The Importance Of Death And The Afterlife

A common question many civilizations shared and strived to answer was about death and the afterlife. In Ancient Egypt, the lives of many citizens centered around a prosperous future in death. In fact, Ancient Egyptians believed life continued on in death. For this reason, they yearned to live justly as citizens of Egypt. If not, then the gods would deem them unworthy of entering heaven, or paradise. This was Ancient Egypt, a society seemingly obsessed with the afterlife and enriched with funeral practices. Their worship of pharaohs and gods, detailed inscriptions about mummification, and elaborate tombs influenced their constant strive towards achieving everlasting peace in the afterlife.

In Ancient Egypt, pharaohs happened to be the focal

For example, Akhenaten worshiped only one god, Aton, the sun god. For this reason, he had denounced all other Egyptian gods and goddesses as false and disregarded worship for them. Thus, Akhenaten’s monotheism failed to find a place among his people. Furthermore, Akhenaten’s god didn’t bring comfort and tranquility to his people either. In fact, Ancient Egyptians were distressed and yearned for their familiar god, for those gods made Egypt flourish with wealth and might. Even so, Akhenaten had outlawed the gods of Egypt’s past with the help of his wife, Nefertiti. But, when Akhenaten and Nefertiti died, their religion and god died with them. In fact, Akhenaten’s own son restored the former gods and goddesses into their proper places of worship. Unfortunately, Akhenaten’s reign still could not be erased from the Ancient Egyptians minds and they took their revenge. The mummified body of Nefertiti was mutilated. She suffered damages to her mouth, preventing her from speaking before the gods in the afterlife. Thus, Nefertiti will not find rest, doomed from entering paradise because she cannot speak her name in front of the gods who she had help outlaw in

They, in fact, believed in an afterlife where earthly work had to go on. For this reason, the Ancient Egyptians constructed Shabti figurines for their tombs that could be magically called to life and do their work for them. These figurines fulfilled in death the tasks that ordinary human beings did in life. The Ancient Egyptians were very industrious, after all. However, the Shabti figurines were called to life with a spell inscribed onto their bodies. These Shabti dolls could be purchased from temple workshops and each one was hand-carved. In addition, the Shabti dolls represented a certain job and were carved in a specific way. For example, sold in these temple shops, were Shabti figurines looking like farmers, construction workers, or sculptors. Even so, if tombs had an abundance of Shabti dolls, it helped archaeologists determine the stature of the tomb owner. Of course, a pharaoh or person of noble status would have plenty of Shabti dolls to serve them in the afterlife. But, in the tomb of King Tutankhamon, the Shabti dolls were more intricately carved and sculpted in contrast to the Shabti dolls of the less fortunate. In short, an abundance of Shabti dolls displayed wealth and status, reflecting the Ancient Egyptian’s concept of life continuing in