death-afterlifeWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
The Akh — Transfigured Spirit
The successful dead became a shining, effective spirit — and the living sometimes wrote them letters.
The goal of Egyptian funerary religion was for the dead person to become an akh: a 'transfigured,' effective spirit, glorified and powerful, dwelling among the gods or the eternal stars. Becoming an akh was not automatic; it required correct burial, ritual, and the union of the person's parts. An akh could even act on the living, who sometimes wrote letters asking a dead relative's akh for help.
Key passages(1)
The Pyramid Texts · 2350 BCE
High