mification. It is clear that the conception of the possibility of a
life beyond the grave assumed a more concrete form when it was realized
that the body itself could be rendered incorruptible and its distinctive
traits could be kept alive by means of a portrait statue. There are
reasons for supposing that primitive man did not realize or contemplate
the possibility of his own existence coming to an end.[39] Even when he
witnessed the death of his fellows he does not appear to have
appreciated the fact that it was really the end of life and not merely a
kind of sleep from which the dead might awake. But if the corpse were
destroyed or underwent a process of natural disintegration the fact was
brought home to him that death had occurred. If these considerations,
which early Egyptian literature seems to suggest, be borne in mind, the
view that the preservation of the body from corruption implied a
continuation of existence becomes intelligible. At first the
subterranean chambers in which the actual body was housed were developed
into a many-roomed house for the deceased, complete in every detail.[40]
But when the statue took over the function of representing the deceased,
a dwelling was provided for it above ground. This developed into the
temple where the relatives and friends of the dead came and made the
offerings of food which were regarded as essential for the maintenance
of existence.

The evolution of the temple was thus the direct outcome of the ideas
that grew up in connexion with the preservation of the dead. For at
first it was nothing more than the dwelling place of the reanimated
dead. But when, for reasons which I shall explain later (see p. 30), the
dead king became deified, his temple of offerings became the building
where food and drink were presented to the god, not merely to maintain
his existence, but also to restore his consciousness, and so afford an
opportunity for his successor, the actual king, to consult him and
obtain his advice and help. The presentation of offerings and the ritual
procedures for animating and restoring consciousness to the dead king
were at first directed solely to these ends. But in course of time, as
their original purpose became obscured, these services in the temple
altered in character, and their meaning became rationalized into acts
of homage and worship, and of prayer and supplication, and in much later
times, acquired an ethical and moral significance that was wholly ab