Dictionary Translates Ancient Egypt Life - Essay Example

Many ancient languages have not seen the limelight of modern-day because they remained under the shroud of other dominating cultures. The article informs that the Demotic Dictionary, published online contains over “2000” pages and the university eventually intends to print it for “research libraries” (par.4 - 5). It further emphasizes the existence of “Demotic Egyptian” or the language of the “common people,” much before the other popular Egyptian languages evolved (par.2). In addition, the article quotes many prominent Egyptologists and historians, who maintain that the dictionary is a significant for the modern people to understand the ancient Egyptian culture and for “mastering the texts from the Egyptians themselves” and not through their rulers (par.

6 – 7). Dr. Zahi Hawass was involved in an excavation journey to explore the mysteries behind Seti’s tomb, and discovering through archeological evidence what really the Egyptians thought awaited them after death. From some of the findings, the Egyptians believed that life after death was a thrilling underworld journey marked by a series of terrifying obstacles, which included fighting fierce battles with real monsters, crossing fire lakes of death, and finally the eternal death or either resurrection with the sun, which marked the journey of the afterlife (You Tube, 2012).

This journey was believed by each Egyptian to be real and the stakes were even much higher for the pharaohs. Interestingly, they believed that the entire universe largely depended on the king’s eventual and successful journey as well as his resurrection. This made the king’s tomb not just a place to keep his corpse, but the tomb was more of a machine constructed to facilitate and guarantee the king’s resurrection and eternal life afterward. The many artifacts stored in museums and have not been displayed since they were located; with some having stayed for more than a century, have the hidden treasures that possess many secrets to reveal such beliefs about Egyptian’s next life.

Since they believed that the resurrection with the sun was the highest attainable level of consciousness to be achieved (Boscawen, 394), the Egyptians made elaborate preparations for death; they had to be prepared for whatever lurks ahead, and the slightest miscalculation meant the difference between eternal death and eternal life (Flux, 16). Absolute care was thus taken in these preparations as Dr. Hawass reveals. Kings were therefore buried with a wide variety of mundane items for their use, and other magical items were included to help the king (Yale Peabody Museum, 2012).

For example, a king was buried with a face mask, which was a sculpture of the king’s face; this facilitated such a king to be recognized by deities after his death.