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For the ancient Egyptians, death represented much more than mummies and pyramids. It was a vision of torment and danger, where souls faced unimaginable trials on their journey after death. They didn’t simply drift into eternity—they had to fight for their place in the afterlife.
Upon death, the Egyptians had to traverse through the 12 lands of hell. Their path was filled with deadly fire rings, perilous gods, and menacing serpents and crocodiles bent on devouring their souls. The journey was far more brutal and exciting than most history lessons might have you believe.
10. Battling Through the 12 Terrifying Realms of Hell
Like many religious beliefs, the ancient Egyptians promised an eternal paradise known as Aaru, a land where fields of endless crops flourished. However, entry into Aaru wasn’t straightforward. To reach this blissful realm, one had to survive the harrowing journey through Duat, the 12 realms of hell.
Duat (also spelled Tuat and in several other ways) was the Egyptian underworld, believed to exist high in the sky. It was a vast, mystical realm that contained strange features, such as forests of turquoise trees, lakes of fire, and iron walls. The Egyptians had mapped this afterlife meticulously—literally. They depicted Duat as a land split into two paths by a fiery lake, where the souls of the damned were consumed.
However, the greatest dangers in Duat were not the landscapes, but the terrifying creatures that roamed it. Gods, demons, and monstrous beings filled the land, each one poised to annihilate any soul attempting to pass through their realms. As the dead journeyed through Duat, serpents and crocodiles relentlessly chased them, eager to consume their souls. To gain eternal life, they had to overcome these threats. Failure meant being lost to an eternity of nothingness.
9. The Dead Had To Reach Their Goal Before Their Bodies Decomposed
The ancient Egyptians mummified their dead for an important reason. They believed that the souls of the deceased needed their bodies as they made their way through Duat. A body in decay was a ticking clock. If the body deteriorated before the soul reached paradise, time would run out for the journey.
According to Egyptian belief, the soul split into two parts upon death: the Ba, representing the personality, and the Ka, which was the vital essence. It was the Ka that journeyed into Duat, striving to earn a place in paradise. If the Ka succeeded, the two parts of the soul would reunite and live forever—but only if the Ka made it through in time.
The Ba would spend its days soaring through the world, but it needed to return to the body at night to recharge its energy. It could only find the body if it recognized it. If the body decayed into a skeleton, the Ba would wander aimlessly, unable to reunite with its other half, until its energy was depleted.
Pharaohs extended their souls’ chances by being mummified, ensuring their Ba could always recognize its body. The poor, however, didn’t have that luxury. Their best hope was to be buried in shallow graves in the desert, where the dry climate would slow the body’s decay. Then, they would have to rush through the 12 lands of Duat as quickly as possible.
8. The Dead Still Had to Eat
Even in death, an Egyptian soul still had to eat. Souls needed provisions for their arduous journey through Duat, and someone had to ensure they could consume their food during the journey—meaning the food had to be physically placed into their mouths.
Once the deceased's body had been carefully mummified, the Egyptian priests would proceed with a ceremonial act known as the Opening of the Mouth and Eyes. This ritual was designed to allow the spirit to receive nourishment, to drink, and to see once again.
To provide sustenance, a statue resembling the deceased would be created. The priests would then carve out holes for the mouth and eyes of the statue. As the soul journeyed through Duat, the priests were obligated to continue feeding it—this literally involved stuffing beef into the statue's mouth.
This ritual went beyond mere custom; it was a matter of eternal life or death. If no one cared enough to perform the act of feeding the statue with beef, the deceased's chance of eternal life was lost. The soul would starve in Duat, its eyes would remain sealed, and it would never be able to pass through the 12 gates of hell.
7. Traveling to Space in a Pyramid
After the soul's release, it still had to navigate its way to the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians believed Duat resided in the sky—making it nearly impossible to reach unless one was buried inside a grand pyramid.
In ancient Egyptian culture, pyramids were likely constructed as a means to propel the soul into the cosmos. The Egyptians believed that a small, dark patch in the night sky, where the stars seemed to circle, served as the entrance to Duat. They designed shafts that pointed directly at this tiny spot, intended to launch the soul of the deceased pharaoh upward into the realm of the gods.
This wasn't a privilege extended to everyone, only to the pharaohs—perhaps intentionally so. During the early years of the empire, pyramids were only constructed for the pharaohs, and the belief was that the afterlife was reserved solely for them. It wasn't until later that the afterlife became accessible to the general populace. At the time the pyramids were built, they represented the only hope for a second life, while others were believed to simply vanish from existence.
6. Servants Would Be Killed With The Pharaoh
The pharaoh did not journey to the afterlife alone. He took his companions with him—through murder.
