EGYPTIAN BELIEFS
Egyptians believed, that the world was created in Egypt. They thought themselves as "the people of the God" and were very religious people. By the believ of the Egyptians, the king or farao has a divine origin. Farao is the only God with visible body. Egyptians, who believed in immortality, respected dead people really much. They believed, that when a one dies, one's soul parts from the body, but continues liveng in the grave. That's why they tried to make the grave as convenient as possible. Dead people needed food and trink, and if they didn't receive them, they would wonder around and bring misfortune to those, who didn't take good care enough of them. It was also very important, that the dead one's corpse was preserved, because one's vitality Ka lived in it, and in order to let the dead one be able to continue one's life in the country of west. For this reason the corpse was balsamized really carefully. In case that the fragile mummy would break down they also made a small statue to be Ka's body. Egyptians believed, that the abilities and qualities of some object or creature were shifted to a picture or a statue performing it. According to the Egyptian religion the soul of the dead one left after death to a journey to the Country of West. For this reason they buries so called Book of the Deads (for it's real name a Book of stepping to the light, but the name Book of the Deads has established it's place) with the dead ones. The book contaided many spells, by which the dead one could ask for gods help to win the demons and pass the guards of the twelw gates of Hades.
To book himself an eternal life, the dead one made a packt whith the priests of how one's body will make to be presered.The carefulness and multiple- stageness depended on the wealth of the dead one. In the most expensive form of balsaming, part of the dead one's brains were removed with a metal stick through the nose, and what was left was dissolved with different kinds of chemicals. To the sides of the body were cutted an opening with a stone, through witch they removed all entrails exept for heart. The empty space ttaht hadcame up, was rinced with wine and filled with perfumed hepbs.
The opening was sewed closed, and the body was in natronsalt 70 days after this. After that the body was washed and windup to clothbandages. Finally the mummy was dressed. Only the high- borns and the royaltys could afford this expensive balsaming.
During the Middle and the Old empire, the Egyptians buried their kings to the pyramids. in the Valley of Nile there is about 300 pyramids, biggest of which is the pyramid of Kheops in Gisa. During the Middle and New empire they started to bury the kings on hills of mountains in order to keep untouched. The Valley of Graves is situated on place of ancient Theba, current Luxor on the west side of the Nile. It's graves are 3000- 4000 years old. They built graves for both man- and womenfaraos, high-born persons and even for princes, who had as a baby. Faraos started to get ready to their graver long before their death, but never went there while they were alive. In the grave the house of the dead one and one's entire life is perpetuated to the wallpaintings, so that one could live the same way after one's death. There were many rooms in the grave, a confessionroom to the farao, a room for the treasure ja belongings and a own room for the mummy. Barels, whith the dead one's internal organs inside of them, were putted with the dead one. The balsamized body was situated to many nested chests, a sarkofag. The inmost of the chests could be pure cold. After the burial, the doors were sealed and the aperture was covered with sand. The grave of the mighty Ramses III was over 110 meters long. the deepest one of the graves that have been found has been in the deapth of over 40 meters below the surface. The kronologue list of the faraos of Egypt can be found on the following page:
http://fi.wikipettelo_Egyptin_faaraoista