![]() ![]() Nesperennub was a priest and advisor to a pharaoh - possibly Osorkon 2 - and when he died in Thebes somewhere around 800 BC, the people tasked with embalming him stuck a small clay pot to the back of his head. Take Nesperennub, Beloved of the God, Opener of the Doors of Heaven. In truth, being dead was pretty hard going even before you got to all of that. The ba mimicked its journey through the sky. As above, so below: the Egyptians believed that the sun was born every morning and died every evening. Every night, it had to work its way back home, descending with the sun god to the world of the dead and undergoing great trials, before it finally rejoined the body in an act of supreme spiritual renewal. Every day your ba left the tomb where your mummy rested and wandered in the heavens. This freedom came with limitations, however. ![]() Upon death, ancient Egyptians believed that your ba - soul is the closest word we have - was kicked loose from your body and freed to roam the lands. It was hard work being dead in ancient Egypt. ![]() Editor's note: The Egypt-set Assassin's Creed Origins is out this week, and in a bold bit of opportunism we thought we'd republish Christian Donlan's wonderful piece on Senet, the board game played by ancient Egyptians. ![]()
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