The Egyptian Religion Part II

Ka Egyptians believed that each person's soul, or Ka, would continue living after a person died.  However, the soul would live only if the body was preserved.  In order to preserve a dead body, which would naturally decay, Egyptian priests developed the process known as mummification.

Mummification The Mummy Chamber, May 5, 2010 through date unknown (Image: DIG_E2010_Mummy_Chamber_prelims_01_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010)

Mummification © 2000–2012 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.

Mummification Klafubra (c) Photo taken of a mummy belonging to the Egyptian collection at the British Museum, London. Image copied from

Mummification © 2000–2012 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved. Mummies were placed in elaborate sarcophagi that were often made out of precious metals or painted wood. The body was placed within layers. Each layer portrayed the journey of the deceased person's soul through the afterlife, often with hieroglyphic writing indicating spells or other messages.

Canopic Jars To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, February 12, 2010 through May 2, 2010 (Image: DIG_E2010_To_Live_Forever_04_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010)

Mummification of Animals © 2000–2012 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved. Many animals were considered sacred by ancient Egyptians as they were considered living manifestations of certain gods. Perhaps the most revered animal in Ancient Egypt was the cat. Cats not only protected households from rats and snakes, but also were associated with the goddess Bastat.

Bastat Bastat was the cat- headed goddess believed to be the protector of the sun-god Amon-Re (also called Ra) and of the pharaoh. Gunkarta (c) Image copied fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bastet.svg&pa ge=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bastet.svg&pa ge=1

What do you think about mummification? Would you have wanted to be mummified if you had been alive in ancient Egypt? Why? GROUP DISCUSSION

Pyramids and Mastadas To house their mummies, pharaohs built large tombs called pyramids. These pyramids were filled with objects thought to be necessary for a successful passage through the afterlife. Ricardo Liberato (c) Image copied from

Pyramids and Mastadas To house their mummies, pharaohs built large tombs called pyramids. These pyramids were filled with objects thought to be necessary for a successful passage through the afterlife. Ricardo Liberato (c) Image copied from

Many wealthy Egyptians, such as nobles and priests, were buried in mastadas, underground rectangular burial chambers. Archaeologists and historians do not know how ordinary ancient Egyptians were buried, but it is widely believed that they were buried in the desert.