the right level, and the grain grew to a height unknown 

 in the land of the living (fig. 12). As in Egypt, the 

 deceased might still be called upon to perform com- 

 pulsory communal tasks, such as canal clearance, dike 

 maintenance, or hauling sand. 



To escape these tasks (which the living Egyptians 

 also were eager to avoid) the deceased was buried with 

 small, inscribed mummiform figurines, called ushabtis, 

 literally "one who answers." Usually made of glazed 

 faience, but sometimes of metal, wood, or stone, 

 ushabtis were inscribed with Spell no. 151 of the Book 

 of the Dead. While the Afterlife was ruled by Osiris, as 

 Judge and Ruler, it represented, nonetheless, a 

 "democratization." Everyone, pharaoh to felahin 

 (peasant), was expected to undergo the judgement; no 

 one was exempt, nor could one bribe one's way out of 

 it. This contrasted sharply with Old Kingdom belief 

 that pharaoh alone, being a god, was self-resurrected 

 after death, and either stormed heaven, dominating 

 the gods there, or joined the imperishable, eternally 

 visible, northern circumpolar stars, as described in the 

 Pyramid Texts. The royal family and nobles who 

 grouped their tombs around the pharaoh's pyramid ex- 



pected to be resurrected to serve pharaoh in his After- 

 life. Meanwhile, the common folk continued burial in 

 the Predynastic style, or in smaller tombs, and main- 

 tained their own belief in survival after death. The 

 introduction of Osiris as ruler of the Afterlife in the late 

 Old Kingdom completely changed this older belief 

 system. 



To the Egyptians, the soul of the deceased could 

 communicate with the living. The soul took two prin- 

 cipal forms: the ka, a double of the body that stayed in 

 the tomb, and the previously mentioned ba, depicted 

 as a bird with a human head, that could venture from 

 the tomb and visit relatives. These visitations of the ba 

 were neither malevolent nor mischievious. Rather, 

 they might occur because the spirit had some need, or 

 because it disagreed with the actions of living relatives, 

 or because the spirit had been called upon by relatives 

 to help them in some cause (see p. 19 above). 



This strong belief in life after death exercised a 

 powerful hold on the ancient Egyptians. When Phar- 

 aoh Akhenaton (1350-1334 B.C., fig. 13) tried to abol- 

 ish all deities but the solar deity Aton, it was the denial 

 of assurance in the resurrection through Osiris and Isis 



14. View of Osireion, built by Sety I (1292-1279 bc , Abydos. In Osireion was recreated the tomb of Osiris. Frank 



26 



