What was the Babylonian view of the concept of the afterlife?

The Babylonians believed that the afterlife was a dark, gloomy place known as the 'Land of No Return' or 'House of Dust', where the soul was sentenced to an eternal existence in the underworld, regardless of one's status in life. The afterlife was viewed as a continuation of the earthly existence, where the soul continued to perform the same duties and activities as in life. Thus, the Babylonians placed great importance on the proper burial of their dead and the performance of funerary rituals to ensure a peaceful afterlife.

The Babylonian view of the afterlife was influenced by their religion, which was polytheistic in nature, with a pantheon of deities governing various aspects of life and the cosmos. The Babylonians believed that their gods had power over life and death, and that the afterlife was determined by one's deeds in life and the will of the gods. Thus, the Babylonians had a complex system of religious beliefs and practices that revolved around pleasing the gods and ensuring a peaceful afterlife.

The ancient Babylonians believed that the afterlife was a dark and dreary place called Arallû, Ganzer or Irkallu, the latter of which meant "Great Below". It was believed that everyone went to this place after death, irrespective of social status or the actions performed during life. Unlike Christian Hell, the Mesopotamians considered the underworld neither a punishment nor a reward. Nevertheless, the condition of the dead was hardly considered the same as the life previously enjoyed on earth: they were considered merely weak and powerless ghosts.

The dead were believed to be led to Arallû by the ferryman Charon, who would demand payment in the form of a coin placed under the deceased's tongue. Once in Arallû, the dead would be judged by the god Nergal and his consort Ereshkigal. The dead would then be assigned to one of several different levels of the underworld, depending on their conduct in life. The lowest levels were reserved for the most wicked, who would be subjected to a variety of punishments, such as being eaten by snakes or forced to work in the fields.

The Babylonians believed that the dead could be helped by their living relatives by providing them with food, drink, and other offerings. They also believed that the dead could communicate with the living through dreams and visions.

The Babylonian view of the afterlife was a bleak one, but it offered some hope for the dead. By providing them with food, drink, and other offerings, the living could help to make their afterlife a little bit more bearable.