I wasn’t sure what to expect with my visit to this museum but I was pleasantly surprised with my intrigue in the different presentations the Ancient Egyptians and the Etruscans left in their preparation for the afterlife. Being that my path for the semester is hope, with a focus on life after death, this is how I found myself thinking about the displays. After being thoroughly impressed by the artistry and the intricate details of the painting and the sculptures decorating the sarcophagi I looked at the stories with a more detail. The artistic representations of life was differing between these two cultures - the Etruscans seemed to create a more powerful image with scenes of battle and a contrasting full body carving in a lounging position on top of the sarcophagus. The Ancient Egyptians decorated two-dimensionally with much more color. They wrote stores and used symbols and decorations to represent the individual being honored. The boxes were roughly shaped like the human body and always included a detailed face. The containers of the Etruscans as a whole were a lot smaller than the Egyptians, as many were cremated opposed to the trademark mummification of the Egyptians.
Without a complete understanding of what the Egyptians though about the afterlife I was thinking that they have created a separate one indirectly for them. By burring with their daily life possessions, jewelry, and personal items the Ancient Egyptions gave insight into what their life was like. We are learning about their culture and keeping it alive in the museums and in the classroom. As we learn about how they lived their life and what was important to them we imagine them as real people not just characters in history. This holds true for the Etruscans as well - with their detailed scenes on the mirrors they left behind. We keep both of these cultures and these people alive through our study of them, thus creating an afterlife.
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