Ancient Egypt

The Afterlife

Essential Standard

Clarifying Objective

Essential Question??

Egyptian Afterlife• The Egyptian religion centered

around polytheism (which is the belief in many gods and not just one)

• Ancient Egyptians especially Pharaohs practiced a very specific ceremonies to ensure they would attain the Afterlife

• Egyptians believed that each person had a soul after death but they needed their body as a place for the soul to live in the afterlife

Egyptian Book of the Dead

• http://www.history.com/videos/journey-to-the-afterlife#journey-to-the-afterlife

Mummification• Every morning Egyptians

would wash their clothes with washing soda and brushed their teeth with bread soda

• If you put the two together you get Natron

• Natron was the preserving agent used in mummification

Mummification• After death the first step is

mummification

• All Pharaohs and some important Egyptian citizens were turned into a mummy

• To the Egyptians preserving the physical appearance was extremely important so that the man’s soul could recognize his body in the afterlife

Pharaoh’s Tomb

• The tombs of Pharaohs had many, many hieroglyphics

• The object was to recreate the cosmos and give direction out of the Underworld

Pharaoh’s Tomb• Tombs were constructed to

be resurrection guides that would reunite Pharaoh’s body & soul

• Pharaohs also took food, beer, weapons, & servants, gold, & jewels

• Later instead of real servants Pharaohs took Shabtis

Shabtis• Shabtis were little figurines that

were buried with the Pharaoh in place of servants

• Egyptians believed that in the afterlife if the Pharaoh was to call on one of his servants who was still alive the Shabti representing that servant would wake up a perform the task

• Pharaohs would take hundreds of Shabtis into their tombs, one for almost everyday of the year

The Soul Takes Flight• After death the soul takes flight

to where it will be judged by 42 divine judges and the God Osiris (God of the Underworld)

• If you lived a good and righteous life than you would be welcomed into the two fields of Reeds (Egyptian Heaven)

• If you lived a life that was pretty good but made some mistakes you could receive a pardon

The Soul Takes Flight

• If you didn’t live a good life your soul was thrown to the devourer of souls

• Before the soul can take flight it starts in the lair (home) of the devourer of souls and the man and his soul has to find his way out

• Here is the story of the Egyptian Afterlife

The Pharaoh’s Voyage

• The Pharaoh’s soul awakens in the Devourer of souls home (Underworld)

• On the wall is the Book of Gates (hieroglyphics drawn in the Pharaoh’s sarcophagus)

The Pharaoh’s Voyage

• The Book of Gates is a map that will lead him to the Divine Judges and Osiris

• The Pharaoh has one night to make the journey or his soul will be devoured

Traveling the Nile of the Underworld

• The Pharaoh will need to travel through what is known as the Nile of the Underworld

• He will have to pass through 12 gates (one for each hour of the night)

Traveling the Nile of the Underworld

• This Nile is not so friendly as the Earthly Nile as the 12 gates are guarded by Cobras

• The Great snake demon Apophis (Devil) lurks under the water for his chance to strike

Passing through the Cobra’s Gates

• The Cobras were there to guard against souls that were not pure

• The Pharaoh not only had to live a good life but he had to have magical knowledge

Passing through the Cobra’s Gates• As he passed through the

gates Pharaoh would have to say the Cobra’s name this would tell the Cobras that he is the true one

• The names of the 12 Cobras that guarded the gates were written on the walls of his tomb as part of his Book of Gates

The Lake of Fire• After passing through the

first two of Cobra’s Gates Pharaoh will come to the Lake of Fire

• The Lake of Fire is a lake of fire that tests your purity

• If you have not lived a good life your soul is consumed by the fire

The Lake of Fire• Many men’s souls reside in

the Lake of fire but the Pharaoh will pass through the lake because he is more than man

• Pharaoh is lucky because he is considered more than man & he actually gets to decide which men’s souls to save

Battling Apophis• After passing through the

forth Cobra’s Gate Pharaoh unites with other Egyptian mummies to Battle Apophis

• They temporarily defeat him and tie him up but Pharaoh knows from his Book of the Dead that he will be back

Meeting Osiris

• After going through the 6th Cobra’s Gate Pharaoh meets the god of the Underworld Osiris

• Because he is a Pharaoh, Pharaoh will merge with Osiris and help him judge men who have made it past the 6th gate

Meeting Osiris • The men’s hearts are ripped out of

their chest and placed on a scale in front of Osiris and on the other side of the scale the Feather of Truth

• The man’s heart and the Feather of Truth must perfectly balance for the man to continue on

• Pharaohs will not be judged because they are considered more than a man so they will help judge

Heavy Hearted

• If your heart was too heavy you were heavy with sin and impure and you would be thrown to Amet the Gobbler

• He was part Crocodile, part Hippopotamus, & part Lion

Mummy & Soul Reunited• After passing by Osiris the

Pharaoh lies down on a stone bed where he is reunited with his soul

• Without being reunited Pharaoh can never be resurrected

• Without body & soul he cannot pass through the Underworld

Rolling Over In Their Graves

• After passing through Cobra’s Gate 8 mummies turn over in their beds

• This is a key stage into coming back to life and being resurrected

Apophis Round 2• After passing through the

Cobra’s Gate number 10 Pharaoh will have his second showdown with Apophis

• This is Apophis’s last chance to devour the Pharaoh

• Pharaoh calls upon past mummies who form a net to prevent Apophis from eating Pharaoh

Dawn Strikes

• Just as dawn strikes and the sun begins to come up over the horizon Pharaoh passes through the 12 and final Cobra’s Gate

• He is ushered in by Egyptian gods & goddesses

Journey Forever

• He resurrects not as a human but as the sun

• Finally Pharaoh will change into a symbolic figure to at last protect his people

• Pharaoh has reached immortality

Journey Forever

• Ancient Egyptians believed that each Pharaoh would make that journey every night for all of eternity only to resurrect with the sun god after passing the 12th gate

Important Points