The image of afterlife in the pre-Christian culture

The Christian model of afterlife is an evolution point in the afterlife cosmology development, which origins in archaic beliefs of pre-Christian culture. The article deals with the afterlife beliefs, which developed from myth emergence and have no significant differences in their general inner content. It is argued, that the model of the world evolved with the development of these concepts - there appeared the cult of ancestors that conducted the social differentiation within the community, subsequently it was reflected in the image of the afterlife. The author concludes that this developmental model is common for all ancient cultures, including Judaic one. In the context of Christianity the ideas of afterlife existence developed, and the model of heaven replaced the earth model.