This lecture was given at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 2018. It previews what would become the final chapter of my book Ancient Egypt and Early China: State, Society, and Culture. The talk introduces the concept of the multi-component soul in each civilization and the representations of a paradisiacal realm where part of that soul could reside. Visual representations include paintings on tomb walls, coffins, stone carvings, pictorial bricks, and portable objects. The last part of the talk introduces the notion of “games of fate,” boardgames and associated rituals that could assist one in gaining access to paradise.
