Question

In ancient Egyptian culture, how was it determined how the dead would spend their afterlife?

Answer 1

Among these customs was the preservation of the deceased’s body. Through mummification, the corpse was transformed into a new body, destined to rise again. The preservation of the body was essential because it was believed that the soul and individual personality of the deceased continued to live in the body after death. Without the body, the soul ceased to exist.

The deceased had to pass a series of difficult tests, aided by instructions from the Book of the Dead, protective amulets, and talismans. Final judgment took place before Osiris, the god of the dead. In the final judgment, the deceased’s heart was weighed against the feather of truth. If the scale balanced, Osiris permitted the deceased to enter the Field of Reeds, a paradisiacal world of plenty. If the heart was heavy with sin, the crocodile-headed monster Ammit (Eater of the Dead) devoured the deceased and his/her afterlife ended in torment and shame.

Answer 2

Mummification was a practice that the ancient Egyptians adopted because they believed that the body needed to be preserved in order for the dead to be reborn in the afterlife. ... The body was dismembered and wrapped in bandages to safeguard it, if the soul decided to return.