#Concept ancient glyphs series#

īefore a person could be judged by the gods, they had to be 'awakened' through a series of funerary rites designed to reanimate their mummified remains in the afterlife. Herodotus, an ancient Greek scholar, observed that grieving families were given a choice as to the type and or quality of the mummification they preferred: 'The best and most expensive kind is said to represent, the next best is somewhat inferior and cheaper, while the third is cheapest of all.' īecause the state of the body was tied so closely with the quality of the afterlife, by the time of the Middle Kingdom, not only were the burial chambers painted with depictions of favourite pastimes and great accomplishments of the dead, but there were also small figurines ( ushabtis) of servants, slaves, and guards (and, in some cases beloved pets) included in the tombs, to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

By the Middle Kingdom, all dead were afforded the opportunity. In the Old Kingdom, only the pharaoh was granted mummification and, thus, a chance at an eternal and fulfilling afterlife. Therefore, it was necessary for the body to be preserved as efficiently and completely as possible and for the burial chamber to be as personalized as it could be, with paintings and statuary showing scenes and triumphs from the deceased's life. The ẖt (Egyptological spelling: khet), or physical form, had to exist for the soul ( kꜣ/ bꜣ) to have intelligence or the chance to be judged by the guardians of the underworld. On display at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. Khet (physical body) An ushabti box, Ptolemaic Period. In some instances, these forms could be employed to help those whom the deceased wished to support or, alternately, to take revenge on his enemies. In life, the person was a complete entity, but if he had led a virtuous life, he could also have access to a multiplicity of forms that could be used in the next world. The Egyptians believed that the human personality had many facets-a concept that was probably developed early in the Old Kingdom. David, at the University of Manchester, explains the many facets of the soul as follows: Collectively, these spirits of a dead person were called the Akh after that person had successfully completed its transition to the afterlife.