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Egyptian Afterlife
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The Egyptian Afterlife Explained
The Egyptians believed that when they died they would make a journey to another world, called the Underworld, where they would start the Afterlife. The Underworld was separate from this world. The sun travelled from the east to the west. After the sun set in the west the Egyptians believed the sun had gone to the Underworld and travelled under the world until it rose in the east again. To start the Afterlife the Egyptians believed they would need many of the things they had used when they were alive. Their families would put those things in their graves, such as food, jewellery and in some cases furniture. To get the the afterlife the Egyptians believed that they would have to pass through a dangerous place first. This place had poisonous snakes, fires, monsters and boiling lakes. Getting past these dangerous places was difficult so the Egyptians used spells, which were written down and left near the Yaru, the Egyptian afterlife. Before passing through the gate to the Underworld, they had to pass a test in the Hall of Two Truths. This test involved the Weighing of the Heart. This was the only organ left in the body after the mummification process. The Heart was placed on one side of a scale and the Feather of Truth placed on the other side. The Feather of Truth held the lies and sins of their past life. Osiris, Anubis and Thoth, three great gods, decided on the result of the test. If the heart passed the test, then the dead person could enter the gates of Yaru to the Underworld. But if the heart failed the test then a monster called Ammut, the devourer, which was part crocodile, part hippopotamus and part lion, ate it.
The Weighing of the Heart
Image from the Egyptian Book of the Dead
This is the mummy's most testing moment. Ammut, the devourer, sits beneath the scales, hungry for sinful hearts. The scribe god Thoth, takes notes. If all goes well, Osiris will welcome the newcomer, Hunefer.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart recorded all of the good and bad deeds of a person's life, and was needed for judgment in the afterlife. After a person died, the heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at (goddess of truth and justice). The scales were watched by Anubis (the jackal-headed god of embalming) and the results recorded by Thoth (the ibis-headed god of writing). If a person had led a decent life, the heart balanced with the feather and the person was rendered worthy to live forever in paradise with Osiris.
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