Different cultures around the world have tried to give death a meaning, and a reason; giving afterlife a sense of peace, so that it does not sound so intimidating. Ancient Egyptians seemed to have had very elaborate thoughts about the Afterlife. It was an important part of their everyday lives because the way that they lived on Earth affected their potential Afterlife. Mummification process was an important aspect of the journey to the Afterlife. Every small part of a deceased body was preserved, even the internal organs which were placed in canopic jars.
The gods were classified into different categories. Amongst them were gods that solely governed the underworld. Egyptian priests developed many myths and legends concerning life after death and it were these stories that dominated the Egyptian afterlife beliefs. Third, according to ancient Egyptian beliefs the soul was a perishable entity which meant that it was at great risk at all times. This is why the Egyptians had elaborate burial rituals the purpose of which was to ensure the preservation of the dead bodies and the
Tutankhamun became King at the age of 9 and died at 18. The discovery of his tomb made him famous in history because of the treasures and artefacts that were buried with him. Tutankhamun’s tomb was small relative to his status. It is believed that his tomb was made for a noble not a pharaoh and that he may have died before the completion of a grander royal tomb. Egyptians believed that after people died, they went to an afterlife, where they would continue their lives as they lived them on Earth.
Research Assignment: Ancient Egyptian beliefs in afterlife influenced their funerary practices and rituals. This ancient civilisation obsession with death and the desire to have a well furnished sustained afterlife consequently led to the survival of extensive funerary artefacts, tomb art, preserved bodies, pyramids, funerary literature and mortuary text, such as, the coffin text, pyramid texts and the book of dead. This combined with the writings of ancient historians such as Herodotus with, ‘The Histories’, Plutarch, with ‘Worship of Isis and Osiris’, Manetho with, ‘Aegyptiaca’ (History of Egypt) and Didorus Siculus with, ‘Bibliotheca historica’ (Historical Library) have provided contemporary historians and Egyptologist with numerous primary sources both literary and non-literary to utilize, in their exploration of Ancient Egyptian culture. The Ancient Egyptian beliefs prominently affected periods of their history, Old, Middle and New kingdom, the Ancient Egyptian mortuary beliefs controlled their funerary traditions specifically the practices and rituals involved. These religious traditions, practices and rituals, were also influenced by other cultures beliefs, such as, the Roman influence in the Ptolemy period.
The Coffin of Pedi-Osiris, Pedi-Osiris was also known as the Lord of the Underworld, was made between the years of 305 BC-30 AD by various Egyptian artists using an Egyptian mummification process. The coffin, standing at more than 7 feet tall and large enough to contain the Priest, who enclosed in numerous layers of linen cloth, was made to resemble religious semiology and linear decorations using wood, polychrome, gold inlay and paint. Egyptian religion believed in resurrection after death and coffins were made to represent the life after death in order to ensure a successful rebirth. The artists used elaborate and detailed scenes using linear designs and hieroglyphs engravings on the sarcophagus to instruct and assist the Priest on his journey the through the underworld into the afterlife. The ancient Egyptian sarcophagi included illustrations depicting animals, religious proceedings and funerals that are painted on both sides of the coffin.
Art of the Egyptian Afterlife It was very important to the ancient Egyptians to enter the afterlife. There were many ways they worked to ensure this. The layout and orientation of the pyramids and their access to the Nile, the mummification process to preserve the perishable soul, the items left in the tomb to be of use later, they were all to ensure this transition. Egyptians had to keep their hearts light (be a decent person) because they would we weighed against a feather (the symbol of Maat or morality.) Supposedly, their heart contained all the deeds of their lifetime.
The rulers devoted their time to the design and decoration of extensive funerary complexes, as well as the pyramids and subterranean tombs. The Egyptian funerary practices were from Osiris, and his belief in the continuity of life after death. The dead would a “last judgment” that consisted of two tests done by Osiris and supervised by the god, Anubis. The artists of Mesopotamia and Egypt helped create the symbolic visual language. They depended on the natural color of their materials from the earth to get the colors they wanted.
Life After Death Essay a) Examine the key concepts for the afterlife associated with Resurrection and Reincarnation (18) Different cultures and traditions all have many different concepts and ideas about life after death, many are similar and a lot are very dissimilar. For examples, the Egyptian view on the after life is that it’s a ‘perfect; version of Egypt, however a series of tests have to be completed before the dead person can reach eternal bliss. The Vedic concept of life after death is that you have to escape the negative cycle of samsara by being a good Brahman, to reach enlightenment however the jiva atman is the eternal self, the part of the person that never dies. Different people have a variety of different reasons to why they may believe in life after death such as, it gives them a reason to be moral, it may be their religious belief, gives them a sense of justice or a purpose in life could also be for hope and comfort, so they have something to look forward to and cling onto giving them courage. Resurrection is the recreation of the physiological person; it is assumed that reincarnation of the person is reliant only on a deity.
This side is also associated with the dead, as it called the “territory of the dead”. According to the locals, pyramids protect souls of dead pharaohs (Hawass 153). The pyramids of Egypt refer to the stratification of the Egypt social classes. These classes involved slaves, farmers, craftsmen, scribes, priests, Doctors and engineers, high priests, nobles, vizier and the pharaoh. Slaves refer to people who work without any need for appreciation.
The paintings were often made with the purpose of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. Some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were doing when they were alive and wished to carry on doing forever. While being buried the book of the dead was also buried with the deceased person. It’s important because it was used for the deceased to go to the afterlife. Pottery items were deposited in tombs of the dead.