by Janette Peel

Created on: September 12, 2008

Based on the belief that the body of the dead would be resurrected, and should therefore be preserved, the Egyptian idea of paradise evolved over time.

For the Ancient Egyptians, death was a stepping stone to a new kind of existence. Over the centuries, successions of different beliefs were combined to produce a funerary doctrine. This resulted in a number of contradictions.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the human soul was made up of two parts: the ba and the akh. Whilst the akh went to heaven, the ba was the spiritual part of man that remained on earth. Since the ba remained in the body of the deceased, it was essential to embalm the body so it was perfectly preserved.

It was also necessary to provide the body with certain familiar items, as well as food and drink, without which the deceased could not exist in the afterlife.

The deceased spent eternity in their tombs but they could also wander about on earth in order to visit the people and places they loved and, according to the Book of the Dead, they could manifest themselves in any form they wished.

During the Old Kingdom, a new belief in the underworld ruled by Osiris and Ra would come into prominence. According to Osiride doctrine, one the body had been embalmed, the soul traveled into the underworld where it then faced numerous dangers.

Eventually, the deceased would appear before the tribunal of Osiris to be judged. It was only after being declared innocent by the goddess Maat that he could finally enter per-djet, or the perpetual domain', where he would remain for eternity. This paradise, the domain of Osiris, was believed to resemble the countryside along the Nile Valley where the deceased could once again cultivate the land.

The belief in a solar paradise was first adopted by the pharaohs of the 5th dynasty, and later by their courtiers. In this idea of paradise, the body remained on earth while the soul rose up to heaven. It involved rituals that would enable the soul to rise up to Ra's solar barque and accompany the god in his journey across the sky. This belief then became obsolete before gradually being amalgamated with all other funerary beliefs.

According to all these beliefs, the deceased would enjoy offerings of food in his tomb, visit his loved ones on earth, travel across the sky in Ra's barque, and cultivate his land in the paradise of Osiris.

Classical funerary doctrines tried to reconcile the various concepts of paradise. By day, the deceased was said to be in his tomb, although he might

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>