Seeing Egyptian Culture Through the Book of the Dead and The Creation Myth Two works of literature representing the Egyptian Culture are the book of the dead and the creation myth. The book of the dead focuses upon magic spells which ensure the safe journey of the deceased to the other world and his acceptance and beatification there by Osiris its lord and ruler (Hodges 127). The Egyptian creation myth is concerned with the creation of Egyptian gods, how these gods intend create the universe and all living things. These two works show how the afterlife and gods play a major role in the Egyptian culture. In the Egyptian culture, for the deceased to travel to the underworld he would have to confront irrational forces. To confront these forces with ease, the Book of the Dead was used to allow the dead to pass through the obstacles of the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was most commonly papyrus scroll inscribed with text and placed in the burial chamber of the deceased. These texts were a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions primarily intended to enable the deceased person to defeat the trials and peril of the next world and emerge safely from the tomb. . The most significant afterlife trial that everyone faced took the form of a judgment of one's soul on a set of scales like those the Egyptians used in their earthly existence. After the deceased had ritualistically denied a list of forty-two misdeeds, the so-called negative confession—his or her heart was put on one scale-pan, while a feather symbolizing the principle of Ma'at was placed on the other (Goelet Jr). According to this beautiful metaphor, one's heart had to be as light as a feather in relation to sin (Goelet Jr). Thereafter, one was consi... ... middle of paper ... ... Work Cited 1. Ayman Fadi. Egyptian Creation Myth -The HeliopolitanVersion. Aldokkan. 2002-2009 http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/creation.htm 2. Caroline Peck, BrownUniversity. The Mystica. October 19, 2009 http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/b/book_of_the_dead.html 3. Deurer. The creation methodology. The great creators. 1996-2008. http://www.egyptartsite.com/crea.html#int K.M.Jonsson.Antient Egyptian Religion. Webring Ink.1998-2008 http://www.philae.nu/akhet/index.html 4. GOELET JR. Encyclopedia of dead and dying. Egyptian Book of the dead. Jrankdate. 10/2/09 http://www.deathreference.com/Da-Em/Egyptian-Book-of-the-Dead.html 5. Hodges, David. Class Lecture: “The Book of the Dead.” Humanities 201. WoodsonHall. Grambling State University. 26 Jan. 2008.
In the ancient Egyptian culture, the belief was that there was a life force and spirit inside of the body, known as the ‘Ka’. Therefore, mummification was performed as a ritual to preserve the physical features of the body as well as to protect its inner spirit, mainly to ensure that the ‘Ka’ could recognize the body where it may dwell in the eternal life. Thus, the funerary psychology of ancient Egyptians was that death did not bring an end to living, but instead was only an escape from the physical human life and a gateway to immortal being. Due to the fact that a being’s life span was short in ancient times, people’s main hopes rested in their afterlives, where they would be with the gods (Stockstad 121).
The grandeur with which Egyptians regarded their funerary customs does not come without explanation. They delighted in tying the occurrences of the natural world with supernatural dogma, and their burial practices exemplified this deluge of religion. A special deity was even attributed to cemeteries and embalmers: Anubis (Fiero, 46). Due to this deep sense of religion, a fixation with the afterlife developed within their culture. The Egyptian afterlife, however, is not synonymous of heave, but, rather, of The Field of Reeds, a continuation of one’s life in Egypt meant “to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the ‘good life’ enjoyed on earth” (Mark 1; “Life in Ancient Egypt” 1). The pursuit of this sacred rest-place prompted the arousal of intricate Egyptian funeral rituals.
As a natural phenomena that occurs frequently yet is still not completely understood, death has confounded and, to a certain degree, fascinated all of humanity. Since the dawn of our species, people have tried to rationalize death by means of creating various religions and even attempted to conquer death, leading to great works of literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Cannibal Spell For King Unis. Considered one of the earliest great pieces of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells an adventurous yet profound tale about the god-like king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and his quest to find immortality. While his name now lives on through the Epic, Gilgamesh did not attain eternal life as the plant of immortality was stolen from him by a snake.
Take for instance the Egyptians, whose well known elaborate burial chambers, coffins and practices form the basis of the first story I want to relate to you. These coffins, or sarcophagi, were often very elaborately inscribed with paintings and carvings, spells against the perils the deceased would face in Duat, the underworld (Hart 18). These spells would help protect them and guide them to the throne room of the underworld, where their soul would be judged (Hart 18). The decedents’ epic travels involved placating gods, overcoming demons, traversing lakes of fire, escaping executioners and surviving poisonous snakes on their journey to reach Duat (Hart 18). Only with the proper spells and maps, placed on and in the sarcophagi, could one hope to arrive in the throne room unharmed (Hart 1...
