Ancient Egypt - The Afterlife

1. Ancient Egyptians believed when a person died, Anubis, God of the Dead embalmed the body and placed it in a wooden mummy case.

2. Ancient Egyptians believed that you went to another place and lived another life.

3. Ancient Egyptians put all the things you would need for this life such as clothes, furniture and jewellery in the tomb.

4. The body was then taken to the Egyptian Underworld, where it went on a dangerous journey, like an adventure.

5. On the adventure the dead had to face demons and monsters and travel along pathways guarded by snakes.

6. Ancient Egyptians chose spells to take with them taken from a book, known as the Book of the Dead.

7. This journey took them to the Judgement Hall.

8. Much of the journey was undertaken by boat as it was believed the Egyptian Underworld was full of rivers in Ancient Egypt.

9. In the Judgement Hall, the heart was taken out of the body and it was weighed against a feather on a large set of scales.

10. Thoth recorded the details of the trial and Osiris watched over the last judgement of the soul.

11. If the heart weighed more than the feather, the person was not allowed to continue their journey to the Egyptian Afterlife.

12. This was because in Ancient Egypt it was believed that all the wicked things that a person had done during their life weighed the heart down.

13. The heart was thrown to Ammut, the Gobbler, who ate it.

14. Ammut had the head of a crocodile, the front part of her body was like a lion and the back part was like a hippopotamus.

15. If the feather weighed more than the heart, it meant that the person had led a good life and was allowed to continue their journey.

16. Ancient Egyptians believed that the Egyptian Afterlife was a wonderful place.

17. Ancient Egyptians believed it was similar to Ancient Egypt, but better.

18. Ancient Egyptians thought that they would be reunited with their families and that a single day in the Afterlife was like a whole lifetime on earth.