![]() One word suffices to illustrate the difference between the Greek and Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife: sarcophagus. British Museum, Manchester Museum, Ipswich Museum. Since these images were used for temples and tombs, what was the attitude of the Greeks of Egypt regarding death?Īdopting Ancient Egyptian Beliefs Of the Afterlife Gilded coffins of Aphrodite, daughter of Dides, aged 20 Isaious, daughter of Demetrios mummy mask of Titus Flavius Demetrius, a Roman. Faces, rather than being idealized, became lifelike portraits. Wall painting changed from the two-dimensional tradition to the three-dimensional Greek manner. The rules of proportion for images that had remained based on the same principles for three millennia evolved. This is how hieroglyphs were eventually deciphered, thanks to bilingual Greek-Egyptian carved texts.Įgyptian culture also benefited from Greek influence, with the Library of Alexandria, and one of the seven wonders, the Lighthouse. This is why some of the best-preserved temples of Egypt were made by Greek Pharaohs. But they kept being depicted in ancestral Egyptian style and built temples to the traditional gods. Pharaohs spoke Greek for the following three centuries. The invader asked to be recognized as the son of Amun, became Pharaoh, and was mummified. ![]() We can imagine what the Greeks felt arriving in Egypt: “nowhere are there so many marvelous things, nor in the whole world beside are there to be seen so many works of unspeakable greatness.” In return, an Egyptian priest reportedly told the Greeks that “you are young in soul… you possess not a single belief that is ancient.”Īlexander the Great then invaded Egypt, a 3,000-year-old civilization aiming for eternity. When Greek And Egyptian Cultures Merged Pharaoh Aleksendres, Chosen by Ra and beloved of Amun, better known as Alexander the Great Pharaoh Cleopatra with her son Ptolemy XV Caesar and Petosiris’ tomb, an Egyptian priest, decorated with Greek-style paintings. You have departed living, you have not departed dead, Parting words were: O you who love life, and hate death, The family put their loved one in his ‘house of eternity’, the tomb. It thus regained the use of its mouth and its senses.Īs a result, the mummy was alive, able to breathe and eat: You come to life a second time, On the day of the burial, the last but most important ritual took place, the ‘opening of the mouth.’ The mummy’s mouth, eyes, ears and nose were touched by a stone blade, similar to the knife used to cut the umbilical cord of newborns. ![]() It was like ‘being at rest,’ likened to sleep, “the night of going forth to life.” While sleeping, one is alive. Paul Getty Trustĭeath, for the ancient Egyptians, wasn’t the end, but a transition. Left, he embraces Osiris, followed by his own ka, wearing the upraised arms ? hieroglyph for ‘ka’. Right, Ay performs the ‘opening of the mouth’ on Tut’s mummy. How Life Was Given To Ancient Egyptian Mummies Tutankhamun‘s mummy given life. Every night, the stars moved, like the sun and Nile, in an orderly fashion. Once a year, the Nile spread and transformed barren ground into fertile land. Watching the sun dying at night, only to be reborn each morning. They came to this notion from observing the world around them and concluded that it was in perpetual rebirth. The ancient Egyptians believed the dead would resurrect and live forever. The Afterlife In Ancient Egypt Mummy coffins, the gilded coffin of Henutmehyt, coffin of Hornedjitef coffin of an unknown man wearing the Roman civic costume complete painted Fayum portrait and mummy of Artemidorus. Why was it so important that the body’s features endured in the afterlife? A salt-like mineral, natron, was used to dry corpses to ensure they remained intact. These were the foundations of the ancient Egyptian civilization’s quest for eternal life.įive millennia ago, the process of drying corpses became artificial. ![]() They placed pots and daily life items next to the dead and buried them in a fetal position, as if they expected they would be reborn. Over six thousand years ago, the ancient Egyptians realized the hot desert sand naturally preserved corpses. From naturally dried bodies, to plastered corpses, the mummified face of Governor Djehutynakht and a complete Fayum mummy portrait. Before The Fayum Portraits, Millennia Of Mummification Four millennia of mummification.
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