Ancient Egyptian Afterlife Essay

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)

Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians had two different ideas of the afterlife. Ancient Egypt celebrated the afterlife, performing burial rituals such as mummification, and ceremonies to ensure a happy and easy transition into the underworld. Egyption gods did not have as much interference with humans unlike the Mesopotamian Gods. Egyption gods ruled as pharaohs other deities such as Osiris, god of the underworld. Mesopotamian afterlife beliefs were not as joyful as ancient Egyptians. The Mesopotamians afterlife had a gloomier outlook. Most of what we know about Mesopotamian afterlife comes from the epic of Gilgamesh.

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.

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

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 ancient Egyptians believed the in the afterlife you would continue as you did in life, so you would be required to work. For example, if you were a farmer during your life you farm the land after your death. If you were a builder you would build monuments in the afterlife. That was not a very pleasant prospect for a lot of people. Everyone wanted to relax, eat, drink and remarry. The society deeply believed in magic too in order to make that happen.In the Egyptian period the kings would bury their servants so the replaced them with Shabti dolls so servant lives weren't

The people of ancient Egypt prepared for the afterlife by having their name written down on somewhere, anywhere. They would also have to have a good, caring, hard working life. Finally in order to be prepared they would need to be mummified. Their preserved body would be used so that their Ba and Ka (the two halves of your soul) could find their way back to their tomb. If the Ba and ka got lost you would no longer be able to Land of two

Ancient Egypt is memorialized for its opulent history and culture along with the unique and defining burial practices. Ancient Egyptian religion was a very intricate yet complex way of belief. Egyptian religion was based on the worship and fellowship of many God’s who were believed to have a constant and ever being control of all earthly elements. The legends of these gods were to foretell and explain the influences of the forces they represented. The actual practice of Egyptian religion was an effort by both Pharaoh and nobles to provide both offerings and rule for the gods and gain their favor in hopes that their soul would live on in the afterlife. A piece of Egyptian religion are the Ancient Pyramids, these tombs were just the

In Ancient Egypt death was long process, it could take up to ten days to bury someone. Egyptians were very infatuated with the concept of death and what would happen after death. The Egyptians thought they had the answers behind the mystery of death, as they believed the afterlife as a long and hazardous

When reading these passages, I couldn’t help, but notice the important role that food played in both Egyptian and Sumerian cultures. The importance of food is very evident in the second chapter “Egyptian Book of the Dead”. In “Egyptian Book of the dead” It lays out the beliefs of the Egyptian’s by going into depth with their religious texts. My main question that I have come across when I was going through these readings was why do the Egyptian’s mix religion with food. Did they mix religion and food because they held both of these entities in such a high regard?

According to the book of dead the ancient Egyptians individual after the death went on a journey in their afterlife, a spiritual journey as they are judged and passed through different gates according to the Gods. It’s not the same for everyone it is based on their righteousness and their sins against the Gods and the Goddesses, the righteous are taken ahead in the paradise and the ones who sin are punished by Gods and monsters on their way.

As of a matter of fact, their entire life was primarily based on “preparing” for the afterlife. They often regarded death as not an end to life but rather a small period before immortality. “The ancient Egyptians' attitude towards death was influenced by their belief

That being said, it is clear to see that Ancient Egyptians did believe in immortality, but to add to this, the fact that one of the many death rites includes mummification, further extends the concept of immortality because of the fact that the purpose of it is to preserve the bodies. On another note, “The Book of the Dead provided instructions and access to magical power to assist the deceased in his passage to the afterlife and in his existence there” (184). This is because of the fact that living well off was a very important aspect of the Ancient Egyptian religion. They wanted their paradise and afterlife to seem appealing because they do not want people to not enjoy themselves once they have died. It is very important to them to keep these souls content and happy for a reason, hence the fact that they have offerings for the dead.