Egyptian Religion and the Afterlife

According to ancient Egyptian creation myths, death and rebirth defined the nature of the cosmic order. Several of the primary Egyptian gods died in order to be reborn; the agricultural cycle along the Nile River experienced a death and rebirth each year; and even the sun, the moon, and the stars had regular cycles of what appeared to be life, death, and rebirth. For the ancient Egyptians, honoring and maintaining that cosmic order was a central component of daily life.

It was believed that the gods as well as the dead were never too far from the living. Since gods and the dead could influence daily life, it became important to acknowledge their presence and treat them both with respect and reverence by caring for their needs and presenting them with such offerings as food, beer, and precious objects, often in vast quantities.

In the temples, priests not only worshiped the gods, but they also clothed and fed their statue representations, serving them day and night. Most ordinary people however, were more likely to leave offerings at the temple of a local god in the region where they lived or at the tombs of their dead. That devotion was meant to solicit help from the gods and ward off trouble from the dead. Ordinary Egyptians also wore charms for protection from various ills. Priests were experts at magical incantations useful for getting answers to difficult questions and were known for their wisdom in making decisions.

Gods, Goddesses, and Kings

It is important to understand that while the Egyptians had many gods and goddesses, their notion of the personalities of each of these deities evolved over thousands of years. Across centuries, the characteristics ascribed to a deity might change or become more complex. Several gods overlapped, sharing similar qualities or powers, and often a god or goddess was associated with a specific location in ancient Egypt. Many also shared the characteristics of an animal, so they were often illustrated with animal heads or masks.

The most important god during the Old Kingdom was Re (or Ra), the sun god. Re provided sustenance to Egypt by day, died at sundown, but was raised to life again every morning after journeying through the underworld during the night. Thus, Re overcame death and decay on a daily basis, in addition to providing the life force of sunlight, which allowed Egyptian agriculture to be so productive.

By the time of the New Kingdom, Osiris emerged as the preeminent god. An ancient myth states that Osiris was a king murdered by his brother, Seth, who cut Osiris into pieces and spread them along the Nile. Osiris' companion, Isis, mourned him bitterly, gathered the pieces, and magically resurrected him. From that point, Osiris ruled the underworld. Osiris and Isis then had a son, Horus, who avenged his father by retaking the throne from his murderous uncle. According to the myth, Horus then became the first of the earthly pharaohs.

The pharaoh ruled the present world, and Osiris ruled the afterworld. The pharaoh was divine, and it was his responsibility to carry out the gods' wishes on earth while also protecting the people and providing blessings from the gods. As the link between gods and men, the pharaoh was the religious head of Egypt, although priests carried out religious ceremonies in his place while he governed.

Life After Death

To the ancient Egyptians, death was a transition rather than an end. When one left this world (by death), one moved on to live in the world of Osiris. Since one would spend eternity in the next world, preparing for it was far more important than day-to-day life in the present.

Although journeying from this world to the next was possible for every Egyptian, it was not easy. A person's heart must first be weighed on a scale against truth, order, and justice. If the heart was free of wrongdoing (and, thus, light as a feather), the deceased could proceed on the journey with Osiris, but if not, he was devoured by a monster-god. However, the ancient Egyptians had help in surviving the weighing of the heart and other obstacles, in the form of magical spells, hymns, prayers, and declarations of their upright character that were written down and placed with the body of the deceased. Scribes wrote those texts drawing upon a compilation of prayers and spells that the Egyptians called "The Book of the Coming Forth by Day," which scholars today refer to as the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Evidence of Egyptian Beliefs

The Book of the Dead has provided archaeologists and historians with substantial information about funerary practices and beliefs in ancient Egypt. However, there are numerous other sources, including the art, architecture, inscriptions, and artifacts found in pyramids, tombs, and temples. The great Egyptian pyramids of the Old Kingdom are the best known of those sources. Built as the tombs of kings, they contain every imaginable kind of evidence, from wall paintings and inscriptions to everyday items. Nearly everything the deceased would need in his or her new life, like food, furniture, clothing, cosmetics, and even board games, has been found, along with great wealth. The oldest, entirely stone pyramid is the step pyramid built for the pharaoh Djoser.

Less well known are tomb structures that were built before the pyramids. These rectangular buildings made of brick or stone were called "mastabas." They contained a burial chamber, sometimes deep underground; numerous storerooms for the deceased's belongings; and a chapel where offerings could be left both during as well as after the person's lifetime.

Another type of tomb came to be used during the Middle Kingdom. These were cut into the rock cliffs at Thebes, Saqqara, and elsewhere. Like mastabas and pyramids, they had numerous rooms for storing possessions, a burial chamber, and often a chapel, as well as internal courtyards. Rock-cut tombs were more secure than pyramids or mastabas, being harder to break into and rob. Wall paintings and relief sculptures in these structures illustrate such daily activities as dining, dancing, and music, as well as such ceremonies as presenting offerings to the gods, the weighing of the heart, and pharaohs conducting various religious rituals.

The paintings, text-inscribed walls, and objects found inside tombs and temples were meant to make the deceased feel at home in the next life. As such, they provide abundant information about ancient Egyptian religion and its concept of the af afterlife.