Ancient Egypt
Death and the Afterlife
An obsession with death ... or an obsession with life?
Most view the ancient Egyptians as having been obsessed with death (ex. mummies, tombs, elaborate burials, etc.)
In reality, the opposite was true: ancient Egyptians were so obsessed with life, they developed burial practices that ensured their enjoyment of life into the world beyond death; death was not an end, it was a beginning.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/afterlife-ancient-egypt.html
What is the Afterlife?
Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than complete cessation, of life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means like piety to the gods, preservation of the physical form through mummification, and the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment.
Each human consisted of the physical body, the 'ka', the 'ba', and the 'akh'. The Name and Shadow were also living entities.
To enjoy the afterlife, all these elements had to be sustained and protected from harm.
Evolution of Burial Processes
Dessication
Before the Old Kingdom, bodies buried in desert pits were naturally preserved by desiccation. The arid, desert conditions continued to be a boon throughout the history of ancient Egypt for the burials of the poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial preparations available to the elite.
Wealthier Egyptians began to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result, they made use of artificial mummification, which involved removing the internal organs, wrapping the body in linen, and burying it in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or wooden coffin.
Mummification
By the New Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had perfected the art of mummification; the best technique took 70 days. Mummies of the Late Period were also placed in painted cartonnage mummy cases. Actual preservation practices declined during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, while greater emphasis was placed on the outer appearance of the mummy, which was decorated.
Wealthy Egyptians were buried with larger quantities of luxury items, but all burials, regardless of social status, included goods for the deceased.
Beginning in the New Kingdom, books of the dead were included in the grave, along with shabti statues that were believed to perform manual labor for them in the afterlife Rituals in which the deceased was magically re-animated accompanied burials. After burial, living relatives were expected to occasionally bring food to the tomb and recite prayers on behalf of the deceased.
How to Get Into the Afterlife
STEP ONE: The body must be preserved in a recognizable form
- Covered with a skin or matting; buried in shallow grave in the desert
- Bodies wrapped/covered in linen bandages; later, organs removed to prevent decay; corpses placed in burial chambers
- Planned/consistent method of preserving the body; mummification embalming process begins (New Kingdom)
STEP TWO: Supply of goods to last throughout eternity
Tombs contained a variety of items the body might need in the afterlife (and during its journey there)
- Ensure eternal contentment
- Help battle any obstacles
- Personal belongings to make Ka at home and assist in the journey to afterlife
- Book of the Dead
The deceased would continue after death the occupations of his life. Everything required must be packed along with the body.
Some things include:
- Writing materials
- Clothing
- Wigs
- Hairdressing supplies
- Assorted tools
The Mummification Process
Activity!!
Go to the following link to find out!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/mummy_maker/index_embed.shtml
The Process
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/main.html
Basic Process:
- Removal of Internal Organs
- Drying Process
- Packing/Sealing Body
- Wrapping the Mummy
- The Burial
Entire process took about 70 days, from death to burial
Important Symbols Needed
Also take note of the following:
Before Mummification
- Were lengthy and elaborate
- After death, a period of loud mourning took place
- Female relatives, and paid mourners, walked bare-breasted in the streets while crying out in grief
- Male relatives followed the women while pounding on their bare chests in sorrow
- Another, more calm, procession would occur after when the body would be transferred to embalmers
After Mummification
- Mummy is returned to the family, and a procession to the tomb begins.
- Mummy is placed on a sledge drawn by oxen, followed by a second sledge carrying the canopic jars.
- Servants followed with objects the deceased would need in the afterlife.
The Book of the Dead
Full of spells, charms, and formulas for the dead to overcome obstacles in the afterlife.
