In Egyption Mythology, what happens to 'bad' people when they die?

Question

Right now, I'm having a hard time deciding between 'Shoveling Ferret's' and 'kivrin9's' answers...I found both to be very informative

Answer 1

The Hall of Ma'at is where the judgement of the dead was performed. This was done by weighing the heart of the deceased (the conscience) against the feather of Ma'at (representing truth and justice). Anubis led the deceased to the scales of Ma'at and weighed the heart to see if the deceased was worthy to join the gods in the afterlife. Ammut is also present as the crocodile-headed demon waiting to devour the heart should the deceased prove unworthy. Thoth, god of wisdom, stands to the right of the scales and records the results. Having passed the test, the deceased is then led by Horus to meet the king of the dead, Osiris.

Answer 2

Well, there were four things that could happen to you when you died. The first three options had to do with the weight of your heart. The heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at (order, as opposed to chaos) by Anpu- (Anubis). If your heart was too heavy from all your misdeeds, your soul would fall below to Ammit, the devourer of souls. She was part crocodile, part big cat, and part hippo- the most dangerous creatures in Egypt. If your heart was too light, it would float off and you didn't want that, either. This was caused by living a carefree and feckless life. The desireable outcome was for your heart to be in balance with the feather. Then you could go on to the afterlife. There was even a magic spell used to ask your heart not to testify against you when the time came.

Sometimes, however, another thing happened to bad people when they died that had nothing to do with all of this. It was believed in Egypt that humans could kill a soul. This was accomplished by obliterating the person's name and image wherever you could. Each time this happened, because your name is part of your soul, your soul would be weakened. This is what happened to Akhenaten and family, as punishment for trying to force the entire kingdom into a state of monotheism. If you see a piece of Egyptian art with a face rubbed off or feet missing, this was so that the soul could neither breathe nor walk. Souls had to be cared for- what happened to you was not dependent only upon your life and moment of death.

This is a good summary to the best of my abilities, but it is important to remember that Egypt was around for thousands of years, and beliefs changed over time.

Answer 3

Well, when someone died, they would be mummified. They would take out the heart because they believed the heart controlled everthing , (thoughts, movements etc. ), They would then weigh it with a feather. If the heart weighed less than the feather, that meant the heart was a good heart and therefore the owner of the heart would go on to the afterlife. If the heart weighed more than the feather , they believed it was fulll of sin so therefore the owner of the heart would not go onto the afterlife , they would go to the underworld

Answer 4

Our best information regarding the theology of the afterlife comes from high elite and royal tomb sources and it is not entirley clear how much such beliefs applied to the lower classes.

However, by at least the New Kingdom there is a spell (#125) in the so-called "Book of the Dead" that deals with the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. Having made his or her way through various tests, trials, etc. in the Underworld, the deceased comes to the Hall of Two Truths where his or her heart is weighed against a feather - the feather being symbolic of a complex concept of justice/right called maat and often personified as a goddess of the same name. Evil deeds made a heart heavy and if the heart was found to be heavier than the feather, Ammut "devourer of the dead" and "great of death" a female creature with the head of a crocodile, foreparts of a lion or panther, and rear of a hippopotamus would devour the heart of the deceased, making it impossible for them to proceed in the Underworld.

As early as the Old Kingdom in private tomb "biographies" or "autobiographies" of high officials, there is frequently a listing of good and bad acts - these are fairly consistent or even cliched - essentially they convey the idea that the person was not corrupt, nor lazy, nor a thief and that he went out of his way to do good by helping orphans and widows. Such "biographies" are addressed to the gods of the underworld as much as they are addressed to passersby of the tomb so presumably this is a way to ensure success in the afterlife.

In addition to the survivial of the body or at least of image of the deceased, the name of the deceased needed to survive in order for a person to survive in the afterlife. Thus we have mummification, statuary, and the inscription of a person's names and titles in as many places as possible to ensure their survival. However, there is clear evidence of the erasure of unpopular names from historical lists and monuments, especially during the New Kingdom among the royal family. Tutmose III had the name of his step-mother/aunt and predecessor as "king" removed from monuments and some of her constructions destroyed or heavily altered some years after he finally gained the throne himself.

During the Amarna Period when Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten declared that only the Aten should be worshipped the name of the god Amen was removed from several monuments and tombs, even when it formed part of the name of previous kings, including Akhenaten's own father Amenhotep III.
Conversely, in the post-Amarna period, Akhenaten's name was erased from various monuments and king lists and his own monuments pulled down or altered.

There was no Egyptian version of Christian "hell" of eternal torment and punishment for sins during one's lifetime - to not live on in the afterlife for all eternity was considered sufficient punishment.

Answer 5

When anyone dies they go to the DWAT in the underworld, and walk through the 10 lakes of fire called the valley of the shadow. There their life is judged by the crocodile god and their heart is weighed against a feather to determine if they are a righteous person. If they are found righteous they proceed through the lakes of fire to heaven which is in the sky. The path they take is like that of a letter J. If judged to be a sinner they are killed in the lakes of fire and die a 2nd death, then they are buried in the valley of the shadow.

Answer 6

Well, in Egyptian beliefs, the people go on to "the Next World" when they die. This is why they have mummification for most people. The royalties have their heart be weighed. If their heart is pure, it would be in balance with Mahknet's (i think that's how you spell it) feather. If not, the Ammit, this alligator looking kinda god, eats you heart or something.
Farmers and those people that are lower in the social pyramid are still embalmed (mummified) and buried.
Bad people are probably curled up and messily buried because they are dishonorable.

Answer 7

In later belief, the soul of the deceased is led into a hall of judgement in Duat, by Anubis, god of mummification, and the deceased's heart, which was the record of the morality of the owner, is weighed against a single feather representing Ma'at's (the concept of truth, and order). If the outcome is favourable, the deceased is taken to Osiris, god of the afterlife, in Aaru, but the demon Ammit (Eater of Hearts) ­ part crocodile, part lion, and part hippopotamus - destroys those hearts whom the verdict is against, leaving the owner to remain in Duat.

Answer 8

You die and have your soul weighed on a scale against a feather. If you are heavier than the feather your soul is considered evil and is eaten by some death monster.

Answer 9

Their heart gets eaten By Amuht The Demon Dog

Answer 10

Maat weighs their (heart? Soul?) against a feather and if they are unclean the feather will weigh less, and the crocodile-headed god Sobek eats them.