Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife

National Geographic Channel

Madman

R4 DVD

This beautifully filmed and highly detailed documentary discusses the ancient Egyptian preoccupation with death and the afterlife. They were one of the first civilisations to include resurrection after death as a religious motif and we see how the preoccupation grew in the decorations and fittings of the earliest Egyptian rulers’ simple tombs and human sacrifice to the elaborate constructions of the Ptolemaic Pharaohs.

The later beliefs centred on the need of the Pharaoh to find his way to the heavens where he would ensure that the sun would continue to rise each morning. The belief was that each night when the sun set it was destroyed and would need the hand of a divinity to ensure that it was reborn the next morning. Along the journey through the afterlife the Pharaoh would face a number of trials set to weed out the unworthy. At the end of the journey he would be reunited with his preserved body and triumphantly take his place among the gods. If he failed to complete the trials he would be destroyed by Apophis, an underworld demon whose form was that of a huge snake. This would literally prevent the sun from being reborn and mean the end of the cosmos.

It is easy to dismiss these rituals and beliefs as the usual rantings of a priestly class trying to preserve their place in the power structure, but many of the beliefs found their way into other later religions. Their influence was such that they must have been believed by the common people, not just the hierarchy.

Dr Zafi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Board and the Cairo Museum, takes us through the death and resurrection ritual step by step, illustrating the story with paintings from tombs. Through his position he has access to many areas not open to the public. The tomb paintings are not just decorative but a set of instructions for the dead Pharaoh to follow to reach the eternal afterlife. The priests cheated here, though. They believed that just writing down the steps would automatically ensure that the Pharaoh would follow them and succeed. Continuing archaeological discoveries by Dr Hawass and others keep adding to our knowledge of the intricate set of beliefs of this powerful civilisation.

In a major extra included on the DVD we see the development of a new exhibition at the Cairo Museum. Like so many museums what is on show to the public is only a fraction of the artefacts held in basements and storage buildings around the country. Dr Hawass has called all these artefacts in for cataloguing and restoration and we are privileged to see a number of items that have never been on public display before. Many are simply beautiful works of art or jewellery, but many have great historical significance as well. Once again the documentary takes us into areas not open to the public.

Dr Hawass has a reputation for trying to recover and return to Egypt many of the artefacts looted from his country in the earlier days. Such exhibitions as the one being planned are a way to show the world the rich culture of his country.

Program Copyright © 2008 NGHT, INC

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