Art History

Art History

Ancient Egypt is home to the earliest human civilization . Its culture is evinced in the richness of Egypt 's religion , language , arts artifacts and structure . Egyptians were known to be deeply religious (Seele 44 . In fact , religion was woven in the intricate structure of everyday life . They worshipped gods such as Re (sun god ) and Osiris god of death (44 . There are actually tangible proofs on the role of religion in ancient Egypt , such as the Books of the Dead , which portrayed the last judgment on Hunefer and the construction of

temples like the White Temple at the top of ziggurat at Uruk

The Last Judgment on Hunefer , also known as Papyrus of Hunefer , depicts the step-by step process on a man 's final judgment . The dead is evaluated in a hall called Maat (Duerer 2008 . To do this , a person 's heart is weighed against Maat 's feather (2008 . A person 's heart represents one 's values whereas Maat 's feather symbolizes honesty and integrity (2008 . In Hunefer 's papyrus , several scenes are laid out from left to right . The first portrays Hunefer , the man in white robes being led by Anubis to his judgment . Anubis is the one with the jackal head (2008 . Anubis acts as the keeper of the balance . On his other hand , Anubis is holding an ankh . An Ankh represents eternal life (2008 . In the next scene , Anubis places Hunefer 's heart on the balance Hunefer 's right on the left and the feather of Maat on the right . The hieroglyph at the top of the balance is a female that is blindfolded This means that everybody will be judged regardless of one 's status This blindfolded woman balance is now used to symbolize justice . The balance is akin to the constellation Libra , too . The weighing process is interesting for in for the deceased to be deemed worthy of joining ' the gods , his heart must be lighter than the feather of Maat How can anything be lighter than a feather

There is also horizontal hieroglyph at the top of the scales which represent mitigating factors in one 's life . Factors such as if the person would have done something differently had the situation presented in another way , etc . These factors are exhausted to tone down the possible verdict

On the lower right of the balance , there is an animal which has a crocodile 's head , known as Ammut (Deurer 2008 . This animal awaits the verdict . If the heart is heavier than the feather , the animal will devour it . There is a text above Ammut , which is a of the animals that make up the hieroglyph , giving an insinuation on how Ammut will attack his victims . The next figure at the right , a human with an ibis bird for a head is Thoth , the rec (2008 . He is holding a menhed , a writing pallet (2008 . Over all , the image presents a vivid on how humans should live , to live a life...