Preview

Afterlife In Ancient Egypt

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
266 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Afterlife In Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians believed that after death there is rebirth, which is the reason why they perform certain funeral activities. Egyptians believe that death is just an interruption to life. The body of the dead is preserved by mummification, and supplies for statues and other funeral equipment. Each human consists the 'ka', the 'ba', and the 'akh, which are supposed to be sustained and protected from harm. After they die, they believed that the ‘ba’ (spirit) leaves your body temporarily and then returns to your remains every night. In order for this to happen, the body needs to be intact or their afterlife would be jeopardized. The Egyptians spent majority of their time on death as they prepared for it, having elaborate funeral activities, and making sure that they lived a happy life so their journey in the afterlife will be happy as well. …show more content…
If the scales decide to give you a bad fate, you will experience the agonizing second death. As Anubis is doing this process, a counsel of gods tell the life story of the dead person. The Egyptians believed that the words in the book would lead you to encounter the perils of life after death. The Egyptians had a specific hierarchical system. The leaders, who are also known as the elites, were thought to have godlike qualities. They were the ones to have the adorned burials, such as pyramids, mastabas, and sarcophagis. Whereas the non-elites are found in burial pits and received minimal offerings in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    They believed that after death is when they could reach their full potential and they believed each person had three souls. The way their funerals were put together was driven by the belief in rebirth after death. The priests said a prayer and one last attempt to revive the corpse when a person died. The body was then washed and purified in a special shelter called an ibu (Mark, Web).The funeral and burial of an Egyptian was a complex process. A funeral procession with dancers and mourners took the embalmed body to the tomb where the “Opening of the Mouth” ritual was performed at the tomb's entrance (Mark, Web).…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    While reading chapter 3, it was pretty clear that the afterlife concept it is incorporated in the Egyptian art. They believed “in the eternal existence of a person’s ka, or life force, which continued to inhabit the corpse after an individual died” (Kindle Edition 55). Thus, individuals with the economic resources available to them decided to decorate their tombs. During the Predynastic period, the finding of the Palette of King Narmer served as the conventional pattern for Egyptian artists. During this period, the Imhotep designed the pyramid of Djoser. The pyramid is a tomb which integrated the Egyptians’ belief of the ka. Following the concept of the afterlife, the pyramids of Gizeh are a perfect example. The purpose of the pyramids was…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Egyptians believed that a body had to be properly prepared in order to live on in a similar way in the afterlife, more importantly, they thought the body had to be preserved. The Egyptians embalmed and mummified their dead to preserve them, the body needed to be accompanied by its Ba and Ka, the person’s dead spirit and the person’s life energy. It would also need familiar possessions to take with him/her.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Egyptian religion was polytheistic which meant that they believed in more than one god. They also thought how you acted in your life on earth will affect you in the after life. This is why many rulers were buried with a lot of their gold and precious items. Some of the kings and queens had servants killed and buried with them so they would be able to service them in the after…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There’s an Egyptian book called Book of the Dead which is best known literary work on Egyptian religion. It contains a collection of spells and incantations used during this time to help dead people reach the afterlife (Edgar). In this book they explained the preparation for the underworld, in which they have Anubis weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather. This is for the gods to determine the worthless of the soul of the person that just died. For the Egyptians, death was not the end for them, it was just an extension of their worldly life. Their meaning of the next life for them meant that there will be birds, animals, people, rivers, food and even wine…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Egyptians took great care of their dead because of their religious beliefs. According to John Catoir, author of “World Religions: Beliefs Behind Today's Headlines,” Egyptians believed that an afterlife involved a full human existence, not a mere spirit life, therefore the soul must join the body in heaven. It was hoped that by preserving their bodies from decay they would enhance the process of resurrection and provide themselves with a decent start in the new life. The priests who performed the mummification were thought of as acting in the role of Anubis, the god of the dead.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eygptian Art

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Egyptian scultpure was based on the belief of the after life. Bodies of Eygtian rulers was pereserved. In addition, possions would be buried with him.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Ancient Egyptians believed that when the King or Pharaoh died, part of his spirit remained with his body. Ancient Egyptians were very concerned with the afterlife. By mummifying a dead person’s body the Ancient Egyptians thought that the person’s soul from their…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ancient Egyptians preserved the bodies of the dead. They believed that to live forever in the afterlife they had to preserve the body. At the time when the pyramids where being built they were still trying to find a good working way to preserve the dead bodies. The process that the ancient Egyptians came up with later is called embalming. They soak the body in salt for forty days to dry out the body.…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Egyptian Beliefs

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Egyptians believed that when a king died, his spiritual body returned to its original abode with the gods. The Egyptians felt it was their duty to worship the kings even after they left earth. By having festivals at the tombs, placing offerings of food in the grave of the dead to prevent them from returning, and praying for the welfare of the dead; they believed that their offerings helped the kings find their way to the gods above. “This happy result was partly by the performance of certain ceremonies which first wholly magical, but late, partly magical and partly religious” (3).…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Egyptian burial practices began in the old kingdom (2786 – 2181B.C.E) where as the ancient Egyptian believed in another life after dying. This started to become practiced throughout the culture of the Egyptians in the old kingdom. This became important for the Egyptians to be buried as to their standards. The burial had to be correct for the Egyptians because it meant to be born again in the next life for them. The economic class buried Egyptians, where as wealthy burials included more than what poor burials would be involved. For most Egyptians who were low or middle status would do their burials in the deserts. As for the process of the burial, the closest people to the dead would wrap their body in cloth and bury it with everyday necessities and food they would take over to the next life for them and the…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egyptians believed that life on Earth was only temporary, but life would continue on into the afterlife, where they would spend eternity. The decisions they made in the mortal world would predict their destiny after death. The egyptians believed one either was sent to the afterlife for their good deeds, or they suffer the consequences of their wrongdoings, and are sent to the underworld. The Egyptians lived their lives according to how they would want to live for eternity since “the Egyptian afterlife was a mirror-image of life on earth.” (Mark)…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egyptian Beliefs

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The promise of life after death seems to have dominated at all levels of Egyptian culture. The Book of the Dead, a collection of funeral prayers originating as far back as 4000 BC, prepared each individual for final judgment in the presence of Osiris and Isis. (Fiero,…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egypt Religion

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ancient Egypt was theologically based in that their social standings were dictated by religion. This was shown by their leader, and several upstanding figures were given their right by divinity. Their king was considered a god, and was considered the highest tier on the pyramid, and was only granted divinity through claiming the throne. This is because anyone with enough power to unite Egypt and rule must be a god, or be given his powers from a deity¹, as no one in the ancient world wielded as much power as the gods. The priestly class was also important in Egyptian life, as shown by the support the commoners gave them, providing food and drink, as well as constructing complexes for them². The priests…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egyptian Culture

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Egyptian culture was also a social class and there social class was social pyramid. In the social pyramid of ancient Egypt the pharaoh and those associated with divinity were at the top, and servants and slaves made up the bottom. The Egyptians also elevated some human beings to gods. Their leaders, called pharaohs, were believed to be gods in human form. Style of egyptian culture or egyptian art Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and otherarts produced by the civilization of Ancient Egypt in the lower Nile Valley from about 3000 BC to 100 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized and symbolic.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays