Embalmed The Bodies example essay topic

The religion in Egypt was part of ones life; they believed and worshipped many gods. The faith they held in the gods were big and religion was bound up with their everyday life. The Egyptians are known as one of the most religious people in the world. Usually they turned to the gods to seek advice, help, and approval in decisions and even to assist in childbirth.

The Egyptians had many festivals that they celebrate and it was believed that there was a god for every important event. Some of the gods and goddesses were Osiris (one of the best known), Isis, Anubis, and Set... (On the next page there are a list of the Gods / Goddesses and their associations) These deities are some of the most known as they tie to some of the important rituals, for example Anubis, god of the Cemeteries and embalming; he was always included in funerary practices. Pleasing the Gods was very important; they believed that if they somehow had upset them, they would bring ill fortune to the people of Egypt. Offerings were made to them daily at Temples where the Statue of a certain deity stood. The Egyptians kept a Book of the Dead.

That is a book filled with collected writings of where the soul went protection charms and spells for the Funeral Ceremonies. They believed in the afterlife and in order for them to "survive" in the otherworld, they embalmed the bodies. The pharaohs were the ones that were usually embalmed. The whole process of embalming took a total of 70 days. First the brain is drawn out through the nose with a long wire hook, then a cut would be made on the left hand side of the abdomen, in order to remove the internal organs, these organs are then placed in 4 special jars called the Can opic Jars. The heart wasn't removed but if it was damaged in anyway they would remove it and replace it with a stone scarab.

Next the body is covered in Natron (a salt that dried out moisture), the salt was left on the body for 40 days, and then the body would be washed, and stuffed with linen, perfumes and spices. The body is then wrapped in 20 layers of bandaging, between the bandaging they would place charms in between to ensure that the body is protected. The last step was to put the 'mummy" in a coffin, which was then placed inside another and another until finally closed in a large, heavy granite box. This was the process of embalming. Usually when they embalm a pharaoh, the priests would wear funerary masks depicting certain gods and would recite certain spell from the Book of the Dead to protect the soul when it went into the afterlife. Another thing with Egyptians was that they often carried charms with them, so that the charms would offer them protection of some sort.

The charms are usually 'invoked" so that a certain god can "lend" their power to them. One of the most widely known charms is the Ankh; the meaning of the ankh meant fertility or protection. Also Horus's eye. Some of these charms were also used to ward off evil spirits. Priests believed that evil spirits lived in dirt so they washed 7 times a day and chewed on Natron to cleanse them.

It was believed that cleanliness was equal to godliness.