Ancient Egypt
The Afterlife
The Afterlife
The ancient Egyptians believed that before a
person could get to the afterlife, that they had to
pass through the underworld. The underworld was
a place that was full of terrifying monsters and
dangerous animals. A person would need magic to
successfully overcome these threats.
The ancient Egyptians chose spells to take with
them on their journey. The spells were chosen from
a group of spells known as the Book of the Dead.
The spells were then written on a papyrus scroll
which was buried with them in their tombs.
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwkHnjS4_yo
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flXCZb00sB0
Part 2
Mummification
o Every morning Egyptians
would wash their clothes
with washing soda and
brushed their teeth with
bread soda
o If you put the two together
you get Natron
o Natron was the preserving
agent used in mummification
Mummification
o After death the first step is
mummification
o All Pharaohs and some important
Egyptian citizens were turned
into a mummy
o 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
• Tombs were constructed
to be resurrection guides
that would reunite
Pharaoh’s body & soul
Pharaoh’s Tomb
• Pharaohs also took food,
beer, weapons, & servants,
gold, & jewels
• Later instead of real
servants Pharaohs took
Shabtis
Shabtis are small figures of adult male or female form inscribed with a special
formula to be recited (Shabtiformula), or figures representing the function expressed in
that spell, namely, to carry out heavy manual tasks on behalf of a person in the
afterlife.
Shabtis
o Shabtis were little figurines that were buried with the Pharaoh in
place of servants
o 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
o Pharaohs would take hundreds of Shabtis into their tombs, one for
almost everyday of the year
The Soul Takes Flight
The Soul Takes Flight
o If you didn’t live a good life
your soul was thrown to the
devourer of souls
o 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
o Here is the story of the
Egyptian Afterlife
The Pharaoh’s Voyage
o The Pharaoh’s soul awakens in the Devourer of souls home
(Underworld)
o On the wall is the Book of Gates (hieroglyphics drawn in the
Pharaoh’s sarcophagus)
The Pharaoh’s Voyage
o The Book of
Gates is a map
that will lead
him to the
Divine Judges
and Osiris
o The Pharaoh
has one night to
make the
journey or his
soul will be
devoured
Traveling the Nile of the Underworld
o The Pharaoh will need
to travel through what
is known as the Nile of
the Underworld
o He will have to pass
through 12 gates (one
for each hour of the
night)
Traveling the Nile of the Underworld
o This Nile is not so friendly as the Earthly Nile
as the 12 gates are guarded by Cobras
o The Great snake demon Apophis (Devil) lurks
under the water for his chance to strike
Passing through the Cobra’s Gates
o The Cobras were there to guard against souls that
were not pure
o The Pharaoh not only had to live a good life but he
had to have magical knowledge
Passing through the Cobra’s Gates
o 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
o 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
o After passing through the first two of Cobra’s Gates
Pharaoh will come to the Lake of Fire
o The Lake of Fire is a lake of fire that tests your purity
o If you have not lived a good life your soul is consumed
by the fire
The Lake of Fire
o Many men’s souls reside in the Lake of fire but
the Pharaoh will pass through the lake because he
is more than man
o Pharaoh is lucky because he is considered more
than man & he actually gets to decide which
men’s souls to save
Battling Apophis
o After passing through the forth
Cobra’s Gate Pharaoh unites with
other Egyptian mummies to
Battle Apophis
o They temporarily defeat him and
tie him up but Pharaoh knows
from his Book of the Dead that he
will be back
Meeting Osiris
o After going through the 6th
Cobra’s Gate Pharaoh meets
the god of the Underworld
Osiris
o 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
o 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
o Anubis would weigh the heart
against the feather
o The man’s heart and the
Feather of Truth must
perfectly balance for the man
to continue on
o Pharaohs will not be judged
because they are considered
more than a man so they will
help judge
o If your heart
was too heavy
you were
heavy with sin
and impure
and you would
be thrown to
Amet the
Gobbler
o He was part
Crocodile, part
Hippopotamus,
& part Lion
Heavy Hearted
Mummy & Soul Reunited
o After passing by Osiris the Pharaoh lies
down on a stone bed where he is reunited
with his soul
o Without being reunited Pharaoh can
never be resurrected
o Without body & soul he cannot pass
through the Underworld
Rolling Over In Their Graves
o After passing through Cobra’s Gate 8 mummies turn over
in their beds
o This is a key stage into coming back to life and being
resurrected
Apophis Round 2
o After passing through the Cobra’s
Gate number 10 Pharaoh will
have his second showdown with
Apophis
o This is Apophis’s last chance to
devour the Pharaoh
o Pharaoh calls upon past mummies
who form a net to prevent
Apophis from eating Pharaoh
Dawn Strikes
o Just as dawn strikes and the sun begins to come
up over the horizon Pharaoh passes through
the 12 and final Cobra’s Gate
o He is ushered in by Egyptian gods & goddesses
Journey Forever
o He resurrects not as a human but as the sun
o Finally Pharaoh will change into a symbolic
figure to at last protect his people
o Pharaoh has reached immortality
Journey Forever
o 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