2.4 Egyptian Gods and Cult Centres. The cosmogony of Heliopolis - 4.1 Concepts of the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt

Michel, Marianne [UCL]

(eng) 2.4 Egyptian Gods and Cult Centres. The cosmogony of Heliopolis - The Ancient Egyptians were pious and sensitive people and they explained the birth of the universe (i.e. cosmogony) by staging the gods in stories or myths. The main mythological stories appeared in the three important cult centres of Ancient Egypt: Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Memphis. The leading role was played by the main god in each locality. Only the cosmogony of Memphis has been preserved as a theological treatise. The others, including the cosmogony of Heliopolis, must be reconstructed according to the suggestions found in divine hymns, funeral ritual texts (Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, the Book of the Dead) and entries inscribed on the temples of the Late Period. *** 4.1 Concepts of the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt - From the time of the New Kingdom, life after death was what Ancient Egyptians could hope to achieve if they were fortunate enough to be buried with a copy of the “Book of the Dead”, or more precisely, the “Book of Coming Forth by Day”. According to this book, the objective of the deceased is to follow the same cycle as the sun in order to regenerate like it does every morning. To do this, they must travel with the god Re on his daily journey across the world of the living and on his nightly journey across the underworld, or as the Ancient Egyptians called it, the Duat.