5/7/2023 0 Comments Kingdom of the dead tombs![]() The tradition of the ancient Egyptian house of eternity had its roots in 'result-oriented thinking', which was based on past culture and had no scope for innovation at the religious level.Ĭontrary to the spiritually innovative progress, which took into consideration life experiences and the further course of continually adapting to new circumstances, the Egyptians saw personal life until death as a perfect outcome for the preparation of the afterlife in which the completed actions on earth would be repeated. After laying the foundation stone, the inscriptions telling the stages of life followed. Reserve funds, built from their income, were used for the gradual expansion of their tombs. The officials with good earnings and the people working in the temple cults began planning their own house of eternity upon entering into working life. The ancient Egyptians lead their lives from birth in preparation for later death. Stone entrance to tomb from the inner courtyard belonging to Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum ( Saqqara, fifth dynasty). The house of eternity as the 'book of life' A life lived in moral perfection symbolised 'the good', which was allowed to pass into the afterlife and thus, in the djet after being 'checked by the judgment of the dead.' The house of eternity also functioned as the 'tribunal and mummification hall', constructed according to the principles of the goddess Maat. The 'life goals' of the ancient Egyptians depicted the eternal continuation in the 'Kingdom of Osiris', for which the embalming, mummification and the reading of the judgment of the dead were required for those who had died. Osiris', whose appearance was as a mummy, also carried the name of 'the one who continues to be perfect.' In this respect, neheh, the time of Ra, is the rebirth, and djet, the time of Osiris, is the remembrance. Contrary to this, Osiris, as the god of the dead, was the synonym for the time called 'djet'. The sun god Ra was the manifestation of the time called 'neheh', as Ra 'renewed himself every night' and 'was reborn' with the dawn of every day by the sky goddess Nut. 'Djet' refers to the future in which earthly life will have ended and everything accomplished in life lives for an indefinite amount of time in Duat. 'Neheh' means a period of time in which something exists, renews and repeats. They, therefore, had two concepts of time for 'the eternal cycle of life of earth' ( neheh - nḥḥ) and 'life in the eternity of the kingdom of the dead' ( djet - ḏt). The ancient Egyptians believed that life in the mortal world was short in comparison to eternity in the afterlife. Osiris as the Ruler of the Afterlife (Tomb from Sennedjem, nineteenth dynasty) With that said, the ancient Egyptians began to spend the most important annual celebrations in the house of eternity. ![]() The house of eternity was the place that enabled the tomb owner to endure unwavering, in the 'eternal life' (djet). The tomb owner hoped that through immaculate moral conduct, they would meet their Ka in the afterlife. The tomb owner depicted their "completed life" in anticipation of their death, which according to their beliefs, was to be removed from this form in the portrayal of oblivion and mortality. The owner immortalised themselves with their portrait on the walls of the tomb, along with the inscriptions, to resurrect them in "a new life in later times". The house of eternity was "a place to meet oneself" for the tomb owner and contained decorations portraying the owner's likeness, and the stages of their lives. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the construction of a monument during one's own lifetime represented the most intensive representation with the connection of life and the concept of living in the afterlife. This was an ideal construction method that could be afforded by only a very few ancient Egyptians, due to its high cost. Burial sites made of stone were a "sign of immortality", due to the long durability of stone. In ancient Egypt, the term house of eternity refers to a tomb that consists of a pit, a tomb shaft, or from mudbricks, which were later carved into rocks or built on open land.
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