The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. Contradictions, however, existed side by side in their belief regarding the afterworld. They thought that the dead lived on in the tomb. At the same time they thought of the dead as having gone to a blessed afterworld in some far-distant place. Such inconsistency did not disturb the Egyptians: they provided for both. In no other civilization have such elaborate preparations for the afterlife been made in the preservation of the dead. When an Egyptian was born, an invisible corporeal "twin," known as "ka," was born with him.
 |
The ka was something of a protecting genius or guardian angel, although his most useful functions were not performed during life but in the afterworld. As long as one was with his ka, he was among the living. When one lost his ka, he died. The ka did not die, but waited for the deceased in the afterworld where the two were united to live in happiness forever. In addition to his body and his ka, an Egyptian had a soul, which flew away at death. The soul was thought of as a human-headed bird with the face of the deceased. During life the soul had resided within the body--probably in the belly or in the heart--but after death it flew freely about the world, taking refuge in the tomb at night, when evil spirits might be about. But in order to find the right tomb, it was necessary that the soul be able to recognize the body from which it had come. Hence the body of the deceased was preserved in the best possible way--it was mummified. |
| Mummies have be found throughout the world. But, the mummies of ancient Egypt are the most famous of all mummies. A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after death. Normally when we die, bacteria and other germs eat away at the soft tissues (such as skin and muscles) leaving only the bones behind. Since bacteria need water in order to grow, mummification usually happens if the body dries out quickly after death. The body may then be so well preserved that we can even tell how the dead person may have looked in life. Mummies are made naturally or by embalming, which is any process that people use to help preserve a dead body. Mummies can be dried out by extreme cold, by the sun, by smoke, or using chemicals such as natron. Some bodies become mummies because there were favorable natural conditions when they died. Others were preserved and buried with great care. The ancient Egyptians believed that mummifying a person's body after death was essential to ensure a safe passage to the afterlife. |  |
|
|
The Ancient Egyptians believed that a god incarnate assumed the form of an animal. Nearly every deity was associated in their minds with a certain bird or beast. So it is not surprising that we find near the sites of ancient cities large cemeteries devoted to the burial of animals. Usually only one kind of animal was buried in a given cemetery. Adjacent to each such cemetery was a temple devoted to the cult of the god identified with the specific kind of animal buried at that place. The animals were mummified, but not always too carefully. Chief stress was laid on the bandaging, the object having been that the package should clearly indicate the kind of animal enclosed. Often these animal mummies were placed in theriomorphic coffins. |
There are mummies of jackals, cats, ibises, snakes, lizards, gazelles, hawks, bulls, sheep, baboons, crocodiles--in fact, almost every conceivable kind of animal known to Egypt. At some places animal tombs such as those of the Apis bulls at Memphis are found. The tombs of the Apis bulls, which date from the Eighteenth Dynasty and later, consist of subterranean passages and vaults hewn in the rock an aggregate length of some twelve hundred feet. Many of the bulls were placed in huge stone sarcophagi. The ambition of every Egyptian was to have a well mummified body and a perpetually cared-for tomb. The children of the deceased were charged with the maintenance of this home on earth and the observation of all attendant ceremonies. In the case of a favored government official a portion of the state revenue might be assigned as an endowment for the care of the tomb. As the number of deceased ancestors and officials multiplied, however, and the consequent cost of tomb maintenance became excessive, the tendency was to neglect those of the remote past and to concentrate attention on those of the more recently deceased. Thus the living inhabitant of ancient Egypt, with all the faith he placed in the preservation of his own mummy, was constantly faced with the anomaly of neglected and despoiled tombs--for tomb robbers were at work even during the days of mummification. We have Egyptian papyri recording the robbery of royal tombs and the capture and punishment of the despoilers. An archaeologist rarely finds a tomb that has not been plundered.
Home [] Daily Life [] Pyramids [] Gods [] Pharaohs [] Mummification
Hieroglyphs [] Trades [] Maps [] Quiz [] Credits [] Bibliography