A pharaoh on his deathbed expected to have all the luxuries of life in the afterlife, which included the presence of his servants, artists, and loved ones. On the day of his death, these individuals would be brought to the pharaoh’s tomb and poisoned. At times, animals were included as well. One particular pharaoh was even buried with seven lions to accompany him on his eternal journey.
Some pharaohs took the idea to extremes. The most radical was Pharaoh Djer, who had 569 people poisoned so that they could accompany him to the afterlife. Another pharaoh, Aha, took only a few dozen with him—but among them was his five-year-old son. By the pharaoh's command, the boy was poisoned and buried before he could grow up.
5. Threatening The Gods To Get Into Heaven
The Egyptians believed that a vast body of water stood between the sky and the Earth. To enter Duat, one had to cross this water, and the only way to do so was to persuade the Ferryman of the Gods to grant passage.
This idea about the afterlife isn’t entirely unique, but the Egyptians approached their ferryman differently from the Greeks. They didn’t pay a toll or show him the respect one might expect from someone responsible for transporting souls. Instead, they would shout at him.
Egyptian priests would chant prayers to the Ferryman, assuring him that no one accused the deceased of wrongdoing and then pleading with him, saying, 'Ferry [the dead] in this boat in which you ferry the gods.'
Then the mood turned ominous. 'If you fail,' they would warn the Ferryman, the dead pharaoh would 'leap and sit on the wing of Thoth,' a god of immense power in the underworld, who would ensure the Ferryman suffered for neglecting his duty.
4. Crossing Through The 12 Gates
Navigating Duat wasn’t simple. Before an Egyptian soul could reach the paradise of Aaru, it first had to pass through 12 gates. Each gate was guarded by a keeper, and each guardian had to be appeased in order to proceed. Failing this meant the soul would be lost forever, destroyed within Duat.
Priests composed guides to help the living understand the perils of Duat. At one gate, they warned of two beautiful women who would approach, saying, 'Come, we wish to kiss you.' The deceased would need to recognize them as the gods they were and name them: Isis and Nephthys. Failure to do so would result in them cutting off his nose and lips.
Each gate was guarded by a keeper, each with a unique and brutal way of condemning souls. For instance, before entering the gate that led to the desert realm ruled by the god Seker, the soul would have to create an image of the god who ruled it. If not, the soul would be torn apart.
3. The Weighing Of The Heart
If a soul survived Duat without being cast into the fire, it would then be judged for its worthiness of paradise.
The soul would stand before Osiris, the eternal ruler of the underworld. In his presence, the Egyptians would swear they had followed divine laws. Then, their hearts would be weighed against the feather of the goddess Ma’at to determine their fate.
If the soul was deemed innocent, it would be granted entry into Aaru, the realm of paradise. A humble servant might be allowed to enjoy an eternity in a world of plenty, while a pharaoh could be elevated to godhood.
However, if the heart was found wanting, the soul would be cast before a beast called Ammitt, the Devourer. There, it would be tormented, torn apart, burned, and ultimately lost to oblivion.
Even after enduring the perilous trek through Duat, everything could still be in vain. The paradise that lay beyond was not guaranteed. Despite a soul's best efforts, its fate could still end in annihilation.
2. Cannibalizing The Gods
While Duat was a terrifying prospect for ordinary people, most pharaohs weren’t overly concerned. They believed they were destined for eternal life, certain they would become gods. They weren’t intimidated by other deities—some pharaohs even dared to challenge the gods before their death.
When Pharaoh Unis (or Unas) passed away, he had his priests send a warning to the gods. The message was clear: Unis was coming, and he planned to subdue the gods and consume them. 'Unis is he who eats men and feasts on gods,' the priests proclaimed, 'who devours their entrails!'
The early pharaohs believed that consuming the gods would allow them to absorb their magical powers. Some were especially confident in their ability to do this—none more so than Unis. His tomb is filled with declarations that the gods would have to assist him in his feast if they didn’t want to be devoured.
'The largest ones are for his breakfast,' Unis’s priests warned the gods, 'the medium ones are for his dinner, and the small ones are for his evening snack.'
1. The Sealed Thing
A soul making its way through Duat would face a daunting temptation. The Egyptians believed that at the end of the journey, the soul would be judged by the gods. Only the worthy would be allowed to enter paradise—but for those who were deemed unworthy, there was still another path to immortality.
At the edge of the sky, the Egyptians imagined a place called Rosetau. This was where the body of the god Osiris had been buried. They believed that anyone who could reach this place would be granted eternal life.
Reaching Osiris’s body, however, was no simple task. His corpse was hidden in a land of complete darkness, surrounded by a wall of fire, locked away in something the Egyptians referred to as 'the sealed thing.' The priests warned the living that this path to immortality was far too perilous, and no one had ever ventured close enough to even glimpse inside.
