Facts about The Egyptian Afterlife

1. 15

   Pharaohs were buried with maps called Amduat texts depicting the Egyptian afterlife's dangerous passages, monsters, and magical passwords needed to reach the realm of the blessed dead.

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2. 14

   Pyramid texts, the oldest known religious writings dating to around 2400 BCE, were carved directly onto burial chamber walls to help pharaohs achieve immortality in the Egyptian afterlife.

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3. 13

   Scarab amulets carved from lapis lazuli or green feldspar were placed over the heart during mummification to prevent the deceased from speaking against themselves during judgment in the afterlife.

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4. 12

   Four protective deities called the sons of Horus—Imsety, Duamutef, Qebhsennuf, and Hapy—were believed to guard the four cardinal directions of the Egyptian afterlife realm.

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5. 11

   Tomb paintings depicting the Field of Iaru showed deceased Egyptians harvesting grain crops in paradise, reflecting their belief that agricultural labor continued eternally in the blessed afterlife.

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6. 10

   Duat, the Egyptian underworld, was imagined as a mirror realm containing twelve regions corresponding to the twelve hours of night, each guarded by demons and requiring specific magical knowledge to traverse safely.

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7. 09

   Egyptians inscribed personalized versions of the afterlife journey on tomb walls and coffins, with each deceased individual's name inserted into spells to ensure their safe passage through the Duat underworld.

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8. 08

   Amulets called pectorals, worn across the chest and fashioned from gold or faience, protected Egyptian souls during their perilous journey through the twelve hours of the Duat underworld.

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9. 07

   Ancient Egyptians believed the soul consisted of nine separate components including the ka and ba, which required different forms of sustenance and protection throughout eternity in the afterlife.

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10. 06

    Osiris, god of the afterlife, was depicted as a mummified man wearing the atef crown and holding the crook and flail symbols of pharaonic authority over the Egyptian underworld.

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11. 05

    Wealthy Egyptians constructed elaborate underground tombs filled with shabtis, small servant figurines numbering up to 400 per tomb, to perform labor for them throughout eternity in the Egyptian afterlife.

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12. 04

    Canopic jars with lids shaped like the four sons of Horus stored the mummified organs of deceased Egyptians, with Imsety guarding the liver in the Egyptian afterlife.

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13. 03

    In the Egyptian afterlife, deceased souls faced 42 divine judges in the Hall of Two Truths who evaluated whether the heart weighed less than the feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice.

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14. 02

    The Book of the Dead, a collection of funerary texts spanning over 200 papyrus spells, guided deceased Egyptians through the twelve-hour journey of the nighttime afterlife.

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15. 01

    Egyptians spent approximately 70 days mummifying corpses through a process called natron salt desiccation before wrapping them for the afterlife.

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