- Not all were used; a selection was chosen depending on wealth/status
- Some spells were gifts to gods, while others were used so the person could walk in the afterlife and not die again
Judgment of the Soul
- Probably the best-known segment of the Book of the Dead
- Deals with the dead soul's judgment by Osiris and his judge deities
Panel of 14 Judges
- Deceased appears the panel of judges and makes an account of his/her life
- Ankh, the key of life, appears in the hands of some judges
Weighing of the Heart Ceremony
- Anubis weighs the heart of the deceased against the "feather of truth" or the feather of Ma'at
- If the heart was heavier than the feather, the deceased is heavy with evil deeds. Ammit (god with crocodile head and hippopotamus legs) will devour the heart. The soul is condemned to oblivion for eternity
- If the feather outweighs the heart, deceased led a righteous life and may be presented before Osiris to join the afterlife.
The Funerary Scene
This scene depicts what occurs after a person has died, according to the ancient Egyptians.
Beginning with the upper left-hand corner, the deceased appears before a panel of 14 judges to make an accounting for his deeds during life. The ankh, the key of life, appears in the hands of some of the judges.
Next, below, the jackal god Anubis who represents the underworld and mummification leads the deceased before the scale. In his hand, Anubis holds the ankh.
Anubis then weighs the heart of the deceased (left tray) against the feather of Ma'at, goddess of truth and justice (right tray). In some drawings, the full goddess Ma'at, not just her feather, is shown seated on the tray. Note that Ma'at's head, crowned by the feather, also appears atop the fulcrum of the scale.
- If the feather outweighs the heart, and then the deceased has led a righteous life and may be presented before Osiris to join the afterlife. Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom stands at the ready to record the outcome.
Horus, the god with the falcon head, then leads the deceased to Osiris. Note the ankh in Horus' hand. Horus represents the personification of the Pharaoh during life, and his father Osiris represents the personification of the Pharaoh after death.
Osiris, lord of the underworld, sits on his throne, represented as a mummy. On his head is the white crown of Lower Egypt (the north). He holds the symbols of Egyptian kingship in his hands: the shepherd's crook to symbolize his role as shepherd of mankind, and the flail, to represent his ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. Behind him stand his wife Isis and her sister Nephthys. Isis is the one in red, and Nephthys is the one in green. Together, Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys welcome the deceased to the underworld.
Thoth
Anubis
Osiris
Pyramids!!!
Activity!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/pyramid_challenge/index_embed.shtml
Mystery of the Pyramids
The Pyramids are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They decorate the Nile waterfront and loom over passing boats. They are the lasting reminders of the Pharaohs that once ruled Egypt and of the power that the nation had.
As soon as a Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom came to power, he began planning the pyramid that would be his tomb.
But how did Egyptians start building pyramids?
Mastabas
Pyramids evolved from mastaba tombs.
They were low rectangular brick or stone structures. Pharaohs were initially buried in these lavish tombs with all necessary possessions.
The Egyptians built them on the west side of the Nile (Symbol of Death, where the sun falls into the Underworld).
Imhotep and The Step Pyramid
During the early Old Kingdom, King Djoser commissioned Imhotep (Old Kingdom genius) to build him a memorial tomb that would remind future generations of his brilliance and power. Imhotep took the idea of the mastabas and stacked six of them on top of one another to create a stairway to Heaven.
The steps in the pyramid would enable the Pharaoh to take his place among the gods.
This later evolved to smoothed out edges with inner burial chambers and hidden passages to protect the Pharaoh's chambers.
Pyramids
Burial tombs that are four-sided stone structures that symbolize the sacred mountain - humanity's universal striving to reach the heavens.
Pharaohs were viewed as a representation of a god. Upon their death, they had to be able to return to his body on earth. This required a tomb where his preserved body would be surrounded by materials he would need when his spirit returned.
Valley of the Kings
- From the 18th-20th Dynasty, the kings abandoned the Memphis area and built their tombs in Thebes.
- Also abandoned were the pyramid style tombs
- Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber.
- These catacombs were harder to rob and were more easily concealed.
- Construction usually lasted six years, beginning with the new reign.