Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Death in Ancient Egypt The Egyptians have left us with what is perhaps the most detailed legacy of any ancient civilization. They had strong beliefs about what would happen after death and spent much of their earthly lives preparing for the next world. The entire civilization of Ancient Egypt was based on religion, and their beliefs were important to them. Their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices. The Egyptians believed that death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than complete cessation, of life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means like piety to the gods, preservation of the physical form through Mummification, and the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment. Burying the dead was of religious concern in Egypt, and Egyptian funerary rituals and equipment eventually became the most elaborate the world has ever known. The Egyptians believed that the vital life-force was composed of several psychical elements; the Ka (individuality) remained inside the tomb with the body and occupied a ‘Ka statue’ that was made in the likeness of the deceased; the Ba (soul) could take on any form and leave the tomb at will; and the Akhu (spirit) tha