This article examines changing conceptions of death, the afterlife, and memory in ancient Egypt from the Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom. It argues for a historically contingent understanding of mortuary beliefs, showing how funerary culture mediated both transcendent aspirations and social presence beyond death. Integrating textual, architectural, and iconographic evidence, the study highlights New Kingdom innovations—tomb architecture, banquet scenes, and festival imagery—that emphasize ritual participation, lived experience, and remembrance. These practices complemented theological notions of judgment and resurrection, offering strategies for managing existential uncertainty. Comparative perspectives with Mesopotamia illuminate how different societies addressed mortality through symbolic systems. Ultimately, the article proposes that Egyptians did not deny death but integrated it into social, ethical, and ritual frameworks, articulating a flexible model of “living with death” that adapted across centuries of political and social change.
Keywords: afterlife beliefs, funerary culture, social memory
