Saturday, October 4, 2008
Blog #5
I liked reading about the burial services of the Egyptians. They put so much effort into the "afterflife." I mean, King Tutankhuman's coffin had over 240 pounds of gold! And the coffins were so well decorated, and obviously very extravagant. I think times have definitely changed now, at least in our society. When someone dies here, they don't get 240 pounds of gold on their coffin thats for sure (even if it is someone wealthy or powerful)! I don't think our society puts a lot of emphasis on the afterlife, well at least not as nearly as much as the Egyptians. I feel like we just kind of put someone in a coffin and say goodbye, rather than preparing them for the afterlife and making sure they have what they need for it. Well anyways, i found this comparison to be pretty interestiing!
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2 comments:
You bring up some very interesting points in your blog! King Tut was indeed buried with much gold, but the question is did he actually need it for anything? I personally believe that after we die there is nothing left for us here in this world. I believe there is eternal life but that we cannot take anything with us from this present world. I would argue that the placing of riches in someones coffin was more about the people still alive than it was about honoring the dead. Most people like to have bragging rights and the Egyptians were able to say they placed 240 pounds of gold in a coffin. Being that people were able to find it and count it shows that the long gone King Tut did not actually use it for anything. Not trying to pick on ya, just thinking about it from a different perspective.
It's funny that you don't see that phenomenal expense of a funerary service in today's times. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to bury a loved one nowadays. I'm pretty sure the cheapest funeral which pretty much consists of a pine box and a few choice words runs in the range of $5,000-$7,000! Our choice of funerary services don't really lean towards the question of what we will need in the afterlife, but are more consistent with the idea of being able to give a loved one the best possible send off to the unknown. Some people believe in Heaven and Hell and therefore believe that there is some sort of life after this one and some people just believe that when you die your body becomes one with the earth...either way both are still beliefs. Funerals and deaths have not become any less meaningful to society today, but have rather just altered the way we go about doing them. Just like any piece of art in our book, we do the same things today just differently than people of the past did them...mainly because of today's fast paced technology and awareness. Loss is something I wish no one would ever have to endure, but when you do you sure as Hell feel like you buried King Tut when they hand you a bill for $10,000!
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