Beliefs on Death, the Afterlife, and Eschatology

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Egyptian, Greek, and Christian concepts of death, judgment, rituals, and the afterlife.

Ba

The personality or individual spirit of a person in Ancient Egyptian belief.

Ka

The life force that stays with a person after death in Ancient Egyptian belief.

The weighing of the heart

An Ancient Egyptian judgment process where a person's heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at to determine if they could enter the blessed afterlife or have their heart eaten by Ammit.

Feather of Ma'at

A feather representing truth and justice, against which a deceased person's heart was weighed in Ancient Egypt.

Ammit

The creature in Ancient Egyptian belief that ate a person's heart if they failed the weighing of the heart judgment.

Field of Reeds

A peaceful afterlife location in Ancient Egypt for people who passed judgment.

Duat

The Ancient Egyptian underworld where the dead traveled and faced challenges.

Hades

Greek god of the underworld and ruler of the dead.

Persephone

Queen of the underworld in Greek mythology.

Thanatos

The Greek personification of death.

Hermes

The Greek deity who guided the souls of the dead to the underworld.

Charon

The Greek figure who ferried souls across the river into the underworld.

Anthesteria

An ancient Greek festival celebrated in honor of Dionysus that involved wine, drinking, and celebrations.

Eschatology

Literally means the study of the last things or final events.

Apocalypse

Refers to revealing hidden truths about the future; in Christianity, it is connected to visions of the end of the world and God's final victory.

Paul's "seed" metaphor

A comparison of bodily resurrection to planting a seed, illustrating that a seed must die or be buried before something new grows, showing the resurrected body differs from yet connects to the earthly body.

Sheep (Matthew 25)

In Matthew 25, the group representing people who helped others and showed kindness.

Goats (Matthew 25)

In Matthew 25, the group representing people who ignored those who needed help.

Limbo

A place or state in Christian theology for certain souls who are not in heaven but are not suffering the punishment of hell.

Purgatory

A temporary state of purification after death through which souls pass before entering heaven.

Universalism (David Bentley Hart)

A perspective on salvation asserting the belief that ultimately everyone will be saved.

Ancient Greek funerary sequence

The progression of rites reflecting the importance of respecting the dead: Preparation → Mourning → Funeral procession → Burial → Honoring the dead.