Ancient Egyptian religion is often called a "death
cult", and there is much truth in this. So much of
the activities and wealth of both rich and poor
was connected to death. Tombs were built as large
and adorned as the owner could afford, and anyone
with the funds prepaid for mummification.
The reason for this heavy focus on death relates
to the image of the world divided into two halves, which
together formed the eternal continuity of cosmos. |
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Yes, this
sounds confusing to most modern people, but it was the
unquestionable truth to the ancient Egyptians.
The sun was the guide for this cycle. During day,
the sun passed over the world of the living.
During night the sun entered the other world, the
other part of cosmos, the world located beneath
the ground of man.
And this is a central fact to understanding the
shape of tombs, especially the finest ones, the
royal tombs on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor.
Here the pharaohs and queens built their staging
posts for joining the eternal cycle of the sun.
Hence it was important to drill into the ground,
getting as good a position as possible to join
nothing less than the Sun.
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