As a child, ancient egyptian history was my escape. I would sit under my covers for hours reading books I had recently checked out from my city library about pharaohs, pyramids, and my favorite subject of all, Cleopatra. When visiting The Rosicrucian Museum of San Jose, I felt like a child agin. While touring the many different exhibits, I became more excited and interested one after another. After carefully reviewing over 4 pairs of artifacts, I chose to compare and contrast a predynastic box coffin and a Middle Kingdom coffin. The predynastic box coffin dates back to 3200 B.C.E and is not adorned with any after life offerings or scriptures, while the coffin of Lady…
Ancient Egypt, a magnificent civilization, but just how did they treat their dead kings? This essay will explain what and why pharaohs became mummified, and how they did.…
The Egyptians had far more advanced medical techniques than people had in Prehistoric times. The main reason for this is their religion. They believed in life after death, therefore they felt it was very important to treat the corpses with a lot of care. They were prepared for the afterlife. This meant the Egyptians gained a lot of knowledge about anatomy. The process they went through to preserve the bodies is called embalming. It was noticed that the organs in the body would not remain preserved so they removed them before the burial. They were placed into canopic jars, then the body was treated with salts. These salts and the desert air dried out the bodies and later they would be wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen. After 70 days, the embalming process was complete and the mummy would be placed inside a specially made coffin with things that made them comfortable in life.…
3. Most Egyptian mummies were kings or queens or wealthy people. Hypothesize this reasoning. Well most burial took place just in sand, but kings and queens were buried in tombs suited for the comfort of their afterlife, for which they could afford.…
From a religious standpoint, embalming was practiced mainly by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans because they believed that embalming and burial were the preparation steps for the soul’s journey to the underworld (Rostad). Jews and most Christians did not practice embalming; they believed it to be destruction of what God created. From this view embalming was not to preserve the body but prepare it for the afterlife. The second reason for embalming is that it disinfects and kills bacteria still living on the corpse to prevent disease and pathogens from finding their ways to new hosts (Rostad). Without this step critical disease, like those in third-world countries, would continue to spread and kill off those who are still…
Anubis is the god of the afterlife of mummification. Mummification is when the servants of the king or pharaoh cut out his/her organs then wraps the body in a tissue like substance but thicker. Then they put the organs in a jar, afterwards they put the body inside a golden casket and puts it inside of a pyramid made before. Archaeologist discovered pictures of Anubis in different escapades to Egypt. He appears to be a canine except walking like a human and has arms,legs, and feet.…
The Egyptians took great care of their dead because of their religious beliefs. According to John Catoir, author of “World Religions: Beliefs Behind Today's Headlines,” Egyptians believed that an afterlife involved a full human existence, not a mere spirit life, therefore the soul must join the body in heaven. It was hoped that by preserving their bodies from decay they would enhance the process of resurrection and provide themselves with a decent start in the new life. The priests who performed the mummification were thought of as acting in the role of Anubis, the god of the dead.…
The Ancient Egyptians believed that when the King or Pharaoh died, part of his spirit remained with his body. Ancient Egyptians were very concerned with the afterlife. By mummifying a dead person’s body the Ancient Egyptians thought that the person’s soul from their…
I was around 10 when a book about the discovery of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt accidentally caught my attention. Other than being frightened away by the very looking gruesome appearance of the mummy of King Tutankhamen and the lethal curse, the whole story held me entirely in its…
Egyptians believed that when a king died, his spiritual body returned to its original abode with the gods. The Egyptians felt it was their duty to worship the kings even after they left earth. By having festivals at the tombs, placing offerings of food in the grave of the dead to prevent them from returning, and praying for the welfare of the dead; they believed that their offerings helped the kings find their way to the gods above. “This happy result was partly by the performance of certain ceremonies which first wholly magical, but late, partly magical and partly religious” (3).…
Book 2.86 tells the reader about the professional embalmers who specialize in mummification. It details the process from the very beginning, starting from the point in which a corpse is brought in to be embalmed and ending with the body in a casket, ready to be placed in a tomb. Herodotus describes the process which he claims the Egyptians use to preserve the bodies. He…
What is mummification? Mummification is designed to dry or shrivel up a dead body which turns into a mummy. This process is found in Egypt. It started about 2600 B.C., during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties. Why, because mummification helps “preserve the remains of their ancestors” (“BURIAL PRACTICES, AFTERLIFE, & MUMMIES” 1). The way Egyptians handled the death of bodies were done in a very significant way. The bodies were placed in the tombs with their bodies straightened, but lying on their left side. At first, Egypt buried the bodies directly in the ground in a dry spot, curled up with simple pots or other goods.…
Egyptian burial practices began in the old kingdom (2786 – 2181B.C.E) where as the ancient Egyptian believed in another life after dying. This started to become practiced throughout the culture of the Egyptians in the old kingdom. This became important for the Egyptians to be buried as to their standards. The burial had to be correct for the Egyptians because it meant to be born again in the next life for them. The economic class buried Egyptians, where as wealthy burials included more than what poor burials would be involved. For most Egyptians who were low or middle status would do their burials in the deserts. As for the process of the burial, the closest people to the dead would wrap their body in cloth and bury it with everyday necessities and food they would take over to the next life for them and the…
The Ancient Egyptians believed in immortality after death and the afterlife. They spent their lives in preparation for death, evidently through constructing tombs for themselves. To enter the afterlife, a well functioning body was necessary. Thus, to protect their bodies and reach the afterlife, a set of burial customs needed to be followed. These rituals included mummification, spells, and the burial with certain goods needed in the afterlife. These rituals became the responsibility of the family to carry out with the assistance of priests. The burial process developed and changed over time, however the main elements of preparation of the body, the magical rituals, and the grave goods, all remained as significant and essential factors in an Egyptian funeral. I will discuss how the religious beliefs of ancient Egyptians underlie how they perceived death, burial customs, and the responsibilities of the living toward the dead. I will also explore the question of disrupting life after death.…
Ancient Egyptians used cumin in their mummification process, as well as a medicinal powder for driving out bad influences or energies that caused disease and illness. In Italy they would give cumin to homing pigeons so they would return home. They also put cumin in bread or wine to ensure faithfulness from lovers. It was believed in Italy and Germany that cumin in the bread would prevent loss and theft from humans or other forces. In medieval times it was believed cumin would prevent lovers and chickens from wandering off. Brides would even carry cumin with them on the wedding day to show there faithfulness to their groom.…
