There is no single source for the various myths, allusions, gods, goddesses and religious practices found in the almost four thousand years of ancient Egypt. The foundations of Egyptian belief are found on temple walls. A few papyri roll that survived the many centuries and within the thousands of funerary tombs of royals and those not-so-royal.
Rituals, processions and magic spells always played significant roles in the carrying out of the varied practices ruling the life – and afterlife – of the ancients. Similar to what one finds in medieval Christian churches, paintings helped to tell the stories to those illiterate, which numbered most people. But the stories, rituals and spells also lay inscribed on the walls of the tombs and temples. Here, we can gain a more complete idea of belief systems in place. One of the most important aspects of Egyptian religious practices centered around death and the belief in an afterlife.
FUNERALS FOR THE DEAD
Texts illustrate interior walls of royal tombs whether in the Valley of the Kings, the Saqqara necropolis of the Old Kingdom or the Giant Pyramids of Giza themselves. Those texts changed from time to time, evolving with changes in beliefs. In funerary practice, the collection of spells became known as the Book of the Dead. In the case of the Book of the Dead, it usually was written on papyrus consisting of a number of magic spells to help a deceased individual make their way through the Duat or underworld.
The book name in original Egyptian is rw nw prt m hrw or Spells of Coming Forth by Day. It is important to remember that not every book was the same. Many people commissioned their own copies including not every spell, but only those they felt pertinent to their own journey in the afterlife. Books were written in either hieroglyphic or hieratic script (a form of cursive writing much faster to create than hieroglyphically). The texts then placed inside the coffin or the burial chamber, so their spirits could refer to them as needed.
SPELLS FOR THE DEAD
Some of the spells still became inscribed or written on tomb walls or sarcophagi like before papyrus came into vogue. The Book of the Dead appeared around 1550 BC at the beginning of the New Kingdom and continued use until about 50 BC. The texts were originally introduced by German Egyptologist Richar Lepsius who gave the collection the name Todtenbuch or Book of the Dead in English. Spells included went back as far as the Third Millenium BC including some from the earlier Pyramid Texts of the late Old Kingdom and from the later Coffin texts. The Book of the Dead – like the Coffin Texts – found uses by ordinary people and not just the highest royals such as the Pyramid Texts. The Book of the Dead could also include illustrations.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
The Book of the Dead appeared in Thebes about the start of the Second Intermediate Period – ~1700 BC – with the earliest examples found on the coffin of the favorite queen Mentuhotep, the wife of short reigning Djehuty, a king ruling parts of Upper Egypt around 1650 BC. Inside her coffin were several spells, many of which are found within the Book of the Dead and others found in the earlier Pyramid and Coffin texts. By the Seventeenth Dynasty, it was common for royal family members and court officials to include spells from the book on linen shrouds wrapped around their bodies, though papyri texts and writing on the coffins also sufficed for some.
With the New Kingdom, the Book of the Dead took on more importance. For example, spell 125, the “Weighing of the Heart” comes from the era of Hatshepsut and her son Thutmose III – ~1475 BC. The spells from then on were written mostly on papyrus. Illustrations became more important with time especially during the Nineteenth Dynasty.
With the collapse of the New Kingdom, the Book of the Dead began appearing hieratically which was cheaper, especially without the numerous illustrations. Smaller papyri could be used. Other funerary texts such s the Amduat could accompany or be used in place of the Book of the Dead.
Finally, with the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Dynasties, the book became updated, revised and standardized. Spells got numbers and were ordered. The book became abbreviated by the end of the Ptolemaic era with new funerary texts showing up such as the Book of Breathing and the Book of Traversing Eternity.
DEATH AND AFTERLIFE
Spells form the Book of the Dead give us a lot of information pertaining to ancient Egyptian beliefs regarding life, death and the afterlife. Death was not the end, but it could be the beginning of a new and wonderful next chapter. The journey illustrated by the various spells was an arduous path. The dead needed to pass through a series of gates, caves and mounds all guarded by supernatural beings. Entities armed with huge knives formed as human figures with heads of animals or combinations of ferocious beasts. To get past the gate, the deceased needed to remember the name of the creature and the appropriate spell from the Book of the Dead. Once recited, the creatures posed no more threat to the traveler. They could even help protect those who successfully remembered the correct spells.
Other creatures – “slaughterers” – served Osiris – God of the Underworld – to devour the unrighteous. A host of other natural and supernatural animals needed to be dealt with, too. They all required the proper incantation.
OSIRIS AND RA
According to the Book of the Dead, Osiris stayed confined to the Duat. Into his presence the dead came. Spells helped the ba of the dead to help Ra as he traveled in his sun-barque, helping him fight off Apep, the snake-god who opposed Ra and light with darkness and isfet, chaos as opposed to maat, order which came with Ra. Apep lay below the horizon, not part of the mortal world. Every night, Ra and Apep would battle. The battles between Apep and Ra and Ra’s helpers – like Set and the Eye of Ra – conjured up thunderstorms. Only by the prayers of priests and worshippers at the temples with the help of spells and rituals could Ra score a victory each night and become resurrected the next morning to bring day to the world.
EXISTENCE
An individual consisted of various forms. The ka was the life-force. It remained with the dead body in the tomb. Offerings of food, water and incense were needed to sustain the ka. Fresh offerings were always best, but spells allowed the ka to magically enter paintings on the tomb to partake of offerings placed on the walls.
The khet was the physical body. It needed preservation as efficiently and completely as possible. The burial chamber also needed personalization with scenes showing the triumphs of the deceased’s life. With the Old Kingdom only pharaohs could undergo mummification though that changed by the time of the Middle Kingdom when all dead gained the opportunity.
A very important process in the afterlife was judgement. But before someone could come forward to undergo judgement, they had to pass through “awakening” funerary rites, the most well-known being the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. These rituals taking place during the internment of the mummy aimed at reanimating each part of the body so the spiritual body – the sah – could move in the afterlife. Passing judgement, the sah forms and is able to interact with other entities in the afterlife.
Other Aspects of an Individual
Other parts of the soul of the deceased included his name – ren. The name was central to survival after death being an essential aspect of individuality. By placing a name on a statue, this gave the dead named, a second body. To totally destroy a person’s chances in the afterlife, objects and monuments (like a royal cartouche, for example) destroyed could do the trick.
The ba represented the personality of the individual. Shown sometimes as a bird with a human head, In early thought, the ba could exist after death leading a corporeal existence – meaning a physical rebirth and not just a spiritual one. The idea of an existence immaterially simply not an idea Egyptians ever harnessed.
A key to the afterlife also lie in the heart – ib. Of course, the ib was essential for judgement to take place. So, it was necessary for the heart to be preserved and store within the mummy along with a heart scarab placed above the body to prevent the heart from telling tales.
The shut – shadow – is always present and was thought to be part of the person represented. Statues of people were known as shadows in this way. After death, the dead are illustrated as emerging from the tomb in shut-form.
The sekhem was defined as the life-force of the soul existing in the afterlife after judgement has passed. The akh represented the intellect of an individual, though the idea did change over time. Following death, the ba and ka become reanimated by offerings and the proper rituals in order to reanimate the akh.
DEATH AND AFTER
Death came when the ka left the body. The “Opening of the Mouth” aimed at restoring a person’s physical abilities and to release the ba’s attachment to the body allowing for a union between the ka and ba in the afterlife to form the akh.
The afterlife seen by Egyptians was similar to normal life with a difference. The sun eventually descended, at sunset, into the Duat meeting up with the mummified Osiris. Both Osiris and the Sun re-energized each other enabling them to rise and meet a new day. For the dead, their body and tomb represented their personal Osiris and Duat. To operate properly, body preparation was essential to allow the ba to return during the night so to rise to new life in the morning. A completed akh was thought to appear as stars. Union with the Sun deity only occurred for royals until the Late Period.
Through the spells of the Book of the Dead, people could better avoid the perils found in the afterlife, spells ensuring “not dying a second time in the underworld” as it was possible to die again in the afterlife. This death was permanent.
JUDGEMENT
The deceased could then undergo the “Weighing of the Heart” – Spell 125. Led by Anubis, the dead person would come before Osiris and swear in front of forty-two Assessors of Maat, not to have committed any sin from the list of 42 sins. Forty-two was the number of nomes – provinces – of ancient Egypt. The Negative Confession” could vary from person to person which was probably a good thing since to have not failed one of the sins was exceptionally difficult – they are much more complete than the Ten Commandments.
Next, the dead person’s heart became weighed against the feathers of the goddess Maat – truth and justice, in this case. Now, in case the heart could bear witness of having committed sins, Spell 30B could help guard against this. If the scales balanced, the deceased had led a good life and they would gain vindication – maa-kheru – and Osiris would find a place for them in the afterlife. If the feathers won, the Ammit – Devourer – was ready to put an final end to the decease’s journey in the afterworld in a quick and final manner.
the wording of Spells 30B and 125 suggests a pragmatic approach to morality; by preventing the heart from contradicting him with any inconvenient truths, it seems that the deceased could enter the afterlife even if their life had not been entirely pure. One suggestion regarding a Negative Confession is essentially similar to the spells protecting from demons. The success of the “Weighing of the Heart” depended on the mystical knowledge of the true names of the judges rather than on the deceased’s moral behavior.
