What were taught to the ancient Egyptian dead
Sometimes it happens that books enter a story with a title and reputation that does not match the content at all. This happened, for example, with the ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead". This collection of incantations and religious hymns is often called the "book of death", while in fact it is dedicated to the victory over nothingness and the return to life.
When the texts of five thousand years ago could finally be read, it turned out that in fact the book is called "Chapters on the way to the light of day."
Horus and Anubis weigh the heart of the deceased
How the book of life turned out to be the book of the dead
The current common title - "Book of the Dead" - is a direct translation from Arabic. So the ancestors of modern Egyptians mysteriously called papyri, which from time to time were found together with mummies.
After large-scale archaeological research began in Egypt and the fashion for everything Egyptian spread around the world, in Europe there was an idea of this country as a place where people are born only to die with dignity and solemnity.
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And now, in school textbooks, which do not differ in depth, one can find statements that the ancient Egyptians considered death an apotheosis. And supposedly solely for this purpose, they carefully dressed up and buried the dead and invested such titanic labor in the construction of their own burial grounds - pyramids.
The Book of the Dead reveals the meaning of seemingly frightening actions. The Egyptians earnestly and thoroughly prepared not for death, but for life.
Special ritual formulations, hymns and incantations, which were recorded on papyri, were supposed to help the deceased overcome the dangers of the afterlife, protect themselves from mortal horrors, justify themselves at the posthumous trial and return to earth together with the god Ra. The inhabitants of the Nile Valley were confident that they would resurrect and live on a beautiful, renewed land, where there is neither old age nor death.
The Book of the Dead Neferini. Photo: wikimedia.org
Democratizing death
It should be noted that there is no canonical, single "Book of the Dead". Copies that have come down to us sometimes differ significantly from each other. Most of the papyri were found in Thebes. They partly overlap with the so-called "Texts of the Sarcophagi" and "Texts of the Pyramids" - religious works dedicated to the afterlife of a person.
Typically, copies of The Book of the Dead are divided into four sections. The first of them is devoted to how to protect the body in the grave and keep it in a form suitable for resurrection and transformation, the second - how to overcome the Underworld, the third - how to stay on the posthumous judgment before the gods, and the last - how to behave in the afterlife, waiting return to life. Papyri with such instructions could be up to 20 meters in length.
An important difference between the “Book of the Dead” from the “Texts of the Sarcophagi” or “Texts of the Pyramids” is its democratic character. History does not know of examples when ordinary subjects of the ancient kingdom would be supplied with tips.
Religious tracts were applied to the walls of the burial chambers of the pyramids and the sarcophagi of the selected dead - pharaohs and priests. But in the third millennium BC, every Egyptian, going to the kingdom of the gods, which was located somewhere on the western side of the Nile, had detailed instructions. At some point, drawings and detailed maps also began to appear in The Book of the Dead.
Part of the Book of the Dead by the scribe Nebed, ruled by Amenophis III (1391-1353 BC). Photo: wikimedia.org
Riddles and predictions
Every Egyptian who was wealthy enough to afford to pay the scribe took a scroll of papyrus with him to his grave. There might have been a short passage, or there might have been an imposing work with text hundreds or more feet in length.
The deceased was supplied with all the precautions that, in the imagination of the living, could serve against the dangers of the gloomy world of Duat, writes James Baiki in his monograph Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus-hunting.
Since more than 90% of the known artifacts of Ancient Egypt were found in tombs, it is logical that 9 out of 10 papyri that have survived to this day are burial texts.
Egyptologist Dr. John Taylor claims he found about 100 fragments of an ancient book
From time to time, researchers announce high-profile discoveries regarding the "Book of the Dead". Scientists discover forgotten, unexplored fragments in the museum's storerooms, struggle to decipher formulations and plots, and compare different versions of the text.
However, this does not diminish the number of mysteries. Who is the author of the Book, what was the source of insider information about the afterlife, how did ancient Egyptian magic work, and can the given predictions be believed? There are no answers to these questions.
