Knowra Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs joined ideas about the soul, bodily preservation, divine judgment, and continued life beyond death. Their expressions changed across more than three millennia of Egyptian history.
Ka : A vital life force in ancient Egyptian belief that continued after death and required sustenance. Offerings at the tomb sustained this aspect of the deceased.
Ma'at : The Egyptian principle of truth, justice, balance, and cosmic order. Judgment measured the deceased against this standard of right order.
Mummification : The treatment of a body to slow decay, practiced in ancient Egypt as part of preparing some dead for the afterlife. Preserving the body supported the deceased’s continued existence.
Pyramid Texts : The oldest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts, inscribed inside royal pyramids beginning in the late Old Kingdom. These royal spells preserve early accounts of the king’s postmortem transformation.
Ancient Greek underworld : The realm of the dead in ancient Greek mythology, ruled by Hades and reached by souls after death. Its varied, often shadowy dead contrast with Egyptian hopes for renewed and provisioned existence.
Ba : A mobile aspect of a person, often depicted as a human-headed bird, able to move between tomb and world of the living. Its movement helped connect the deceased’s tomb with life beyond it.
Akh : A transfigured and effective spirit of the dead in ancient Egyptian belief. Successful transformation made continued existence among the gods possible.
Ancient Egyptian tomb : A built or cut burial place in ancient Egypt, often equipped for the dead and decorated with images or inscriptions. Tombs housed bodies, offerings, and protections associated with postmortem life.
Coffin Texts : Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins, especially during the Middle Kingdom. Their wider use shows funerary knowledge extending beyond the king.
Zoroastrian eschatology : Zoroastrian teachings about death, judgment, resurrection, and the final renewal of the world. Its universal final judgment differs from Egypt’s focus on each deceased person’s passage.
Show all 25