Life after death in Ancient Egypt Research Paper

Life subsequently death in Ancient Egypt - Research Paper ExampleAdmittedly, antique Egyptians were afraid of death and could however imagine what happened in their afterlives Except in imaginative tales, no one had ever come bear out to tell of it (qtd. in Bricker 99). Therefore, ancient Egyptians beliefs about life after death deserve special attention. In the first place, it is worth considering ancient Egyptians attitude towards death. On one hand, people were afraid of death. Many write works suggest that people regarded it as an enemy from which there was no escape, regardless of each(prenominal) preparations (Hodel-Hoenes and Warburton 26). Everyone, be it a pharaoh or a ugly, eventually dies. Thus, death was also regarded as something inevitable. This was, perhaps, one of the reasons why ancient Egyptians respected it so much. There was even The Book of the Dead which was a guideline that depicted all obligatory operations to enable diseased to enter the other world a nd start their afterlife (Hodel-Hoenes and Warburton 25). The keep was concerned with practical help and magical assistance for the hereafter it was not a simple verbal description (Hornung and Lorton 17). Death was regarded as a turning point where people trans public figureed and began their existence in a new form in another world. It is important to point out that ancient Egyptians ideas about the form of the afterlife are quite complex. Thus, there is no certain word in the ancient Egyptian language which reveals the idea of the modern concept of soul (Pinch 147). In ancient times Egyptians believed that several components of a person usually survived death (Pinch 147). The major component was the ka, a persons vital enduringness which was usually depicted as a double and dying was described as joining your ka (Pinch 147). The ka was about connected with homophile body, and mummification was aimed at preserving ones body for the ka to return to the body for a more complete union (Pinch 147). Mummification is worth special attention since it was essential for successful afterlife. Cunningham and Reich vociferation that mummification is a reflection of the most striking aspect of Egyptian religious thought, i.e. its arrested development with immortality (11). However, James Henry Breasted found quite an interesting explanation for the existence of such beliefs and popularity of mummification. He claims This insistent belief in a hereafter may perhaps have been greatly raise and influenced by the fact that the conditions of soil and climate resulted in such a remarkable preservation of the human body as may be found under natural conditions nowhere else in the world. (Breasted 49) Thus, the constitution itself influenced the beliefs of ancient Egyptians who worked out certain techniques to preserve human body. It goes without saying that elite had more elaborate funeral than poor people did. However, it is important to note that all people were to be buried in accordance with the necessary rituals. More so, there was even a law of nature concerning people dying in the Nile. According to this law all people, irrespective of their social status and wealth, be it an Egyptian or a foreigner, who died in the Nile (even if the person was unidentified) should be buried by the inhabitants of the city and all the necessary rituals should be carried out (Chan et al. 2032). This precision is repayable to the beliefs that deceased who