The book of the dead
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The “Book of the Dead” is a series of written spells that the Ancient Egyptians believed helped them and provided strength in their journey through the afterlife. Preparing for the afterlife was an important aspect of the Egyptian religion.
The Book of the Dead is the modern name for the collection of spells that Egyptians called “The Spells for Going Out by Day”. The text was usually written in black ink with the titles written in red. Some versions were over 30 metres long and described creatures guarding the underworld with names such as “He who lives on snakes” and “He who dances in blood”.
There is said to be 190 chapters of the Book of the Dead but no single copy contains them all because people used the chapters they wanted. Some of the chapters were spells that priests recited during a person’s mummification and funeral.
It is said that the first 16 chapters described the dead person entering the tomb and then the underworld. The next section was on how the gods could help the person in the afterlife. The next chapters described the travels of the person in the underworld and the final chapters how the person could become powerful during afterlife.
It is thought that the Book of the Dead was first used around 1600 BC but it is understood that some of the spells are much older than this.
The Book of the Dead is the modern name for the collection of spells that Egyptians called “The Spells for Going Out by Day”. The text was usually written in black ink with the titles written in red. Some versions were over 30 metres long and described creatures guarding the underworld with names such as “He who lives on snakes” and “He who dances in blood”.
There is said to be 190 chapters of the Book of the Dead but no single copy contains them all because people used the chapters they wanted. Some of the chapters were spells that priests recited during a person’s mummification and funeral.
It is said that the first 16 chapters described the dead person entering the tomb and then the underworld. The next section was on how the gods could help the person in the afterlife. The next chapters described the travels of the person in the underworld and the final chapters how the person could become powerful during afterlife.
It is thought that the Book of the Dead was first used around 1600 BC but it is understood that some of the spells are much older than this.
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The spells from the Book of the Dead were written on papyrus sheets or on the walls of the tomb and usually in hieroglyphs with elaborate illustrations. Those with wealth had their own made and others could buy pre-written versions where the scribe would enter their name into the blanks (Ducksters, 2014).
The text was intended to be read by the deceased during their journey into the underworld. It enabled the deceased to overcome obstacles and not lose their way. It did this by teaching passwords, giving clues and revealing routes that would allow the deceased to answer questions and avoid hazards. It would grant the help and protection of the gods while proclaiming the deceased’s identity with the gods (Deurer, 2010).
The most famous section of the Book of the Dead is Chapter 125 which describes how a person’s soul will be judged in the afterlife. The dead person has to plead innocent to a long list of sins which was called a “negative confession”. A person’s heart would be placed on a pair of scales and weighed against the feather of Truth (Maat). If you survived the weighing became blessed spirits. The dead person could use spells from the Book of the Dead to turn themselves and visit the living world (Harris, Pemberton, 2005).
The text was intended to be read by the deceased during their journey into the underworld. It enabled the deceased to overcome obstacles and not lose their way. It did this by teaching passwords, giving clues and revealing routes that would allow the deceased to answer questions and avoid hazards. It would grant the help and protection of the gods while proclaiming the deceased’s identity with the gods (Deurer, 2010).
The most famous section of the Book of the Dead is Chapter 125 which describes how a person’s soul will be judged in the afterlife. The dead person has to plead innocent to a long list of sins which was called a “negative confession”. A person’s heart would be placed on a pair of scales and weighed against the feather of Truth (Maat). If you survived the weighing became blessed spirits. The dead person could use spells from the Book of the Dead to turn themselves and visit the living world (Harris, Pemberton, 2005).
By Olivia Robinson 7.2