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The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A guidebook for the underworld - Tejal Gala

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Ancient Egyptians believed that in order to become immortal after death, a spirit must first pass through the underworld — a realm of vast caverns, lakes of fire, and magical gates. Needless to say, one needed to come prepared. But how? Tejal Gala describes an Egyptian "Book of the Dead" -- a customized magic scroll written by the living to promote a smooth passage to the afterlife when they died.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Tejal Gala
  • Director Silvia Prietov
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Animator Silvia Prietov, Sebastian Cuervo, William Cifuentes, Cletus J. Pearson
  • Producer Silvia Prietov
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by TED-Ed

In your opinion, what does the Ancient Egyptians’ concept of the afterlife –and the challenges along the way- reveal about the ancient society’s values?

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Avatar for Kaeden Mathis
Lesson completed

It reveals that you should be a good person. You address people by their name respectively, and you must never lie or pollute nature.


Avatar for Sutida Samathi
Lesson completed

By using amulets and charms to face with the tests of the gods even in their death is kinda cheating in my opinion 😂😂😂 but these revealed that people fears of what they don’t understand, in this case: death. It’s fun to think how hard ancient people seriously put their effort to build up this ‘underworld’ or ‘afterlife’ concepts to help them get through life until their last breath and to calm the fear of death. At the same time, with these expensive process of mummification and how people had to pay for their customized equipped-with-great-charm book of dead, also telling us that this concept in some cultures used by rich and powerful people to control those lower classes in the society, and to concrete their righteousness of power above those who were under their rule.


Avatar for Tate Memmott
Lesson completed

In my opinion, they feel that you have to live a good life in order to be accepted into the after-life. So it makes them do things they think are right so when their heart gets weighed, it will be light and they can go on to have immortality.


Avatar for Djoumana Khebbouz
Lesson completed

In my opinion, the ancient Egyptians' concept of the afterlife and the challenges along the way reveal that in ancient society's values, no matter if you die or you are alive, you need to face challenges either way. I think it is bad for people because if you work when you are alive and when you die, then it makes no sense to have a life , and it is not fair.


Avatar for Victoria Velez
Lesson completed

I think the afterlife Is stupid because when you die you still have to work



Avatar for Yaretzi Ramirez
Lesson in progress

in my opinion what I think the Ancient Egyptians concept of the afterlife and challenges along the way is knowing that if you are bad you get eaten and you suffer the rest of your life and if your good then there's happienes but you have to grow crops. this reveals that the ancient egypt society values are just like right now and showing how smart they could be


Avatar for Dakota Lee
Lesson completed

so they can do good things and not sin.


Avatar for Jadiel Perez
Lesson completed

makes them do good deeds instead of sinning


Avatar for Liam Auguste
Lesson completed

It makes them do good stuff instead of sins

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