Ancient Egyptians Belief of the Afterlife November 16, 2011 Drew Wofford Mrs.

Wilker

Ancient Egyptians had a very different outlook on the afterlife. Their view of their life after death is completely opposite what we believe today in America. Egyptians have many different views, customs, myths, symbols, and gods. Their gods are different than the gods that we see in the Roman cultures. They had the same ideas behind their gods but just different names and the gods were gods of different areas of their life. The Egyptians lived every day in fear of these gods and how they could please them. They knew that one wrong move could cost them a valuable thing in their afterlife. Overall the Egyptians had a very unique view of where their bodies went after their life on this Earth was done. Ancient Egyptians believed in a very colorful life after death. They thought of their life after they died much like the one they had in Egypt, only this place was perfect in every sense. Egyptians believed that everything that they were buried with also went with them to their afterlife. They thought that all the worldly possessions that they could fit in their tomb went with them. Regular citizens became regular citizens, while kings became gods when they died. Citizens of Egypt believe in their rulers. They believed in these people to the extent of thinking they were divine. Egyptians thought that while they were on Earth, they were there to represent the god Horus. Horus is believed to be the original ruler of the world. After Horus death, he passed the world on; this tradition is believed to be passed on from generation to generation1. On Earth, the kings were thought to be great men. These kings were exalted and put on a pedestal; much like any other nation did to their rulers. Egyptian people believed firmly in the fact that their kings on Earth would die and become an even more of a divine god. Kings bodies were taken really good care of after they died. The people believe that they were actually handling a
1

J. Kamrin, &S. Ikram. Calliope. Ancient Egyptians Belief of the AFTERLIFE. 2006.

gods body. To make their burial even more significant they mummified their bodies. Mummification is a process to preserve the body naturally. This was just a way to dry out the body. The process to mummify a body took a very long time to complete. Egyptians believed that they must say prayers to keep the soul of the god at peace. They said prayers every day during this mummification process. After the king was dead and properly mummified they had to find a proper place to bury them. Pyramids were the most popular burial grounds for somebody oh high standing. Rulers began the build on their own personal pyramids as soon as they took the throne. Even the slightest detail had to be of their liking. There are over 80 pyramids known today in Egypt.2 The pyramids were filled with gold, jewelry, and anything else that the king wanted to take to the afterlife with him. Many Egyptian experts believe that the Egyptians used the shape of the pyramid for three different reasons. They said that the pyramid reminded them of the first land to appear at the beginning of time, a hill called Ben-Ben. The pyramid was also said to represent the rays of the sun. Another reason they used this shape was because the sloping sides showed how the dead rulers could simply climb the side to the skies and heavens to live in their afterlife forever. We know now that the death of a Pharaoh was tied to the rising and setting of the sun. It was believed that when a Pharaoh died he represented the setting of the sun, and when the next king took over, he represented the rising of the sun. This was another reason why the Egyptians went to such extreme measures to protect the kings bodies, to stop the possibility of a cosmic disaster.3 The pharaohs believed that their death was just a journey to the afterworld. Since they were not an actual member of the afterworld yet, their body had to be protected so it could
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The British Museum. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html

be recognized by their spirit. Tomb robbers have completely looted just about every pyramid empty, so we are not real sure everything that they held. What we do know is that some of the tombs held boats, statues, gold, jewelry, food, and any other luxury item that would help the king in his next life. The main purpose of the pyramids was to protect the kings body forever. After the mummification took place, they placed the body in what is known as sarcophagi. These sarcophagi were supposed to be heavy and strong enough to last through everything. Unfortunately, these were overtaken by tomb robbers and no body has been discovered. The most well-known pyramids are the Great Pyramids of Giza. These pyramids were built by Khufu to house his body after he died. The Great Pyramid is the largest ever built and is surrounded by smaller pyramids, boat docks, burial grounds, etc.4 Khufus pyramids were magnificent. He had three burial chambers, and his was placed directly in the center of the pyramid. The funeral for a Pharaoh was a lengthy process. The funeral procession would begin at the Royal Palace and head towards the West Bank. The West Bank in Egypt is where all the kings and pharaohs were buried, it was said to be a holy place. Oxen would pull the coffin on a sled, followed by another oxen pulled sled carrying the canopic chest. Crying, screaming women would follow these sleds. The Priests of the town would follow them burning incense and shaking their sistrums. The funeral procession was led by the High Priest, and the new Pharaoh if one had already taken over, and possibly dignitaries from other cities close by. This funeral procession custom is still done today. When the procession reached the burial grounds, the coffin was stood straight up. The new pharaoh would perform the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony5. This ceremony was thought to give back the senses to the body of the king. They would pray and

J.E. Dockall. The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery. 2008 5 M. Parsons. Opening of the Mouth Ceremony. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/open.htm

chant over the body to allow the king to live normally in the afterlife and still be able to watch over his family. Once this ceremony was complete, the tomb workers would carry the coffin down to the burial chamber. They would place the coffin in the sarcophagi and shut it up. The funeral goers would attend a funeral banquet while the tomb was being completed. This ritual is still in place today also. Once everything was completed inside the tomb, the entrance was locked. Nobody was allowed inside the tomb after the door was sealed. After going inside the tombs today, we realize that this rule was not always followed. We now know that tombs were entered by tomb robbers looking to steal all the kings goods, and by priest and holy persons looking to protect the tomb from tomb robbers and people of that sort. After researching this topic, I have realized that the Ancient Egyptians belief on the afterlife is extremely different than the ones we have today. Their mummification process would scare a lot of people today. We now use the method of embalming that just cleans the body of blood, instead of drying the body out completely. It usually took months before the body was finally laid in its tomb, whereas today, it is less than a week before we are laid in our final resting place. The funeral procession is somewhat similar to what we have today. After we leave the funeral home we usually line our cars to follow the hearse, which carries the casket, to the cemetery. After we have our graveside service, the visitors go to a meeting place while the grave workers cover the casket up before they go back to pay their respects. Today we still believe in an afterlife I guess you could say. We believe in Heaven or Hell. If you are a Christian, you will spend your afterlife in Heaven, if not you will go to Hell. They thought that everybody went to the glorious place of a perfect Egypt. They believed that the common people went to the same place as the Pharaohs, but the Pharaohs became gods in their afterlife. Rulers of ancient Egypt prepared their gravesite with the likes of pyramids and such. They thought that their worldly

possessions carried on with them to the other world. We know that we leave this world with none of our worldly things. I have always been taught that different cultures have different views on everything. After I researched this topic, I realize that this is very true about the Egyptians. They thought that they were right with what they believe and we think we are right with what we believe. Egyptians have a very unique way of seeing the things that happen once our time on Earth is done.

Bibliography
Dockall, J. E. (2008). The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery. 85. Kamrin, J., & Ikram, S. (2006). The Ancient Egyptian View of the AFTERLIFE. Calliope. Museum, The British. (n.d.). Pyramids. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Pyramids: Houses of Eternity: http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html Parsons, M. (n.d.). The Opening of the Mouth Ceremony. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Tour Egypt: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/open.htm The Pyramids. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2011, from KingTutOne.com: http://www.kingtutone.com/pyramids/beginning/