Ancient Egyptian Thanatology

Rory Lyn Dyson

Northern Oklahoma College
April, 2019
Dr. Jeremy Cook
TR9
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Ancient Egyptian Thanatology

By Rory Dyson

As a young boy I found myself fascinated with not only Egyptology, but especially with

the concept of death in relation to Egyptian culture. I ordered every magazine, book, or paper

published that I possibly could on the subject. It was nearly to the point of obsession. I even went

as far as applying to archeological digs in Cairo, Giza, Valley of the Kings, and several more as

free labor to try and see it for myself. I was hungry for more. The only problem as a child was

the lack of funding to travel. I tried writing archeologists, magazine editors, and anyone else I

could for the smallest chance to see Egyptian history up close. Sadly, none of that ever worked in

my favor. “I was a young child when I was carried off by violence…. I had a crowd of friends

but no one could defend me… My father, my mother, prayed..” ( The Book of the Dead). This

resonated with me deeply even at a young age. This quote and The Book of the Dead probably

attributed to my obsession.

After several discussions with all the concerned adults in my life, they decided it wasn’t

the best subject for a child to enjoy, but luckily I had a grandmother who kept an order for

Archeology magazines coming to my house. This allowed me to continue my hobby, at least in

some manner. After consuming every possible article I could on the subject, the internet was

starting to become more relevant and easily accessible with all sorts of information on the

subject that I previously didn’t have the ability to access. As a result I started to delve deeper into

the subject. It took awhile, but it eventually led me to an abundance of resources to keep up with
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my personal interests, even if it was highly discouraged by my parents, to work towards

developing a career in this field.

Egyptians not only had a concept of death, but such a devout belief in the afterlife that it

was an integral part of their culture. It was depicted in everything from their religion, and Gods,

even to their writings and cultural development. The belief in the supernatural was so engrained

in them that it tended to be in everyday life. “The ancient Egyptians, perhaps more than any

other people, devoted considerable attention to both death and to life after death.” (E. budge,

Osiris, 1961’s The book of the Dead)

The afterlife however, was not guaranteed by any chance. To be able to enjoy the

afterlife, your physical body needed to be reunited with the soul or both would be destroyed.

“The physical body was crucial to a continued existence in the hereafter, especially as the ka and

the ba (see below) needed to be periodically reunited with it if they were to survive.” (Sulma

Ikram, Death and burial in Ancient Egypt) The idea is that a person was made up of 5 parts, the

ka, ba, ren, akh, and shuyet. The ka was your life force, ba your soul, akh the spirit, ren your

name, and shuyet your shadow. This is why the process of removing organs, and attempting to

preserve the bodies was important. Without the bodies continued existence, your life force could

cease to exist. This led to a whole series of funerary practices including mummification, the

separation of organs, except for the heart. They actually had amulets that they would place over

your heart to ensure your protection called a heart scarab (Sulma Ikram, Death and Burial in

Ancient Egypt). If your heart or “essence” was balanced with a father then you would have lived

a good life. If it did not you would forfeit the afterlife.

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Not only could it be forfeited but it could be destroyed, you could also be struck from the

after life if someone wiped your name from everything. This was the worst possible fate

imaginable in Egyptian culture. You would cease to exist (Ibid).Akhenaten is a prime example of

this. To tried to erase the god Amun by removing his name from all monuments and structures.

They believed that your name had power, this belief is carried into many cultures today in if you

give someone your name you give them power over you. This also showed how much weight

death carried in their culture and how it was sorrowful.

Their belief that dying was a sorrowful event radiated throughout their culture. “Their

dream was to die at 110 years and to have a good burial”. Sekhmet and Bastet were examples of

their associations with death (Panos D. Bardis 1981 pg. 19: History of Thanatology). They also

believed in Life after death however.

“You will live again, you will live again forever! Behold, you are young again forever!”

(Heroduotus, Histories, II, 85-90.) This demonstrates the Ancient Egyptians belief; “A

prehistoric belief, which was the oldest Egyptian doctrine concerning death, was that life after

death continues almost unaltered.. which explains the “embryo” position of the corpse in the

tomb.” (Panos D. Bardis 1981 pg. 19: History of Thanatology).

However despite this belief they still revered death as if death itself was living and

therefore: “the dead depended on the living more than the living feared the dead; for a second

death in the tomb was final, hideous, and dreadful (E. Budge, Egyptian Magic, 1901; The gods

of the Egyptians, 1904). The dead depended on the living to keep a table full of food and drink

so that the dead could go on living in the afterlife. The dead relied upon the living to ensure the

souls survival.
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“The Egyptian concept of the soul regarded it as being comprised of nine parts:

the Khat was the physical body; the Ka one’s double-form; the Ba a human-headed bird aspect

which could speed between earth and the heavens;” (Mark, Joshua J. "Ancient Egyptian

Culture." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 13 Jan 2013. Web. 29

Apr 2019.) This soul also contained the part Akh, which was the transfigured being of light

commonly related to the stars. This only happened if you led a good life. If you didn’t you would

be instead annihilated (Sulma, Ikran: p. 31: Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt).

This brings us to Osiris, a god in Ancient Egyptian beliefs. He was often presented in

mummiform (Sulma, Ikran: p. 32 Death an Burial in Ancient Egpyt). Osiris was the archetypal

funerary god. He was the Egyptian version of Hades, the ruler of the underworld, and

responsible for judging whether a person had lived a life worthy of the afterlife. Osiris after being

tricked into the first ever casket, was brought back to life by his wife Isis. This legend provides

the basis for Ancient Egyptian concepts of life after death. Anubis also had a crucial role to play

when it came to judgement. He was the one who held the scales on which the heart was to be

weighed against a feather.

Just scratching the surface on this; my obsession still has no bounds when it comes to

Ancient Egyptian culture and possibly an unhealthy fascination with their beliefs in death. My

parents still try to discourage me. Although I have died six times and still came back to crippling

medical debt, still taking it with me: I still believe you should; “Follow your heart and the

pleasures which you desire… The day of lamentations will come even for you… No one can take

his possessions with him and no one has ever come back after he has gone there” (Book of the

Dead). I hope to follow my heart to see this culture up close.

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Works Sited

Bardis, P. D. (1981). History of thanatology: Philosophical, religious, psychological, and sociological ideas

concerning death, from primitive times to the present. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America.

Ikram, S. (2015). Death and burial in Ancient Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.

Johnson, P. (2000). The civilization of Ancient Egypt. New York: HarperCollins.

Wiesner, M. E., Ebrey, P. B., Beck, R. B., Dávila, J., Crowston, C. H., & McKay, J. P. (2018). A history of

world societies. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.