Cultural Compare and Contrast: Burial Practices, Coursework Example

It is both surprising and expected that the ancient Egyptians and the Vikings would share certain similarities in their views regarding death and modes of burial.  All cultures, essentially, tend to revere death, and it is common that most ancient cultures express this reverence in the form of highly structured mythologies, and in various processes for burial.  Moreover, both cultures in question share another element, in that their particular forms of burial are seen as truly elaborate or outrageous.  The Egyptians are famous for the tombs of the pharaohs and for mummification of bodies; the Vikings, similarly, are renowned for burning their dead in great ships set out to sea.  In reality, however, these practices were not ordinary, and were reserved for the great noble or warrior, relatively.

That ancient Egyptians were convinced of an afterlife is evident in long centuries of technologies developed to facilitate the deceased’s entry into the new world.  What began as a raw process of essentially wrapping the body in linen evolved into the science of mummification, which was also a highly spiritual undertaking.  As with all other forms of burial or means of treating the deceased, it seems the Egyptians had a priority part from the conviction in life after death; namely, rank.  Ordinary citizens and slaves were disposed of in common burials, with little ceremony: “Mummification was so expensive that only the pharaoh, royal family, and very wealthy individuals could afford to be preserved in this fashion” (egyptianmuseum.org). For such high officials, the mummifying process began with the placing of the organs in canopic jars, as the brain was removed through the nose and similarly stored.  Resins and herbs were then inserted into the body, along with salt compounds to dry it.  Only after drying was complete would the body then be wrapped in linen, preparatory to burial with household goods (anciv.info).  There is also with the Egyptians a cosmological element to how the afterlife was perceived.  Much of what is known about Egyptian practices derives from Greek scholarship, as in Plato’s Timaeus of 22 A.D.  In these writings, Plato narrates the thoughts of an Egyptian priest commenting upon the Greek myth of Phaeton, and reflecting how it is present in Egyptian belief.  More exactly, the priest relates that this image of a sun god and the destruction brought about by his son actually tells the story, held by Egyptians, of how cycles of the sun’s revolution periodically bring disaster (Sellers  123).

Interestingly, and despite popular perceptions of all Vikings as being cremated at sea, the reality is that the ancient Norse had as pragmatic a view of the afterlife as did the ancient Egyptians, and one less concerned with prestige.  It is established, for example, that the Vikings placed a similar emphasis on surrounding the deceased with household or occupational items from life; women were buried with jewelry and domestic implements, as the men were buried with their weapons beside them (lore&saga.co.uk).  If anything distinctly separates Egyptian and Viking approaches to the afterlife, it seems to be the Viking trait, very much reminiscent of Greek and Roman cultures, of narrating adventures in which the living and the dead interact. For example, in the ancient Norse saga Hervarar, of unknown authorship and date, the tale centers on Hervor’s travels to the haunted island where her father and brothers are buried.  She is pursuing a magic sword, which her dead father warns her will bring ruin to her in the future (Peck, Bryant  248).  Egyptian myth most certainly provides adventures for its gods and goddesses, but there is none of the conflict or intermingling between the living and these deities in the folklore.

Works Cited

Ancient Civilizations History Web Site (anciv.info). “Burial Practices in Ancient Egypt.”  2010. Web.  Retrieved from http://www.anciv.info/ancient-egypt/burial-practices-in-ancient-egypt.html

egyptianmuseuem.org.  “Images: Burial Practices, Afterlife, and Mummies.” 2009.Web. Retrieved from http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/burialpracticesgallerylore&saga.co.uk.

“Viking Burial Customs and Food.” n/d.  Web. Retrieved from http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/html/viking_burials.html

Peck, D. L., & Bryant, C. D.  Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2009. Print.

Sellers, J. The Death of Gods in Ancient Egypt.  New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.