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Ancient Greek Music
Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient Greek world, and the term covered not only music but also dance, lyrics, and the performance of poetry. A wide range of instruments was used to perform music which was played...
Article
The Soul in Ancient Egypt
At the beginning of time, the god Atum stood on the primordial mound in the midst of the waters of chaos and created the world. The power which enabled this act was heka (magic) personified in the god Heka, the invisible force behind the...
Article
Plato's Lie In The Soul
Plato's Lie in the Soul (or the True Lie) is a concept appearing in Republic, Book II, 382a-382d, defined as "being deceived in that which is the truest and highest part of or about the truest and highest matters" or, in other words, being...
Article
Music & Dance in Ancient Egypt
Music and dance were highly valued in ancient Egyptian culture, but they were more important than is generally thought: they were integral to creation and communion with the gods and, further, were the human response to the gift of life and...
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as the spirits of the departed who, for one reason or another, either returned from the realm...
Definition
Chinvat Bridge
The Chinvat Bridge is the span between the world of the living and the afterlife in the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. It is also known as Cinvat Bridge, Cinvad Bridge, and Chinvato Peretav. Every soul, after death, was thought...
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Egyptian Pottery Soul House
This redware pottery depicts the so-called "soul house". It has flattened pellets representing a loop of wood. One of two pillars which supports the roof is lost. Mr. Petrie thought that this object represent dwelling for the soul; this theory...
Image
Egyptian Model Soul House
Egyptian soul house, 12th Dynasty, about 1985-1795 BCE. Provenance unknown. The British Museum, (photo taken at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia) Model houses placed in tombs were another way to ensure the deceased's eternal access...
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Ammit & Thoth Await the Judgement of a Soul
A detail from the Papyrus of Ani, an Egyptian Book of the Dead. The god Thoth stands at the ready to inscribe the interrogation and judgement of Ani, who whose soul is being judged by the gods. The goddess Ammit stands behind Thoth, ready...
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The People of France Recognize the Supreme Being and the Immortality of the Soul
A stamp from Revolutionary France in 1794, referencing Maximilien Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being. It reads: "The People of France Recognize the Supreme Being and the Immortality of the Soul".
Bibliothèque nationale de France.