Home in the Afterlife

With the recent passing of my father, I have been thinking a lot about his funeral and how burials were done in Ancient Egyptian times. The afterlife was something that the Egyptians held to high regard. Pyramids were built as homes for the dead to assure comfort in the afterlife. 

 The most elaborate homes for the dead were reserved for royalty and members of the aristocracy. One of the most famous pyramids is The Great Pyramid of Khufu which is a part of the burial complex at Gizeh. It was constructed for the second ruler of the fourth dynasty, Pharaoh Khufu, aka Cheops. The Great Pyramid of Khufu stands at approximately 480 feet tall and consist of more than two million stone blocks. The base of the pyramid covers a base area of 13 acres. Talk about a massive structure. 

Inside the pyramid is a royal burial vault which was prepared as home for eternity. Its chambers were filled with priceless jewelry , weapons, and furniture in an attempt to prepare the dead for the afterlife. The walls of the chamber were also decorated with paintings from colored pigments or carvings of sacred rituals and daily activities. Just the mention of such decorations, chambers, and burial vaults make me think of mausoleums in today's cemeteries. Perhaps this idea came from the royal chambers hidden within the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.

 

We did not choose to place my father in a mausoleum. We did what is consider a standard burial in today's society. The were no walls to decorate, but his casket had elaborate details all around. There will not be a pyramid of millions of stones place over his grave, but we did choose a headstone that will forever mark his place for eternal rest. I believe the preparations that we took sent him into the afterlife well prepared just as the Egyptians did for their pharaohs so long ago.