How Did Ancient Egypt Life After Death

In the Egyptian religion, there is belief in an afterlife. The Egyptians believe that another life continued after one has died. Because their beliefs were true, the time of Ancient Egyptians developed rituals regarding the death and burial of a person. These tasks would prepare the deceased soul to reach the good place and ensure a good afterlife. The afterlife to the Egyptian was a place of bliss, delight, and peace. Death occupied the Egyptians they believed that after death they would pass through the dark and terrifying place called the underworld. Before a person's soul can rest he or she would prepare as a mortal, be mummified, and take the journey of tests before passing through the underworld into the afterlife.

There were many ways that the Ancient Egyptian society and the Mesopotamian society were similar yet at the same time they were very different. Egyptians and Sumerians agreed on religion in a sense that both cultures were polytheistic. However, the relationships between the gods and goddesses were different between the Sumerians and Egyptians. This essay will discuss those differences in culture, religion and the viewpoints on death and afterlife.

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.

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 Egyptians believed that “if they were righteous, could expect a happy existence in the life after death” (15). Their idea of the underworld consisted of “lavish and well-equipped tombs,” providing all needs (20). However, not all Egyptians had these grand tombs, “but all had the hope of continuing to be after death” (20). Elaborate funeral rituals were held for the deceased for judgment by the gods. A series of sacred texts known as the Book of the Dead held the funeral rites, which was intended as a “manual of spells, incantations, and declarations” that would ease passage through the underworld and the afterlife (21). In the ritual, each spirit had to approach the Hall of Two Truths where the gods challenged the dead’s virtues, while they (the dead) proclaimed the sins they did not commit. Once satisfying all gods, the spirit was ready for final ritual, presenting

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

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

However, each civilization’s reaction to this realization diverged. Egyptian beliefs focused on preparing for the afterlife. According to the Book of the Dead, “after [the deceased] has been…purified…he shall be in the train of Osiris, continually and forever,” demonstrating Egyptians believed death was something for which people must prepare through proper behavior and honoring the gods. Therefore, Egyptian religion focused on preparation for the afterlife. This differs drastically from the Mesopotamian view of the underworld, which Enkidu describes in The Epic of Gilgamesh as a bleak place to all, no matter the person’s actions in life.

The peasants and craftsmen would have to work one month of the year on a rotating schedule at their duties in the construction of the pyramids. Building the pyramids wasn’t the only impact their belief of the afterlife had on their daily life. Egyptian’s also tried to lead good lives because, according to the “Book of the Dead”, the judges of the underworld would determine what kind of afterlife the deceased would have based on the weight of the deceased’s heart, which would tell the judges if the person lived a good life or

The tomb of Schahar is a very important tomb. It has many symbols on it which has drawings of a birds, a headpiece, of people, beetle, eyes, horses, jars and a beetle with wings. The drawing of the people represent Isis, Horus, and Seth. These people were gods who played an important role in the egyptian lives.

In Egyptian Culture, it was believed that individuals survived after death and that life did not end after their earthly death. In the past, people performed specific rituals and prayers after the deceased had moved on. These practices were to ensure that the deceased spirits moved on safely through the journey to their afterlife. The ancient beliefs of an afterlife were provided from the ancient Egyptians who viewed their lives as a never-ending, cyclic pattern. Their views of the afterlife guided not only their lives in the underworld but also their mortal lives on earth.

The Egyptians had a positive religion with a strong emphasis on the afterlife and believed that each individual assumed the position that he or she had while alive. Poor individuals were buried in makeshift graves

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

In this paper I will plan to discuss in detail the funerary procedures that were used in ancient Egypt. I will pay particular attention as to how the Idea of the afterlife influenced many of the traditions in ancient Egypt that we now think of today. In surveying their beliefs on the afterlife we will begin to get a better picture as to how these ideas affected almost all aspects of their ancient culture, and indeed had impacts on neighboring cultures. I will take a look at what aspects of their religious mythology lead them to these traditions and why its observation was so key to their society.

Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and that a dead person should be buried with everything they would need for their next life. Poor people were usually buried straight into the sand. But rich people and pharaohs were buried in large tombs and pyramids. In these chambers many objects were placed for the dead person to use in the next life.