WHAT WAS THE AFTERLIFE?

The ancient Egyptians believed

in an afterlife. The afterlife was

a heavenly place, complete with

a heavenly Nile River. The

ancient Egyptians called this

heavenly place the land of the

Two Fields.

HOW DID THEY TRAVEL THERE?

The ancient Egyptians

believed that the God Ra

was in charge of the

afterlife.

Ra would choose who could

get onto his boat to the

Land of two fields

WHO COULD GO TO THE AFTERLIFE?

In the beginning, only pharaohs could board Ra's magical boat

and travel to the land of the Two Fields.

But the god Osiris changed that. Osiris was a famous and important god in ancient

Egypt because Osiris opened the door to the afterlife to

everyone.

WHAT DID YOU NEED FOR THE AFTERLIFE?

Just dying would not get to you the land of the Two Fields. You had to earn a place in Ra's boat. To board Ra's boat, your

heart had to be light.

To keep your heart light, the ancient Egyptians believed you had to spend a

lifetime doing good deeds.

Crime was low in Egypt because people really wanted a light heart, to get on Ra’s

boat.

There were a couple of other requirements you had to

satisfy before you could spend eternity in the

afterlife.

You had to have your name written down somewhere,

and you had to have a preserved body.

Why? Because the ancient Egyptians believed that

everyone had a soul. If something happened to your

preserved body, or if your name was not written

down somewhere, a part of your soul would get lost

and you would disappear and no longer be able to

reach your afterlife.

That's why grave robbing was the most horrible crime

in ancient Egypt. Grave robbers not only stole

someone's wealth, they stole their chance to live

happily ever after in the land of the Two Fields.

People needed to be preserved, or mummified, In

order to get to the afterlife. The Egyptians

thought this would protect the soul. People

also wore burial masks so people would know

their faces and to look good in the afterlife.

To find out if your heart qualified for the trip to the afterlife,

your spirit had to enter the Hall of Maat. The god Anubis

weighed your heart. The god Thoth recorded the findings.

(In ancient Egypt, everything was recorded and written

down.)

If your heart was light, lighter than a feather, you passed the

test and entered your afterlife.

BUT, if your heart was heavy because your deeds were

dreadful, the god Ammut would suddenly appear ... and

eat you up!

No one wanted that, so nearly everyone in ancient Egypt did

good deeds to keep their heart light.