John is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in History and researches mythology and folklore in his free time.

The ancient Egyptian idea of the afterlife is vastly different from what many believe today. Most people today believe that their life will be judged upon their death. If they are judged to have done well by their religion's standards, then they are admitted into a paradise. If they have not done well, then the possibility of eternal punishment awaits them, often in a fiery realm. Some religions do believe in a halfway realm—not quite a punishment but not quite paradise either. Others believe in reincarnation, where the soul of the deceased returns to be reborn into a new life on Earth. For the Egyptians, things were not quite that simple.

The Soul

For the Egyptians, the soul was not a single unified entity. Rather, the immortal soul was split into three important parts—the Ka, the Ba, and the Akh. The Ka is the spark of life for each individual. It is said that the moment Khnum finishes creating the body out of clay is the same that the Ka enters the body and gives it life. It is identical to that person and is immortal. The Ka makes sure that a person will continue to exist after death, but it does need sustenance. This part of the soul is able to absorb the energy from food offerings left by the living. Often, images of food and drink will be painted on the inside of tombs, in the hope that this will sustain the Ka in case no offerings are left by the living. Some priests would say spells to entice a god to grant loaves of bread or cups of beer to the Ka. The Ka would typically stay in the tomb after death, and many ancient Egyptians placed small statues in the tomb to encourage it to remain, giving it something tangible to possess if the body was damaged.

Representation of a Ba

The Ba was considered to be a more "mobile" aspect of the soul, able to leave both the tomb and the realm of the dead by day. It would take the form of a large bird, with the deceased persons head. The Ba was considered to be representative of the person's heart, and would hold the personality of said person. When the Ba left the safety of the tomb, it needed to be cautious. If it were damaged in anyway, it would "forget" where to return to, and would destroy that part of the soul as it wandered aimlessly evermore.

The third, and last part of the immortal soul would be the Akh. Little is known about this part of the soul. Some believe that this is the part of the sould that would pass to the afterlife, and with any luck, the Field of Reeds, their version of the afterlife. According to Wafaa el-Saddik, in "Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs" this is the part we would most closely identify with our current definition of an immortal soul. Some believe that the Akh is only achieved when the Ba and Ka come together. Others believe that it is a separate part of the soul entirely, and is the part that deals with religious matters.

The Journey

When a person died, at least a part of their soul (most likely the Akh) would travel to the underworld (also known as Duat), for judgement. Anubis was said to have guided the souls, to ensure they did not become lost in the underworld. For ancient Egyptians, the judgement process was two-fold. In the first test, the person's heart would be measured against Ma'at in the Hall of Truth. Osiris would oversee this weighing of the heart. On one side of the scale, the heart. On the other, a single feather from Ma'at. Ma'at was the goddess of truth, balance, justice, harmony, as well as many other concepts. If a person's heart was equal to, or lighter than, one of Ma'at's feathers, then that person has led a life full of what she represents and passes the first judgement. If the heart was heavier than the feather, that person was condemned. Egyptians had no concept of hell or eternal torment. Instead, those that failed would be devoured by Ammit. She was the devourer of the unworthy dead, and was part lion, part hippopotamus, and had the head of a crocodile. Those who were devoured simply ceased existing. There would be nothing more for them, and they would never be reincarnated or enjoy eternal life. Those who made it past the weighing and Ammit would then be judged by 42 gods.

Each would look for a specific sin, and it was up to the person being judged to convince the gods that they never committed that particular sin. It was recommended by the Book of the Dead for the soul to name each god before making his argument. The Book of the Dead also informed the soul of what sin each god was looking for, giving them a better chance of convincing the 42 judges of their innocence. If each god was convinced, then the deceased was allowed past and entered the Reed Fields (also known as Aaru) by crossing the Lake of Flowers.

For the Egyptians, Paradise was nearly identical to what they had in the mortal realm. One would find loved ones, animals, pets, and one's home. The only difference is that one would never die here. That transition was already complete, and would not need to be repeated. It is implied, however, that one day the universe as we know it would cease to exist, and at that time, all the souls who survived judgment would return to be as one with the great Primordial Sea until the next universe was created from the waters.

Conclusion

One of the defining features of the Egyptian afterlife is what is not actually present. Most religions promise eternal torment for those who commit evil deeds in life. The Egyptians promise something far more sinister- complete oblivion. Also unique to the Egyptian afterlife is the idea of a split immortal soul. Many consider the immortal soul to be a whole and singular entity. Most interesting of all is the Egyptian idea of Paradise. The ability to continue one's existence in essentially the same state as it was in the mortal realm spoke to a deep contentment within the Egyptians. They could not envision any place better than what they already had on Earth.

Sources:

Brier, Bob, and A. Hoyt Hobbs. Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile. New York: Sterling, 2009.

Schulz, Regine, and Matthias Seidel. Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs. S. l.: H. F. Ullmann, 2007.





