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The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt
Death in ancient Egypt was a journey into eternity rather than an ending. It was an extremely important for ancient Egyptians to preserve the human body after death. To them it meant that if the body was preserved they could go on to the afterlife, where the deceased could lead a new life. They would need all of the things they used in their life on earth and for that reason they were buried with furniture, food, statues, jewellery, games and other divine artefacts.

The ancient Egyptians believed that every person possessed two souls: a ba and a ka. The ba was why or how the individual acted, similar to a personality; and the ka was what they believed kept all Egyptians alive.The first soul, the ka, (the physical part of the soul), chaperoned the human body throughout their life on earth. Once dead the ka would exit the body and enter the realm of the afterlife. As ka would cease to exist without the human body great efforts were made to preserve the body. The ba (the spiritual part of the soul) today is like the human soul. In the afterlife the Egyptians recognised the ba as a human headed bird. They believed that in the daylight when Ra (the sun god) was out, ba could roam the earth to watch over the living families of the deceased. Once the night fell on Egypt ba had to return to the underworld. The ka could happily enjoy the Land of the Two Fields. At night, the two souls returned to their tomb, to wait for the next morning to come. The Egyptians would be reunited with their souls in the after life, if their bodies were properly preserved.

The next step into the afterlife was vital, though far-fetched to our modern society. They were judged by the god of mummification, Anubis. This took place in the Hall of Ma'at. The heart of the deceased Egyptian was weighed against a ostrich feather which symbolized genuine behaviour. Their heart contained evidence of their behaviour in life. If the heart weighed more than a feather, it meant that they had lived a life of wrongdoing. If that was the case their heart would be eaten by the god Ammit who was a combination of a crocodile, lion and hippopotamus. However, if the feather outweighed the heart it was thought to be wholesome. Ka could then board Ra's magical boat which took the it to the Land of the Two fields. Before, only Pharaohs could board Ra's boat, however Osiris, the god of the underworld changed that and allowed any one to go to the afterlife on the condition that their heart was lighter than the feather.

If something were to happen to the mummy the ba and ka would be lost forever and you would no longer be able to reach the land of the Two Fields. For this reason grave robbing was seen as a horrific crime. Grave robbers not only stole all of the valuable artefacts, they also stole the chance to live for an eternity. Crime was very low in ancient Egypt as everyone wanted to spend eternity in the afterlife.

**Modern Day Comparison**
Today many religions still believe in the afterlife. However, there are some minor changes towards what we think happens when someone dies. Many religions believe that when you die you will enter a realm of either Heaven or Hell. Just like the Egyptians thought, if the deceased had lived a life without wrongdoing and was a good person they would be able to enter Heaven (the afterlife for the Egyptians). Heaven is a place where the gods or god dwell and is the abode of the blessed dead. Heaven is the destination of the faithful, in contrast to hell, the place of punishment for the wicked. For example, if we were in the Ancient Egyptian times everyone would aim to go to heaven- the afterlife; hell for the Egyptians would be the ka wondering the earth without entering the afterlife. We have interpreted the concept of 'ba' as being everything that makes a person unique - a person's personality. Yet again, others believe that the only way to perpetuate oneself is through their children. The science that fully describes this concept is known as evolutionary psychology. Each child is, literally, 50% of their parents. If for example, a father has two children, he then, one can argue, has passed on 100% of his genetic make-up, meaning once he dies he will be able to live on through his children. Home Page