Ancient Origins IRAQ Tour

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Hell - Unknown Master - Portugal - 1st third of 16th century. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Where on Earth is Hell, Or Is It in Our Minds?

One of the most common fears shared by most humans at some time in their lives, is what will happen to them after they die? Many parents freeze when their children ask this question and avoiding the finality of the cold truth ‘we don’t know’, they offer one of a range of comforting stories generally pivoting around notions of heavenly family reunions, where people and pets are cleared of ailments and brought back to life to live in an eternal state of bliss. Historian Ashley Cowie looks not at the fate of the lucky ones in heaven, but more so at what our ancestors thought of the destination of sinners’ souls - hell.

The Papyrus of Hunefer fated to 1375 BC shows Hunefer's heart being weighed on the scale of Ma’at by the jackal-headed Anubis. The scribe of the gods, the ibis-headed Thoth, records the results and if the heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the awaiting Ammit (soul eater). (Public Domain).

The Papyrus of Hunefer fated to 1375 BC shows Hunefer's heart being weighed on the scale of Ma’at by the jackal-headed Anubis. The scribe of the gods, the ibis-headed Thoth, records the results and if the heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the awaiting Ammit (soul eater). (Public Domain).

Mesolithic hunters and Neolithic farmers had conceptions of an afterlife, evident in the discovery of weapons and sacred artifacts which were buried with the dead, for use in the next stage of the soul’s journey. The idea of hell ‘as a place where the dead suffer’ first appears in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead written about 1550 BC. Duat, the Egyptian underworld was: “filled with dangerous creatures that attacked souls of the deceased while seeking the justice of Osiris”. Weighing the hearts of the dead on the scales of Ma’at, if Osiris found a soul to be just it went on to the paradise of Aaru; but if unjust, the soul was devoured instantly by a giant soul consuming beast called Ammit, then banished to wander the earth for eternity.


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