews.5. Listen to what he said and how he explained when he was taken out of the town and make to go on to a train with the other foreigner Jews. He also told us that they were all unloaded and the terrible part to dig their own graves. He also told us how they were all shot and the reason for him living was he was shot in the leg, elder Jew, we must listen or take into consideration for what he has said for our own safety and for all of our friends and families sake and hide. Elder Jew asks,” Why should we trust what Moshe the beadle has to say and believe him, what reason.”

Had my own eyes betrayed me? Can I trust anything? “‘What can you expect, it’s war...’” the neighbors said, and invited the Gestapos to invade our homes, our communities, and our lives, yet the Jews of Sighet still smiled as the Gestapo officers sauntered down the streets, guns slapping their thighs, sharp eyes scanning the streets, and allowed their strong German voices to slowly take away our rights (Wiesel 4). If any suspicion about the Gestapo's intentions was present, it was like gossip, hidden away from the light, but talked about in whispers, in the shadows behind closed doors. The thrill consumed me, the thrill of having my own secret, something I knew that no one else knew. I thought about the possibilities, “what the

we head towards the door, it was made of wood and looked decently sturdy but as some could not resist the temptation of storming the house through the front door we bared our claws and scratched at the door hoping that it was weaker than it seemed, but alas that was not the case, as we were about to temporarily retreat we heard the delirious scream of a human woman which if nothing else fueled our yearning for food. Although we were ravenous and ready to attack with full force, but our leader motioned us to go back a distance to devise a

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

The ancient Egyptians expected that life after death would follow the general pattern of life on the earth so they kept in their tombs food to eat, clothing to wear, boats to sail, weapons for war and sports and games equipment’s for their amusement. All the people in Ancient Egypt did many fun things together. All of them enjoyed the Nile River, such as adults and children that they used to swim and fished. People went to their temples together, where they worshipped their gods and watched performances of plays.