Reconstructing the Afterlife in a Vanished Religion

Originally published May 23, 2009 | The New York Times | by Souren Melikian

Paris plays host to "the Doors of Heaven," supplemented by an accompanying book, that purports to explain the world view in Ancient Egypt, which remained relatively steadfast for 3,000 years. Statues, reliefs, carvings, and allegory from the Book of the Dead, particularly of Osiris and items from the Amarna period, play a prominent role in leading us through the secrets of the Ancient Egyptian perception of life and the Afterlife, as contradictory, eluding, and enigmatic, as they turn out to be.