Mesopotamia Case

No one would look forward to such a place. Furthermore, the lack of Mesopotamian literary work exploring the afterlife could fairly be associated to this grim perception of the underworld. A place where clay replaces food and light is non-existent is not a place on looks forward to or chooses to explore. Consequently, Mesopotamians spent little time incorporating ideas regarding the afterlife into their literature and culture.

On the other hand, the ancient Egyptians explored the afterlife in depth. They composed three literary works: the Book of the Dead, Coffin Texts and Pyramid Texts. These works contain spells to guide and give immortality to souls of the dead. In his book, Death and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, John Taylor explains one of these spells: "Spell 178 of the Book of the Dead ... describes death as 'night of going forth to life', emphasising that is was viewed as a transitional state, leading to the afterlife" (16). Such an optimistic view of the afterlife guided the ancient Egyptians to explore and place a greater emphasis about the afterlife. Fittingly, the afterlife was more prominent in their culture.

Although such stark differences appear in the perception of the afterlife, the preparation of the body for burial follow similar processes in both civilizations. However, the ancient Egyptians raise the stakes by having a complex process in comparison to the Mesopotamians. In the Mesopotamian myth Adapa, the forerunner to the tradition of preparing the body is reviled. During Adapa's trip to see Anu for breaking the wings of the four winds, Ea tricks him into wearing the garment provided and anointing himself with oil (Dalley 187). In doing so, Adapa squanders his chance at immortality and the ritual for preparing the dead for burial is born. Moreover, Jack Sasson in his multivolume book, Civilizations of the Near East, describes this process further saying, "the body was washed and the mouth tied shut. Then, the corpse was oiled and perfumed, dressed in clean clothing" (Vol 3). This shows that Mesopotamians did concern themselves in preparing the body for burial and the afterlife.

Similarly, the ancient Egyptians also prepared the body by cleaning it and wrapping it in strips of white linen in a process called mummification. However, the Egyptians took the preparation beyond they physical realm. They believed in the non-physical entities of a person, the Ka and Ba. These entities we're how a person would roam heaven and the underworld once dead. Keeping the entities alive was only achieved if they body was preserved appropriately. Regarding their elaborate funeral preparations, John Taylor says, "... the whole of the Egyptians' elaborate funerary preparations were devoted to preserving these elements throughout eternity" (16). If the body decayed, the Ka and Ba would cease to exist. Therefore, it was imperative to keep the body preserved in order for