, Research Paper
Egyptian Religion
Religion was arguably the most important aspect of any Egyptian s life. Many shortcomings or glorious victories were blamed or attributed to the dispositions of the gods. With that said, the Egyptian s held the afterlife as one of the most important events in one s life.
They believed that the deceased needed his earthly body for his second body or Ka (soul) to achieve the immeasurable task ahead of him, to gain entry to the giant grain fields of Yaru. To climb to the Egyptian heaven you had to defeat many dangers to even imagine an audience with Osiris the Egyptian god of death. To improve the chances for their beloved kings to get to Yaru the priests provided, The Book of The Dead for every tomb. The Book of the Dead comprised of different charms and incantations to help the monarch past the many perils that would put his immortality in jeopardy. The book also contained advise on how to speak with the 42 demons that also accompanied Osiris during the interview in which it was decide whether to send the king to the place of eternal thirst or to the wonders of Yaru. Osiris the king of the dead is often depicted wrapped up as a mummy and holding the symbols of supreme Egyptian power, the flail and crook. Osiris who is considered by most historians the supreme ruler of all the gods was betrayed by his brother Seth and thrown into what many would call the first sarcophagus. Upon his death a great adventure springs where his wife Isis travels the lands of the Mediterranean searching for the body of her husband. When all the pieces are found they are bound with cloth and thus comprise the first mummy.
In conclusion, the religious obsessions of the Egyptians rule them during life and through out the after life.