This exhibition examines some of the larger cycles of life in ancient Egypt, and how these cycles were critically interrelated. Ancient Egyptian society was centered on maintaining balance in the cycles of nature - day and night, flood and drought, life and death. Preserving the continuity of these cycles became the focus of their religion, their social structure, and the rhythms of their daily lives.

Above all, Egyptian art was about life. Celebrations, holidays, and rituals were plentiful. The Ancient Egyptians rejoiced in life's goodness and bounty and looked forward to death as a continuity of the good that they had already experienced in this world. Without this emphasis on the value and sacredness of life, the Egyptian concept of a harmonious afterlife would have lost its significance.

For the ancient Egyptian, the need for harmony and balance did not cease with death. They believed that the soul faced a treacherous journey in the afterlife, as it traveled toward its eventual rebirth. Without rebirth, there was no cycle, and no balance.

The nineteen objects in this exhibition, drawn from the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, are arranged in sections that permit you to explore daily life in ancient Egypt, gods and goddesses, kingship, and the beliefs and rituals connected with death and the afterlife.

All text this section from the original exhibition text panels, © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. All rights reserved.