CLAA05H3 Lecture 10: Notes Nov. 17th
Document Summary
Egyptian souls: the ba, the ka, and the akh. Ka was the person"s double created at the same time as your birth. Represents the person"s personality and life force. Believed to inhabit the tomb after death. The ka in the tomb has to be sustained with offering of food and drink. Symbolized by 2 upraised arms, sometimes on the ka"s head. Believed to be able to leave the tomb by day. The ba needed the ka and the body to be preserved to have something to come back to. The spirit of the dead that goes up into the sky like a star. The akhu of the dead could influence the living as good or bad spirits(to help or harm) Akhu acted as go-betweens with the living and the dead. Some akhu died and were reborn (like sun and moon), but circumpolar stars never set and were considered immortal. Pyramid of unis has the first collection of pyramid texts.