The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification.
The Egyptian Process of Mummification In ancient Egyptian society, preserving a body after death was an important process necessary for entrance into an immortal existence. According to Egyptian belief, the soul did not die. The soul would take the form of a bird, usually a falcon, and fly around in the world of the living returning later its dead body. The importance of preserving the body revolved around the idea that the roaming soul would be able to recognize the right body and return to it.
There were many ways that the Ancient Egyptian society and the Mesopotamian society were similar yet at the same time they were very different. Egyptians and Sumerians agreed on religion in a sense that both cultures were polytheistic. However, the relationships between the gods and goddesses were different between the Sumerians and Egyptians. This essay will discuss those differences in culture, religion and the viewpoints on death and afterlife.
The Book was originally intended as a set of spells and incantations meant to insure safe passage for the soul of a deceased person into the Underworld. Some of the ending chapters include instructions on not dying a second time, meaning how not to die in the underworld and thus having no chance of being reborn or living a full afterlife. The original text--at least, the bits and pieces that modern scholars possess--consists of a set of hymns, beginning with the Hymn to Osiris. This hymn is meant to call up the king of the underworld and make him aware of the presence of the soul. After summoning Osiris, the presiding priest would begin a series of ceremonies designed to give the spirit all the faculties it possessed in life, such as speech, movement of the limbs, internal organ functions, and sight. After these rites were completed, the corpse was removed to the tomb where prophetic portions of the Book were read.
In “The Horse-Trader’s Daughter”, Mabel loses her mother, her creator. The doctor who saves her from drowning then takes on the important role of giving her a renewed life, filling that void for Mabel (Lawrence, 1-15). Afterlife myths explain what becomes of the soul after the body dies, as humans have a problem accepting the possibility that the soul becomes nothing. Egyptian afterlife myths include a god named Osiris.
In Egypt, praising death and the afterlife is a big part of the culture. The Egyptians make tombs and pyramids so that they can live a successful life in the afterlife. The afterlife means that a person will be dressed in all clean clothes and white shoes and will be standing in front of the God of the underworld (Attar). The Egyptians call this day Judgement Day because the God of the underworld decides the persons fate if the person passes the test that the God gives the person (Attar). If the person does not pass the test then they will a die again as a second death. Most people pass the test because the Book of the Dead, that was written in 1550 BC, gives specific instructions of learning to survive in the afterlife. The afterlife to the Egyptians mean that the spirit of the person leaves the body but only temporarily (Attar). They say that if the spirit returns every night and if it doesn’t it ruins the chances of having a successful
...by Osiris, who weighed the souls against the Feather of Truth. (Footnote pg 127-134 The Literature and Mythology of Ancient Egypt) The concept of an afterlife is common in both Greek and Egyptian tales.
The ancient Egyptian burial practices are fundamental to the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. There are many different forms of burial practices; however the main form of practice of ancient Egyptians was the mummification process as seen in source B. Through the use of source B along with other sources, the following response will analyse the ancient Egyptian burial practices.
It is clear that tombs and burial rituals were a key element in the Egyptian society and their way of life as it ties into almost all things they did on a daily basis. Whatever a person’s status was when they were alive followed them into the afterlife. Food and luxury goods were buried with a person so that they could have it in the afterlife. The tombs became a person’s new house after they died. Therefore, making it as nice as possible was really important. Art work and clay models were added to a person’s tomb as material goods needed for the afterlife. They were also seen as decorations that kept the tombs looking nice. Throughout the years, Egyptian artworks on the inner parts of the tombs and on the coffins show a development in the Egyptian customs. Each new development was created to better preserve the bodies and comfort of the dead.
Throughout history, the concept of death and an afterlife has always been present regardless of the culture or religion. It has also been very influential in literature and other writings. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, there is a portrayal of the Greek beliefs of the afterlife. The Bible addresses this theme as well in the gospel of Matthew. Between these two works, there are noticeable differences about the beliefs of death due to the different cultures in which they were written. Despite the many variations, there are some slight similarities regarding the afterlife. Although the two writings were composed in different cultures and time periods, the notions of an afterlife in each piece can be easily related.
Ancient Egyptians tried to understand their place in the universe. This is why their mythology is centered on nature such as the earth, sky, moon, sun, stars, and the Nile River. There are many Egyptian myths of creation, but the Heliopolitan Tradition, Hermopolitan Ogdoad, and the Memphite Theology are the most commonly used. They all have some common elements and gods. For example, many of t...