Myths about Death and Afterlife

The theme of death and the afterlife has concerned people throughout the ages as much as the arrangement of earthly life. This book offers a great Dantean journey through the afterlives of humanity and explores how different peoples and civilizations have attempted to understand, accept, and contemplate one of the greatest mysteries — death. You will learn how many parts the soul of an ancient Egyptian consists of, what to do in the Mayan underworld — Xibalba, which has the House of Darkness, the House of Cold, the House of Jaguars, and the House of Knives, what the afterlife of a brave Viking looks like in Valhalla and how it differs from the Hindu Svarga or Slavic Iriy. You will also see how burial rituals — from Egyptian mummies to the "funeral colleges" of Ancient Rome — reflected the hopes and fears of entire civilizations.