Top 10 Myths: The Egyptians Were Obsessed with Death (Ancient Art Podcast 38)

Episode 38 sets the story straight about the misconception that the Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with death. We delve into the Ancient Egyptian concept of Heaven, unearth some ancient grave goods, and take a close hard look at the themes and subjects decorating the walls of Ancient Egyptian tombs. The evidence reveals a culture obsessed not with death, but with life! Included in this episode are the famous wall paintings from the New Kingdom tomb of Nebamun, now in the British Museum, the solar boat of King Khufu at Giza, and a roundup of "shabti" figurines from the Art Institute of Chicago. Visit http://www.ancientartpodcast.org/top10 for the complete Top 10 list. Explore more episodes, image galleries, credits, transcripts, and additional resources at http://ancientartpodcast.org. Connect at http://twitter.com/lucaslivingston and http://facebook.com/ancientartpodcast.

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[rahotep101]

Clearly they were obsessed with a lifelike afterlife. It's astonishing the resources they invested in the burial cult. Leaving aside the cost of tombs and pyramids, the grave goods pharaohs had buried with them were tremendous. It would be like every British monarch taking the crown jewels to their grave. Why is it, do you think, by the way, that scenes of daily life are found in private tombs and scenes of a religious/supernatural nature are found in royal tombs- or is this a myth as well?

[SCARABsolutions]

@rahotep101 Great comments & Q's. One could probably make an argument either way, but perhaps the political and spiritual figurehead actually enjoyed the least amount of personal freedom insofar as how to decorate his or her tomb. That said, there's a distinction between the burial chamber and mortuary chapel. "Daily life" scenes decorated private and royal mortuary chapels alike (c.f. Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el Bahri with its scenes of Egyptian expeditions to the land of Punt).

[erickjoka]

haha I liked the ending. Thanks for helping me with my homework assignment.

[DionSebastian]

Thanks for another very instructive and illustrative presentation.