How did the ancient Egyptians view death and the afterlife?

The ancient Egyptians viewed death as a transition of the soul from the earthly plane to the next realm. Life was understood as an eternal journey, only part of which was lived on earth.

What is the afterlife called in ancient Egypt?

The afterlife in ancient Egypt was known as the Field of Reeds and was understood as a mirror image of one's life on earth where one would live in the presence of the gods.

Who was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt?

The god Osiris was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt.

What is the Egyptian Book of the Dead?

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an instruction manual for the soul after death to help it navigate the afterlife and find its way to the paradise of the Field of Reeds. It is not in any way the "Egyptian Bible."

A Gallery of Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (Image Gallery) p. 9

Image Gallery

by Joshua J. Mark
published on 26 July 2024

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Ammit & Thoth Await the Judgement of a Soul

by Trustees of the British Museum
published on 04 October 2020

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Ammit & Thoth Await the Judgement of a Soul — View Full-Size Image

A detail from the Papyrus of Ani, an Egyptian Book of the Dead. The god Thoth stands at the ready to inscribe the interrogation and judgement of Ani, who whose soul is being judged by the gods. The goddess Ammit stands behind Thoth, ready to consume the heart of Ani if he is judged unworthy. Tomb of Ani, Thebes. c. 1250 BCE. (British Museum)

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Questions & Answers

How did the ancient Egyptians view death and the afterlife?: The ancient Egyptians viewed death as a transition of the soul from the earthly plane to the next realm. Life was understood as an eternal journey, only part of which was lived on earth.
What is the afterlife called in ancient Egypt?: The afterlife in ancient Egypt was known as the Field of Reeds and was understood as a mirror image of one's life on earth where one would live in the presence of the gods.
Who was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt?: The god Osiris was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt.
What is the Egyptian Book of the Dead?: The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an instruction manual for the soul after death to help it navigate the afterlife and find its way to the paradise of the Field of Reeds. It is not in any way the "Egyptian Bible."

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External Links

Preparation for Death in Ancient Egypt - The Australian Museum

australian.museum

LIFE AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT | Ashmolean Museum

ashmolean.org

Journey to the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt: British Museum

britishmuseum.org

Egyptian Death and Afterlife: Mummies - British Museum

britishmuseum.org

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The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons here. Original image by Trustees of the British Museum. Uploaded by Arienne King, published on 04 October 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.