Egyptian Mythology - The Afterlife Quiz

Answer: The Opening of the Mouth

This process of animating the mouth, eyes, ears and nose was said to give mummies potential for life. The tradition was said to have been started by the god Ptah, the chief god in the city of Memphis.

Answer: The Book of the Dead

The 'Book of the Dead' was an expensive text to purchase and those who were rich enough to be buried with the book were more likely to achieve entry into the afterlife. As well as navigating their way through the labyrinth in the west, the deceased also had to recite a set text at each doorway, of which there were twenty-one (according the 'Book of the Dead').

Answer: Embalming

Anubis, son of Osiris and Nephthys, was the most important Egyptian deity involved in the journey to the afterlife. He invented the process of embalming, which he first used to preserve his father, Osiris. As well as receiving the mummy, performing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and monitoring the Scales of Truth, Anubis was also originally the god of the dead, although this role was assumed by Osiris after he came to dwell in Duat, the place of the dead.

Answer: Re

This boat was the night boat of Re, in which he transported the dead into Duat. The boat also transported Re and other gods through Duat where they fought the evil Apep. The day boat of Re was called Mandjet.

Answer: Twelve

According to the "Amduat", an Egyptian funerary text that was written during the New Kingdom, Duat consisted of twelve regions. Each night, Ra, the sun god, would travel through each of the twelve regions fighting against the god Apep, who was believed to have brought chaos to the world. Ra's goal was to regain the world's order by morning.

Answer: Giving money to charity

According to the 'Book of the Dead', Osiris was joined by forty-two gods, each of whom was responsible for looking at a specific crime which may or may not have been committed by the person under assessment. In addition to the incorrect options in the question above, these crimes included having a bad temper, being over-active and being too loud.

Answer: The feather of Ma'at

In some versions of this tradition, those with heavy hearts were made to exist in the afterlife performing strange acts, such as walking upside down or suffering constant hunger and thirst. In other versions, however, the beastly goddess known as Ammit would be poised by the scales, ready to devour any heart which was heavier than the feather of Ma'at.

Answer: The four sons of Horus

The four sons of the sky god Horus were named Duamutef (stomach, jackal-headed), Hapi (lungs, baboon-headed), Imseti (liver, human-headed) and Qebesenuef (intestines, falcon-headed). The heart was seen as the seat of intelligence and the soul and was therefore of the utmost importance when it came to one being judged on their wrong-doings. The brain was removed as waste.

Answer: The Field of Reeds

Whilst kings lived an afterlife of luxury and were in the company of the gods, non-royal beings, although still having a comfortable existence, had to work in the Field of Reeds, and would assist the voyage of Re each night.

Answer: A bird with a human head

The concept of the soul in ancient Egypt was a complicated one. There were several aspects of a soul, such as the ba, the ka, the ib (the heart), the rn (the name), and the sheut (shadow). The ka was said to be a weaker aspect of the soul and required a large offering of food and beer to maintain it once a person had passed away.