The Ancient Egyptians believed in the immortality of the soul and that the life on Earth was only a pitstop on its journey to a heavenly realm called the Field of Reeds. The souls of the deceased entered an everlasting paradise, free of sickness, disappointment, and death. Before anyone could enter the Field of Reeds, souls traveled from their tombs into the afterlife.

Most souls traversed the treacherous halls of the underworld on foot; but many kings and pharaohs arrived on handcrafted ships, mimicking the sun god Ra, who sailed into the underworld each time the sun set. Each soul gathered in the Hall of Truth, where they were judged by the lord of the underworld, the god of death.

One by one, the god of death placed their hearts on a golden scale and weighed the goodness of each soul against a white feather of truth. If the soul’s heart was heavier than the feather of truth, it fell to the floor, where it was devoured by a god with the head of a crocodile. If its heart was consumed by the crocodile god, the soul ceased to exist. As lord of the underworld and guardian of the Field of Reeds, the god of death played a critical role in the immortality of Ancient Egyptian souls.