AMDUAT
Amduat translates to “That Which Is in The Afterworld” or the “Text of the Hidden Chamber Which is in the Underworld and Book of What is in the Underworld”. It remains an important funerary text from the New Kingdom. These texts lie carved onto the tombs of pharaohs exclusively until the Twenty-first Dynasty. The earliest fragments of the Amduat appear in the tombs of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I – KV 20 with the first complete version in Thutmose III’s tomb – KV 34.
Here is the story of Ra making his nightly journey through the underworld – death and rebirth, with the sunset – death – and sunrise – rebirth. In between, lay plenty of tribulations facing Ra on his journey to resurrection. For the pharaoh to gain his own personal rebirth, he needed to go on this same journey. His reward was to become one with Ra residing with him in perpetuity. On the journey, there are plenty of other gods and goddesses to help out like Khepri, Isis and Osiris taking main roles.
There were twelve hours of the night in the underworld. All the names of the gods and monster which could help or hurt Ra and the deceased soul described in the Amduat. The geography and names written out so the ba of the dead pharaoh can use their name to either help or defeat them.
STORIES CARVED ON A WALL
The story carved onto the tomb walls presents in three horizontal registers with vertical registers of text separating each hour. The vertical registers included information about the title of the hour, the name of the gateway.and the region of the underworld. At the end of each hour is an explanation in text of exactly what happened in that particular area of the underworld.
The top of the middle registers list the creatures and items particular to that area of the underworld while the bottom registers contained information regarding the specific hour. The middle register usually began with Ra on his solar barque entering into a new hour of the underworld. Ra, depicted as ram-headed as he descends. He separates from his body left only with his ba to reunite with his body – now in the form of Osiris.
While the underworld comes across as a place of death, it is also renewal for many of the deities and souls who pass through. It is also a place of opposites with life and death meeting, creating a chaos which only Maat, the deity of order and truth, can control.
TOMB PERMUTATIONS AND OTHER “BOOKS”
There were also rules for how to represent the Amduat on the walls of a tomb. This implied physical representation was as important as pictorial representation to guide the dead through the afterlife with Ra. Historians describe Thutmose III’s tomb which bends like the story of the Amduat in a kind of fishhook style. The same shape of tombs comes about with other pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty like Thutmose I and Hatshepsut, Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III, Thutmose III, Thutmose IV and finally Ramses II (from the Nineteenth Dynasty). These tombs built to mirror the underworld as described in the Amduat. The final room is on the east side similar to the sun coming up from the east and rebirth.
By the time of the Twentieth Dynasty – mostly Ramses III through IX, the Book of Gates and the Book of Caverns also appeared to expand upon the myths of the Underworld. By the end of the New Kingdom. The Amduat begins to appear on coffins and papyri of dead people of the lower classes.
THE BOOK OF GATES
This book became named by a French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero. An incomplete version appears in the Eighteenth Dynasty king Horemheb’s tomb, but the book gained more regard during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. The first complete version appears in the tomb of Seti I on his sarcophagus – the first half of the book decorates the pillared halls of his tomb. In many tombs, incomplete versions of the Book of Gates appears – Ramses II, Ramses VII – but also on tombs of workers and priests.
This book is closely related to the Amduat working as a guide for the deceased to make their way through the underworld. The main difference is the Book of Gates acts more as a guide for the dead souls to pass through each gate. Additional information given in this book in addition to the Amduat. Accompanying gods on the solar barque are also different between the Amduat and the Book of Gates. Instead of the large crew seen in the Amduat, the crew in the Book of Gates is only Heka – magic and medicine – and Sia – intellectual energies of the heart.
The Book of Gates divides into a hundred images laid out into three registers. Each image includes text describing the details of each register. At the end of each hour, the dead soul encounters a gate guarded by a serpent. To pass, both the name of the serpent and their characteristics must be know to the dead soul for safe passage.
THE BOOK OF CAVERNS
Originally from the 13th century BC during the Ramesside era, the Book of Caverns is another funerary text dealing with the journey of Ra through the underworld. It highlights Ra’s interactions with underworld residents and how Ra punishes or reward them. It also focuses upon the rebirth of Ra in the morning by merging with Osiris, the god of the dead.
The earliest version lies in the mortuary temple of Set I in Abydos. It also appears in the tombs of Nineteen and Twentieth Dynasty pharaohs. The first copy became uncovered in 1902 across from the entrance passage of the tomb of Ramses VI. There are six divisions with the final rebirth of Ra at the end.
In addition, other books recorded such as the Book of the Earth, the Litany of Ra, the Book of Nut, the Book of the Heavenly Cow and later, the Book of Breathing, the Book of Traversing Eternity. further help us understanding ancient Egyptian beliefs.
FURTHER
(C-4-5) Ancient Egyptian Underworld | Topoi book of caverns
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Egyptian Book of the Dead, by P. Le Page Renouf
Gary J. Shaw: Egyptian Mythology: A Traveler’s Guide from Aswan to Alexandria