LESSON 3.5 What did ancient Egyptians believe?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • describe Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife • explain why Egyptians made mummies • identify and interpret signiýcant religious symbols in primary sources.
Tune in Mummies reveal much about ancient Egyptian life.
SOURCE1 An ancient Egyptian found buried in the desert sands
1. Describe the condition of the mummy found in the desert sands. 2. Analyse what this burial method suggests about ancient Egyptian funerary practices. 3. Explain how the desert environment might have helped preserve the body.
3.5.1 The journey to the afterlife Death was a very important event for ancient Egyptians, linking life on Earth with eternal life. They spent much time preparing for death. Most of our knowledge comes from tombs. Many deities were believed to guide the journey to the afterlife, which was a fantastic but difýcult journey. • The dead crossed a wide river.
• They chanted spells to pass seven gates guarded by monsters. • They avoided traps and attacks by crocodiles and snakes. • Finally, their heart was weighed by 42 judges against a feather to check for sin. Preparing for the journey of the soul
The ancient Egyptians believed that a dead person had a number of souls. Two of these were the ka and the ba . The ka , the person’s life force, stayed within the tomb, getting strength from the food and drink left there. The ba , the person’s character, set off on its journey towards the afterlife, returning to the tomb to rest each night. To do these things, the soul needed a body. So dead people’s bodies were carefully preserved, or embalmed, so they did not rot.
92 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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