What did the Ancient Egyptians believe happend in the afterlife?

Answer 1

taken from http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/index.htm

The Court in the Underworld

When a person had died he was taken to Underworld where his deeds in life were taken to the Court of Osiris for the final judgement. Since this place also was called "The Island of Fire" it's quite obvious that the Egyptians had knowledge about the burning interior of the Earth though they had no volcanoes in their own country. Before coming there the dead person had to pass a labyrinth of gates and doors and answer questions correctly to pass through. The lion-god Aker let him through the last gate and he was facing the fourteen members of the jury in the Tribunal Hall. There he was allowed to speak about his behavior on Earth. (Shown in the upper left in the picture below).

Then god Anubis took him into the courtroom presenting him the scale where his heart would be put in balance with the feather of the goddess Máat, patroness of truth and harmony. The procedure was recorded by Thoth - the god of writing and wisdom. Sometimes Thot's animal (a baboon) was sitting on top of the scale ready to adjust the result using a sliding weight.

The deceased enters from the left guided by Anubis. His heart is placed on the scales and the result is recorded by Thoth. Then Horus takes him in front of the judge Osiris for the final verdict. Behind the throne stand Isis and Nephtys.

If the heart of the deceased wasn't too heavy with sins from his life on Earth, he went through and could continue his voyage to the afterlife and was granted a plot of land in the "Field of the Reeds". This was the paradise for the ancient Egyptians - to grow crops for eternity in a land that was the very image of the Nile Valley they just had left.

If he failed the test on the other hand - his heart was immediately devoured by the beast Ammut sitting under the scale ready to have a good blow-out. In that case the dead faced the most horrible future imaginable for the Egyptians - he was denied an eternal life in the land in the West and his soul would be restless forever.

The seven steps to Paradise

1. Crossing the celestial river by Nemty to the "Land in the West".

2. Passing through gates and labyrinths by answering questions.

3. Being let into the great Court of the Underworld by the god Aker.

4. Addressing a jury of 14 judges about the deeds during life on Earth.

5. Taken by Anubis to "Balance of Truth" to weigh his heart for sins.

6. If the heart wasn't heavy, brought by Horus to Chief Judge Osiris.

7. Entering the "Fields of the Reed" (Paradise) and get eternal life.

Answer 2

Ancient Egyptians believed in an after life known as the Underworld. The Underworld was ruled by Osiris and his wife Isis, who were some of the most powerful and respected of the Gods. They believed that when a man or woman died, they passed a series of tests including one in which their heart was weighed on a scale by Anubis (in the form of a man with the head of a Jackal). The second place of the scale was filled by the Feather of Truth. If the feather was heavier than your heart, it meant you had done well in your life and you were allowed to go on into the realm of the dead. If your heart was heavier, then you were not allowed into the Afterlife.

Answer 3

The afterlife went okay because when two people died at the same time, you didn't know what you were going to do so do one person at one time