The Egyptian Afterlife
The Egyptians believed in a complicated concept of the afterlife.Death was not seen as the last stage of life for the Egyptians. It was simply as a state in which one was at rest awaiting revivification. We don't know a lot of the peasants, and their lives, and thus we know even less about their deaths. For those fortunate to live comfortably, however, (such as the Pharaoh, and his Priests and Priestesses etc.) funerary objects, mummification, and entombment tell us how dangerous the next life could be. A lot of evidence exists of how terrifying the afterlife was: inscriptions from the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Two Ways, and the Amduat (a section of the Book of the Netherworld), found their way onto objects accompanying the corpse. These inscriptions were spells, to protect the dead as they progressed from netherworld to the Hall of Judgment. The dead chose to travel on the solar barque, a low-slung boat from which Ra, the sun god, recreated the world every day.
A Priest had to perform the, "Opening of the Mouth," ceremony over the mummified body. The spoken incantations restored all the senses to the body. Speech especially was essential, since the Egyptians had to justify their time on earth when they arrived at the Hall of Judgment. The other senses were needed immediately after death, because the first trip was to the Field of Reeds, the land of wish fulfillment. The deceased had to pass through seven gates, aided only by the magic spells inscribed upon the funerary object. Once done, the dead arrive in the presence of Osiris, god of the netherworld, to face judgment. The ceremony was called, "weighing the heart," and explains why the heart remained intact when the priests had removed the other vital organs and placed them in canopic jars.
Justifying himself was not easy for the deceased. Faced with forty-two Gods, the heart of the dead was weighed in the presence of the jackal-headed God, Anubis, (the God of the dead,) against a feather. The feather represented Ma'at, the Goddess of truth. Balancing the scale meant immortality, and pleasures.. Should the heart not balance perfectly, Amemet devoured it, and Seth, murderer of Osiris, ate the rest of the body. It is little wonder then that spells, tokens, ushebtis, shabtis, amulets, and charms held such sway over the Egyptians.
A Priest had to perform the, "Opening of the Mouth," ceremony over the mummified body. The spoken incantations restored all the senses to the body. Speech especially was essential, since the Egyptians had to justify their time on earth when they arrived at the Hall of Judgment. The other senses were needed immediately after death, because the first trip was to the Field of Reeds, the land of wish fulfillment. The deceased had to pass through seven gates, aided only by the magic spells inscribed upon the funerary object. Once done, the dead arrive in the presence of Osiris, god of the netherworld, to face judgment. The ceremony was called, "weighing the heart," and explains why the heart remained intact when the priests had removed the other vital organs and placed them in canopic jars.
Justifying himself was not easy for the deceased. Faced with forty-two Gods, the heart of the dead was weighed in the presence of the jackal-headed God, Anubis, (the God of the dead,) against a feather. The feather represented Ma'at, the Goddess of truth. Balancing the scale meant immortality, and pleasures.. Should the heart not balance perfectly, Amemet devoured it, and Seth, murderer of Osiris, ate the rest of the body. It is little wonder then that spells, tokens, ushebtis, shabtis, amulets, and charms held such sway over the Egyptians.
The Egyptian Gods
- Ammut, or Ammit or Ahemait, is the crocodile goddess known as the "Devourer of the Dead". Also known as Ammit the Devourer. Ammut also assists Anubis with carrying out the Judgements
- Anput is the wife of Anubis. Anput is the goddess of the seventeenth Nome of Upper Egypt. Anput is the mother of Kebechet.
- Anubis is god of judgement of life and death and the canine god.
- Anuket is the goddess of river Nile.
- Apophis is the god of chaos and war. He dwells in the Duat. Also known as Apep.
- Aten is the god of the sun.
- Babi is the god of baboons.
- Bast or Bastet is the cat goddess.
- Bes is the dwarf god.
- Geb is the god of the earth.
- Gengen-Wer is the goose god.
- Hapi is the god of the Nile.
- Hathor is the goddess of love.
- Heket is the goddess of frogs.
- Horus is the god of war, sky, and falcons. He is the son of Osiris.
- Isis is the goddess of magic, marriage, healing, and motherhood. She is the wife and sister of Osiris and the mother of Horus. She is proud and deceives people, she arranged for Ra to be killed, so her son Horus would take the role of king of the gods.
- Kebechet the goddess of purification, also is known as the wandering goddess, or the lost child.
- Khepri is the god of scarab beetles. (Ra's aspect in the morning).
- Khnum is the ram-headed god. (Ra's aspect in the evening).
- Khonsu is the god of the Moon.
- Ma'at is the goddess of justice and of order.
- Mafdet is the god of justice.
- Mekhit is the minor lion goddess; married to Onuris.
- Nephthys is the river goddess.
- Nekhbet is the vulture goddess.
- Nut is the goddess of sky and stars.
- Osiris is the god of the underworld and the afterlife. Husband and brother of Isis.
- Ptah is the god of creation.
- Ra is the god of the Sun and king of the gods until Osiris took over his throne. Also known as Amun-Ra and Akmun-Rah.
- Sehkmet is the goddess of lions and fire also goddess of vengeance, alter form of Isis.
- Serqet is the goddess of scorpions.
- Seshat is the goddess of writing and measurement.
- Set is the god of deserts, storms, evil, and chaos also later version ruler of the underworld.
- Shu is the god of wind and air.
- Sobek is the god of crocodiles and alligators.
- Tawaret is the hippopotamus goddess, and the goddess of childbirth and fertility.
- Thoth is the scribe god and the god of wisdom, also known as Djehuti.
- Wadjet is a goddess of protection.
Information found on Wikipedia, and knowledge from the creator of this site.