Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. This is quite different from reincarnation, a process involving a person or deity returning to life in a different body. The disappearance of a body is another similar but distinct belief in some religions.
With the advent of written records, the earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in Egyptian and Canaanite religions, which had cults of dying-and-rising gods such as Osiris and Baal. Ancient Greek religion generally emphasised immortality, but in the mythos, a number of individuals were made physically immortal as they were resurrected from the dead.