Egypt Afterlife Journey

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.

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.

How does the Ancient Egyptian view of the afterlife compare to burial rituals and beliefs of the afterlife in today’s cultures?

In this tradition, people would be mummified after death. Once this threshold had been crossed, a person's spirit or ba could be manifested in many places at once. After judgment, which could be cheated with magic, a person's ba could travel with Ra or rest with Osiris in the underworld (Egyptian 119). There were many different dangers to the dead and having a complete body with which to return to for rest was very important for the Egyptians. Human remains were not the objects of reverence and worship as Christian saints are these days.

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.

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 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.

This is Mai. He lives in Egypt with his mom and dad. He is nervous because the Pharaoh of Egypt is on the verge of passing away. Mai is not very sure what will happen to the Pharaoh after death. He isn’t very knowledgeable about the afterlife.

These parallels, from the existence of an afterlife, to the process of being judged before gaining entry into the ideal new world, to having guidelines on how to live a “good” life, may raise suspicions among people. They may assert that the people who wrote the Bible were probably Christianized Jews who were familiar with Ancient Egypt and plagiarized Egyptian mythology. While it is possible that the people who wrote the Bible drew some inspiration from Egyptian mythology, it is also possible that both Christians and the Egyptians independently drew their inspiration from two universal sources: the fear of death and the need for obedience in a cooperative society. The fear of death is universal as it is ungraspable; humans are naturally afraid

This excerpt discusses “Pyramid Texts,” which are collections of spells, hymns of praise, and offerings used to guarantee one’s transformation of physical mortality. During the Middle Kingdom “Pyramid Texts” became more available to common people they became known as “Coffin Texts.” The excerpt also discussed the details of a soul’s judging before the god of the dead, Osiris. The decease’s heart is weighed against Ma’at (principle of cosmic order) to determine the type of life he or she lived. This article provided good information on what the Egyptians believe happens to the soul after death and how it is different based on the life that was lived. It also gave in depth information on what they used to ensure they are judged correctly.

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

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 belief about the afterlife is they embraced it. Ancient Egyptians were not afraid to die. Death was not considered an end to life. It was merely an interruption. They invested in their death, but their investment was not about death, it was about setting themselves up in the afterlife.

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 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