The great pyramid of Giza is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This magnificent construction is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that still remains standing. The great pyramid of Giza is an astonishing work of art that impresses and baffles modern engineers and mathematician at the same time. Most of the Egyptian works such as their writings, funerary texts, pyramids and monuments are regarded as beautiful artifacts today, the practice of Egyptian art served as a religious gift to gain the favor of the gods and to accompany the Pharaoh throughout his infinite afterlife. With this, comes the question of the effects of the afterlife on ancient Egypt and how the religion of the country changed overtime?
The whole afterlife …show more content…
The contents of their tombs included jewelries, chariots, weapons, ushabtis, canopic jars, ornaments, food and funerary texts from the book of the dead, with each detail of such ritual actions having specific symbolic significance. The paintings on the wall, the canopic jars and the book of the dead are the most important items needed for successful completion of the journey to the afterlife. Canopic jars play an important role in the rituals of the ancient Egyptians of which the most prominent was the mummification process. The art of mummification, years ahead of its time is the preservation of the corpse by artificial methods such as the removal of the organs and embalming process. Canopic jars are wide necked containers in which the internal organs of the deceased were stored before mummifying the dead. Each organ was stored in a separate Canopic jar. It is interesting to note that the heart was left inside the body because the Egyptians believed that the heart was the soul and it was weighed in the afterlife to see whether the person lead a good life (Egyptian Facts). The aim of canopic jars and mummification is to transform the corpse into a new eternal body so that the ka and ba (Egyptian souls) will recognize and unite with him later in the underworld and also make his reunion with the sun god …show more content…
The Paintings on the wall and the Book of the Dead remain unmatched with the other items in the tomb. They are ancient Egyptian funerary texts similar to the Holy Bible. They consist of instructions and magical spells that are carefully written to help the Pharaohs overcome the challenges in the underworld. The image to the right tells us that after King Seti undertakes the perilous journey through the underworld with the help of the funerary texts contained in the paintings and book of dead. He would face his day of judgment at the Hall of the Two Truths (which is known as the 12th gate of the underworld). The jackal god of the dead, Anubis, leads the King Seti (right) to the Hall of Two Truths, where the deceased would stand in front of forty two judges and gods (left).
King Seti is led to a set of scales where his heart, containing the deeds of his lifetime, is weighed against the feather of truth, which symbolizes Maat the goddess of justice. The fate of the King would then be decided - either entrance into the perfect afterlife or to be sent to the Devourer of the Dead - the Great Swallower. If he is unsuccessful, the sun will fail to rise and the world was going to end because the Pharaoh was unsuccessful in his journey to be united with the sun god,
The whole afterlife …show more content…
The contents of their tombs included jewelries, chariots, weapons, ushabtis, canopic jars, ornaments, food and funerary texts from the book of the dead, with each detail of such ritual actions having specific symbolic significance. The paintings on the wall, the canopic jars and the book of the dead are the most important items needed for successful completion of the journey to the afterlife. Canopic jars play an important role in the rituals of the ancient Egyptians of which the most prominent was the mummification process. The art of mummification, years ahead of its time is the preservation of the corpse by artificial methods such as the removal of the organs and embalming process. Canopic jars are wide necked containers in which the internal organs of the deceased were stored before mummifying the dead. Each organ was stored in a separate Canopic jar. It is interesting to note that the heart was left inside the body because the Egyptians believed that the heart was the soul and it was weighed in the afterlife to see whether the person lead a good life (Egyptian Facts). The aim of canopic jars and mummification is to transform the corpse into a new eternal body so that the ka and ba (Egyptian souls) will recognize and unite with him later in the underworld and also make his reunion with the sun god …show more content…
The Paintings on the wall and the Book of the Dead remain unmatched with the other items in the tomb. They are ancient Egyptian funerary texts similar to the Holy Bible. They consist of instructions and magical spells that are carefully written to help the Pharaohs overcome the challenges in the underworld. The image to the right tells us that after King Seti undertakes the perilous journey through the underworld with the help of the funerary texts contained in the paintings and book of dead. He would face his day of judgment at the Hall of the Two Truths (which is known as the 12th gate of the underworld). The jackal god of the dead, Anubis, leads the King Seti (right) to the Hall of Two Truths, where the deceased would stand in front of forty two judges and gods (left).
King Seti is led to a set of scales where his heart, containing the deeds of his lifetime, is weighed against the feather of truth, which symbolizes Maat the goddess of justice. The fate of the King would then be decided - either entrance into the perfect afterlife or to be sent to the Devourer of the Dead - the Great Swallower. If he is unsuccessful, the sun will fail to rise and the world was going to end because the Pharaoh was unsuccessful in his journey to be united with the sun god,