Have any comments or questions? Comment below! Have a topic you'd like to see me write on? Get in touch with me through the comments! Thanks for reading!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2017 John Jack George

Carter on July 10, 2020:

I love mythology and gods I specifically like ancient Greeks but recently I have found a liking for Egyptian mythology.

hi on January 21, 2020:

hi l-i-k-e it

hi like it on January 20, 2020:

hi like it

John Jack George (author) from United States on December 04, 2019:

Thank you!

kai on December 04, 2019:

hi like it

AHBP on November 20, 2019:

Great source!

human on May 03, 2019:

when you die do you get mummified or is that only the rich guys

kitty on April 25, 2019:

I thought that the 42 gods came first, and then the weighing of the heart. So, which is it, and does it matter?

John Jack George (author) from United States on April 14, 2019:

Hi Yay! If you fail to get past the 42 gods, the part of your soul which leaves Earth for the afterlife is destroyed. You had been judged unworthy of the Field of Reeds

yay on April 14, 2019:

what happens if you don't get past the 42 gods?

John Jack George (author) from United States on April 05, 2019:

Hi Sebastian! Thank you for reading! It really depends on the assignment. If it is any sort of paper for class, I wouldn't. Most teachers prefer students to use books or journal articles from JSTORE or something similar. You can look at the source section of the article for a few good books. Your best bet is to ask your teacher.

sebastian on April 04, 2019:

can I use this info for an assignment I have to do

John Jack George (author) from United States on March 08, 2019:

@Kaia-Thank you for reading! Best of luck on your paper.

Kaia on March 08, 2019:

I'm doing a paper on this and comparing it to the Greeks and this was extremely helpful! thank you!

Cade on February 07, 2019:

thank you for the information I am doing an research project on the ancient Egyptian afterlife and if you have any more recommended sites to help me find out more about the trials the process or the result of having a light heart in the duat

John Jack George (author) from United States on December 09, 2018:

Hi Jeff! Thank you for reading! I have found some resources about the Hall of Judgement. Some great information can be found at:

http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/funerary_pract...

as well as:

https://smarthistory.org/hunefers-judgement-in-the...

Both of these sites also have a recommended reading in case you would like to go further.

jeff on December 07, 2018:

Is there any more info about the hall of judgement?

jeff on December 07, 2018:

This is really useful info. Thank you!

John Jack George (author) from United States on August 16, 2018:

Hi Henry! Thanks for your question! From what I understand, professional mummification was at first reserved for the pharoh. As time passed, this was extended to those who could afford it. Not all was lost for those who didn't have money though. Ancient Egyptians first learned about mummification through natural means-namely the hot sands of the desert. The body, if correctly laid out in the desert, could naturally dry out and be preserved. In addition to this, during the New Kingdom the Book of the Dead became more widely available. This gave the average person a chance at having the correct spells be spoken over them or written with their body when they died.

Henry on August 15, 2018:

Do you have to be worth of the afterlife before you are mummified?

John Jack George (author) from United States on April 23, 2018:

Hello Blomkvist497! Thank you for your kind words! I found the information regarding the ba becoming damaged in my first source, on page 472, the section titled "Gods Cults and the Kindom Of the Dead", in the article written by Wafaa el-Saddik. "The Burial" When the ba is damaged, it cannot return to its resting place in the realm of the dead. This condemns the ba to wander forevermore, and essentially destroyed the deceaseds personality.

If you are looking for another source, David Spillmans Ancient Egpyt is pretty good as an overview as well.

Good luck on your paper!

BlomkvistM97 on April 23, 2018:

Hello!

I'm writing a paper on the subject, and your article was a precious help to me! Could you please tell me which of the two books you mention you read the information that the ba should be cautious due to danger of harm and loss in? It would be a great help (: Thanks a lot! :D

John Jack George (author) from United States on April 16, 2018:

Hello John! The Egyptians believed that the soul was in three parts. Only one would go on to an "afterlife" the way we believe today. The other 2 parts would remain in/around the tomb. One aspect, the ba, would supposedly take the form of a large bird with the deceased's head or face instead of a normal bird's head. I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, please ask!

John cen on April 16, 2018:

What do they think they turn into bro? Y’know after death?

John Jack George (author) from United States on January 01, 2018:

Hello Walter! What part of my article was incorrect? If you see something wrong, and have the sources available to back up your claim, please let me know. I used two relatively academic sources for this, and cross referenced it with some others. I recently added another book on Ancient Egypt to my library that agrees with my first two sources. I would very much like to know if something is incorrect, so that it may be fixed.

John Jack George (author) from United States on January 01, 2018:

Hello Kevin, sorry for the late reply. Osiris oversees the weighing of the heart against Ma'ats feather. At one point in time, this job was actually the job of Anubis. He later stepped aside for Osiris. Osiris is the lord of the underworld, and god of the dead. However, the judgement process is two fold. The deceased would have to convince a council of 42 gods that he or she was innocent of sin. If able to do so, then the deceased was able to go to the Reed Fields and join with Osiris. I wasn't able to find any sources that described what happened if they failed to convince the gods. I hope this answered your question! If you have any more, please let me know! If you want to take a look at the sources I used, look up "Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile" by Bob Brief and Hoyt Hobbs, "Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs"edited by Regine Schultz and Matthias Seidel, and "Ancient Egypt" edited by David P Silverman.

walter picca on December 12, 2017:

Nothing said by Jackie S in this article is correct.

Kevin on November 22, 2017:

I thought Osiris was ultimately the judge after souls' hearts were weighed against the feather of ma'at.