Afterlife and Life After Death Beliefs in Ancient Egypt

Among the greatest civilizations of the Earth, the Egyptian civilization has its own fame and glory. They have also been famous for the unique ideas, beliefs, innovation and their architecture of the pyramids and the list goes almost unending. It is not known to many that the ancient Egyptians believed in the concept of life after death. For them a person does not die once for all on his death. Life still goes on even after the rituals have been performed. The concept of the afterlife in ancient Egypt has been a topic of controversy to many even in this fast moving world. Only some know that the ancient Egyptians considered the humans to be the gift or children of God and that they had obtained or gained many of the elements constituting their body, from the divine progenitors more than the physical bodies.

It is always interesting for the historians in analyzing what the ancient Egyptians did on the death of human beings. It would be surprising to know that on the death of a person, only the body of the dead person would become inert but the body would be preserved with at most care without any signs of decay even though the motion of the body has completely stopped on death. The dead personā€˜s body was preserved for the manifestation of individual spirit.

The body of the person would be mummified as well as carefully embalmed to be placed in the coffin in such a posture that the person was just fast asleep. The degree of their belief in the life after death concept is revealed from the fact that they buried the utensils, ornaments, the toilet articles and many other essentials which would be required by the person in his journey after death. They even placed weapons for the protection against robbers and other miscreants. They even placed food and replaced food items once they got depleted. It is the care and attention the Egyptians gave that made the world call them as people with high moral values.


Links:
Wikipedia: Ancient Egypt
History Channel: Ancient Egypt
Live Science: Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt for Kids
British Museum: Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt