Egyptian Book of the Dead EXPLAINED Step by Step History Podcast

As the Old Kingdom Egyptians believed, the place where the dead dwelled was the western land of Amenti, where the sun sets, or Imentet, She of the West, as the necropolises on the western side of the Nile were called. Ubiquitous in the tombs of the New Kingdom was the image of Imentet in the personified form of a goddess shown with the hieroglyphic symbol of the West on her head, sometimes identified with Hathor and sometimes with Isis. Imentet was the land where the world inhabited by living ends, and where among the desert sands stand the cities of the dead, necropolises dominated by the monumental mastabas of the Egyptian elite, new homes intended for their curse and curse of their companions, servants, called into existence by the fact of showing their images on the walls of chapels and cult chambers. The above-ground parts of the mastaba were therefore filled with images of people, animals and plants that were to accompany the deceased in paradise, a vision of a parallel world. In the Pyramid Age, funerary art copied the world of the living, and in the center of this new better world was the deceased owner of the accepting offerings, supervising the harvest, hunting hippopotami. There was no place for protective spells or images of gods, because the only mediator between the world of people and the world of gods was the pharaoh, who could confront the gods as an equal. An ordinary mortal didn't have to worry about this, instead he had to think about his eternal home. Although he might have lived in the richest residence during his life, it was built of mud bricks. His new, eternal house had to be durable, made of stone, and spacious if possible. Mastabas were supposed to ensure the safe existence of the deceased Ka, his vital force, spiritual twin, enchanted in naturalistic sculptures hidden in inaccessible chambers, serdaps. The Ka had to be fed by the living, visiting the Mastaba chapel, offering food and drink before the false door, the portal between dimensions, the border between the living and the dead. The dead, or rather their Ka's, were to last forever. They were not to have lords over them in their tombs, they ruled like pharaohs over their new better life. This idyllic image of the afterlife would soon change, however. The decline of the king's authority, which had been progressing since about the 24th century BC, the crisis, and finally the collapse of the old kingdom in the 22nd century BC, would turn this image upside down and convince the Egyptians that hell exists. Hello everyone, my name's Irena. Welcome to my channel Ancient Side Girl. I invite you to a podcast about the history of ancient Egypt. Today I'll tell you about the most famous pharaonic funerary book, the most popular religious text for almost one and a half thousand years from the new kingdom to the late period, although its origins probably reach back to the darkness of prehistory. Together we'll follow the Egyptian soul, traveling through the incredible, dangerous, and bizarre Duat, the mythical kingdom of Osiris. In order not to get lost in the afterlife, we'll use the original texts from the Book of the Dead. The first intermediate period disaster, the breakdown of the central administration, and the fall of the empire brought chaos, famine, and destruction, which caused the Egyptians to reflect on death. The memory of this terrible time resulted in the pessimism of the Middle Kingdom. The terrible fate of the living is nothing compared to the horror that could befall them after death. In order to survive in the afterlife, the land of Duat, the dead had to have access to mysterious spells and formulas. These, of course, existed earlier, but were available only to kings. The pyramid texts appeared in the 24th century BC. Their oldest copy was inscribed on the chamber walls of the Unas Pyramid at Saqqara. These texts are evidence of the recognition by the royal palace of Osiris as the new god of the dead, perhaps worshipped locally until then as the full god of fertility and vegetation. Osiris, already in the fifth dynasty, becomes the god of the Memphis elites associated with the palace, and new Osirian theology functions next to the dominant Egyptian solar cult. In the pyramid texts, we learn about Osiris as a dead king, a god rising to life from the dead. Unexpectedly, with the fall of statehood, the message of the Osirian myth becomes universal. The resurrected Osiris gives hope to the masses, hope for rebirth after death and eternal life. After the fall of the old kingdom, a kind of democratization of religion occurs. Osiris is no longer just a dead pharaoh, but anyone can be reborn in him, and the dead are then called Osirises, regardless of their social position. This is a crucial change. A new concept of duat and so-called field of reeds appears. The fate of the dead god, his personal dramatic story, touches the masses, shapes their morality. Let us remember that the Osirian myth is a story of violence, a fight for survival, a journey full of dangers happily ending with victory over death. The pyramid texts describe spells, prayers, and warnings partly taken from early dynastic traditions, and perhaps even from prehistoric burial rituals. This compendium was used to write the so-called coffin texts of the middle kingdom. They were constantly enriched with new theological concepts, folk traditions, and the content of religious mysteries performed during religious festivals. In this way, since the 22nd century BC, over one thousand spells have been written down on the coffins of wealthy Egyptians, on papyri and stelae. It was then that the image of the afterlife took shape, which survived almost until the end of pharaonic Egypt. What was omitted in the pyramid texts or described in brief, such as the Osirian paradise, Sekhet Aru, field of reeds, is described in astonishing detail in some coffin texts. Theologians of the middle kingdom developed a detailed topography of the afterlife, even creating maps. One of these guides to the land of the dead are the coffin texts discovered in Deir el-Berha in central Egypt, consisting of the It shows two paths through the Duat, a winding waterway and a land route, separated by the lake of fire, which has the power to destroy or renew the soul. The paths leading the deceased to Osiris can be treacherous, some of them leading nowhere, others guarded by demonic beings, who must be evaded or tamed with magic. The book warns these are the ways of Osiris, which are at the ends of heaven. If a man knows this spell, given knowledge of how to find them, then he himself will become as a god in the retinue of Thoth. He will indeed find a way to any heaven where he desires to be, but if he does not know this spell of traversing these ways, then he will be caught in the snares of death. The coffin texts paint a picture of the afterlife as an inhospitable land, dominated by water, full of guarded gates, mysterious chambers and terrifying beings. These texts were often quoted in the most popular funeral book of the new kingdom, Spells of Coming Forth by Day, better known as the Book of the Dead, the true successor of the coffin texts. The Book of the Dead was written during the turbulent times of the Second Intermediate Period. When following the fall of the Middle Kingdom in the 18th century BC, Egypt struggled with political disunity, famine and foreign invasions. The oldest discovered fragments of the Book of the Dead's spells belonged to Queen Mentuhotep, wife of the Theban ruler of the 16th dynasty, Sekhemre Jehuti. They were written on Mentuhotep's coffin, not on papyrus. It's clear, therefore, that the book was the result of a natural evolution of the coffin texts. The new book, already in the 17th dynasty, was written mainly on shrouds covering mummies. Also at that time the oldest papyrus copies appear. The papyrus form was a practical solution. During the Second Intermediate Period there was a collapse in the supply of good quality wood, which was obtained mainly from Phoenicia. Isolated Egyptians gradually abandoned coffin chests in favor of anthropomorphic coffins, which were made of inferior local wood, for example from Sycamore. The new coffins were smaller and their surface no longer held as much text, hence the inscriptions on the shrouds and papyri. As we already know, according to the eschatological concepts of the time, the deceased couldn't enjoy a peaceful eternity in Sekhet Aru immediately after death. It was a long and dangerous journey, which he began after waking up in his sarcophagus, probably at sunrise. The New Kingdom was a time of solar renaissance. Posthumous existence was associated with the cyclical rebirth of the sun. The deceased wanted to accompany its journey to the west and be reborn with it at dawn. In order to come out in the daylight, to leave the darkness of the tomb, one had to act quickly. Hence the book of the dead was placed in the coffin near the head or feet of the mummy, so that the deceased could easily reach it. Generally the book opens with chapters related to the funeral and the entry of the deceased into the western land. The spell to open the tomb for the soul, bar of the deceased, is found in the Ramassid papyrus of Ani, from the 13th century BC. Osiris, the scribe of Ani, whose word is truth, says. The place that is closed is open. A place that is closed remains sealed. That which lies in a closed place is opened by the soul of Ba, that is in it. Through the eye of Horus I was liberated. The decorations are placed on the forehead of Ra. My step is long, I am picking up mine thigh. I travelled a long way. My limbs are in a thriving state. I am Horus, the avenger of his father, and I bring the crown of Urdh and set it on her banner. The way of souls is open. My twin soul sees the great god in the boat of Ra on this day of souls. This spell is accompanied by a comment. If this chapter be known by the deceased he shall come forth by day and his soul shall not be kept captive. In the book of the dead we find instructions, advice, spells, descriptions of funeral rituals, hymns. Some fragments have a very old origin. For example, in the Tutmosit Papyrus of Nul we have a description of certain formulas recited by the priest during the opening of the mouth ceremony, a ritual performed during the funeral to restore the senses to the deceased. The prayer is supplemented by a commentary. This chapter shall be recited by a man who is ceremonially clean and pure, who hath not eaten the flesh of animals or fish, and who hath not had intercourse with women. And, behold, thou shalt make a scarab of green stone with a rim plated with gold, which shall be placed above the heart of a man, and it shall perform for him the opening of the mouth. And thou shalt anoint it with myrrh unguent, and thou shalt recite over it the following words of magical power. The authors of the text also provided another interesting piece of information about the origin of the holy formula. In their opinion, when they wrote it down, it was at least one thousand years old. We read. This chapter was found in the city of Kemeno upon the slab of Ba, which was inlaid with letters of genuine lapis lazuli, and was under the feet of the statue of the god, during the reign of his majesty the king of the south and north Menkaura, true of word, by prince Herutatav, who found it during a journey which he made to inspect the temples. Thus, the footnotes and explanations contained in the book are often more interesting than the religious content itself. In some papyri, we learn that some parts of the book were supposedly copied from old scrolls that were discovered during the first dynasty. Undoubtedly, for the Egyptians, the Book of the Dead was an important element of their cultural heritage. The book was constantly expanded and enriched until Ptolemaic times. Currently, there are over 190 chapters. The famous Prussian Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius gave the numbers to dispels in the mid-19th century. Lepsius is also the author of its modern name, Book of the Dead. Today we distinguish two versions of the book, Theban and Said. The so-called Theban recension, because both the oldest copies and their vast majority in general were found in Luxor, ancient Thebes. It can be described as an inconsistent, even chaotic book. New elements were constantly added to it, and no was taken with the chronology of the chapters being written. In this form, the book functioned for about 900 years, until the reform of the 7th century BC, when the 26th Said dynasty took over, which began the late period in Egyptian history. A new edition of the Book of the Dead was then created. The formulas were written down in predetermined order, systematized, unified, and shortened to 165 chapters. The new organized version is called the Said recension. In this form it functioned until Roman times. In contrast to the old funeral texts, the Book of the Dead is usually richly illustrated. The papyri of the Theban recension featured multi-colored vignettes, and the schematized decorations made in black ink were found in the Said edition. The papyri were protected by special wooden containers, often in the shape of a figure of Osiris, or a local guardian of the necropolis, although traditionally the authorship of the book was attributed to the god of wisdom, Thoth, less often to Isis. The book was undoubtedly of great importance to the Egyptians. The number of copies that archaeologists continue to find attests to its popularity. It was addressed to all social classes, practically everyone who could afford it. A copy decorated with colorful vignettes cost about as much as one slave, or two cows, during the New Kingdom. The highest prices were paid for the longest, custom-made papyri. We know that anonymous copies were popular, on which the name of the deceased was added only at the moment of sale. It must have been a profitable business. Presumably, the books were copied by scribes from temple institutions. They always wrote them out in Old Egyptian language, which was already dead in the times of the New Kingdom, hence many stylistic and logical errors. After funeral rituals, after the tomb is opened, the journey of the deceased into the duod begins. Among the incantations we read, quote, let me not be driven away from the doors of the other world, let not you doors be shut in my face. In the papyrus of Ani there's a prayer to Osiris. Hail, thou one who shinest from the moon, hail that this Osiris Ani may come forth among thy multitudes who are at the portal. Let him be with the light guard, let the tuad be opened to him. Behold, the Osiris Ani shall come forth by day to perform everything which he wishes upon the earth among those who are living their own. Dangerous time begins for the soul, constantly exposed to destruction at the hands of the demonic inhabitants of Duod. The book contains a whole group of chapters concerning the protection of the deceased from the second death, from snake attacks, from decapitation or decomposition of the body, which was a particular concern among the Egyptians. We read, the Osiris Ani said, O thou who art motionless, O thou who art motionless, O thou whose members are motionless like unto those of Osiris, thy members shall not be motionless, they shall not rot, they shall not crumble away, they shall not fall into decay, my members shall be made permanent for me as if I were Osiris. The commentary to the spell assures whoever knows it will not rot in the afterlife. We read further, let not my body become worms, but deliver thou me as thou didst deliver thyself. I pray thee let me not fall into rottenness as thou letst every god and every goddess and every animal and every reptile see corruption when the soul had gone out of them after their death. Give thou me not over to the slaughterer in this execution chamber who killeth the members and maketh them rot, being himself invisible, and who destroyeth the bodies of the dead and leaveth by carnage. Let me leave and perform his order, I will do what is commanded by him. Give me not over to his fingers, let him not overcome me, for I am under thy command. O lord of the gods, homage to thee, O my divine father Osiris, thou livest with thy members, thou didst not decay, thou didst not become worms, thou didst not wither, thou didst not rot, thou didst not putrefy, thou didst not turn into worms. The deceased was threatened with having to move upside down after reaching the netherworld, so the spells were to ensure freedom of movement. Another problem was access to the food and drink offerings made in the deceased burial chapel, so that he wouldn't have to consume his own excrement and urine. A series of transformational spells were to enable the transformation of the soul, if necessary, into a bird, a snake, or even a lotus flower. The deceased's Ba had such possibilities. While the aspect of the soul called Ka, the vital force, was related in a way to the mechanical supervision of physiological functions, Ba was the most personal and emotional, constituting the human personality. The unique Ba was the main ingredient of a person, even while alive, as it was guided by impulses, and it was responsible for the actions of a person, his decisions. Thus, Ba was subject to the judgment of Osiris, although formerly the heart of a person was examined being another, third aspect of his soul, Ib, as completely independent of him, the source of truth about himself. While the heart was essential for survival in the Duat, the Ba allowed movement within it, and could also leave the netherworld and visit its body in the tomb and its accompanying Ka. The mobility of Ba is shown by the way it's depicted. It's always a bird with a human head. To fully reutilize the Ba, the deceased needed this formula from the Hail, mighty one of souls, thou divine soul who inspires great dread, who dustseth the fear of thyself in the gods, who are enthroned upon thy mighty seed. Make thou a path for the spirit soul and the Ba soul of the Osiris Ani. I am equipped with words of power. I am a spirit soul equipped with words of power. I have made my way to the place where are Ra and Hathor. The dead moving and breathing freely after leaving the tomb sets off westward through the desert. The last stop before entering the kingdom of Osiris is his vestibule, a mysterious oasis of the Lady of the Sycamore, where in the shade of a spreading tree the soul can rest, gather strength and feed. The protector of the dead, the Lady of the Sycamore, was identified with Hathor, sometimes with Isis or Nut. Sycamore trees grew on the border of desert necropolises and, as we already know, anthropomorphic coffins were made from them, hence the association of this tree with the cult of the dead. The sarcophagi were dedicated to the goddess of the sky, Nut, and like the deceased rulers who were reborn with the sun in her celestial body, the dead awoke in her embrace within their sarcophagi. Particularly popular in the late period were large images of Nut painted on the bottom of coffins. Emerging from a sycamore tree, the goddess gave the dead, hungry and thirsty travelers, food and cold water. The entrance to the actual afterlife was supposed to be in the mysterious Mesket, a place in the sky, located just above the horizon or, according to some scholars, somewhere on the Milky Way. At the same time, among the Egyptians there were more earthly traditions, locating this secret gate to the afterlife, the border between dimensions, somewhere to the west of the cemetery, in caves and rock crevices. The Thebans, for example, believed that it was located somewhere on the top of the pyramidal hill of El Qarna in western Thebes. These different traditions coexisted with each other, just as in the Book of the Dead two theological traditions functioned side by side, the solar and the osirian. In the book's spells, the deceased refers to both Ra and Osiris. Both traditions will be combined in the Ramesside concept of Osiris-Ra. The dying sun at sunset becomes Osiris, who continues his nocturnal journey on the solar bark, only to be reborn in the morning in the womb of his mother Nut, as Kepri, the young son, symbolized by the scarab, moving to the daytime solar bark. Although the vignettes of the Book of the Dead often depict its owners as wanderers, walking with stick, constantly marching toward mysterious gates, there was a simple way to traverse the duet. The greatest desire of the Egyptian was to be on board the sun bark of Ra. It was the fastest and safest way to travel through the afterlife, available to pharaohs but also to private individuals. To get on the bark of Ra in the company of Thoth and the gods of the Aeneid, the deceased had to appeal to the sun god himself. May the soul of the Osiris-Ani, whose word is truth, come forth with thee into heaven. May he set out with thee in the matted boat in the morning, may he come into port in the sected boat in the evening, and may he cleave his path among the stars of heaven which never rest. The most fortunate souls obtained the consent of Ra himself. Thou shalt come forth into heaven, thou shalt sail over the sky, and thou shalt hold loving intercourse with the star gods. Praises shall be made to thee in the boat, thy name shall be proclaimed in the atted boat, thou shalt look upon Ra within his shrine, thou shalt make the disc to set with prayer every day. As we know from other royal funeral books of the new kingdom, such as the Amduat, all the gates to the afterlife opened before the cyclically passing solar bark, which could be used by lost souls camping out in the darkness in front of closed gates, or floating helplessly on the waters of the Duat. Vignettes from papyri preserved to this day show the different functions that the deceased could perform on board the solar bark. Sometimes he became the god himself, occupying the throne of Ra, and sometimes as a humble servant he worked for other crew members. He rowed, when they ran aground he pulled the bark with a rope, walking along the shore. Sometimes he stood on the bow, armed with a spear, like the mythological Seth, defending the sun from the demon attacks. The mysterious river that he traveled on in the afterlife didn't resemble the Nile. It was full of bends where many dangers awaited, and in places it dried up completely. Not everyone was lucky enough to accompany the sun to the afterlife. Left to their own devices, the deceased travelers had to cross a winding river that, like the Styx, known from Greek mythology, separated them from the abode of the dead. The deceased had to find a harbor and call out a ferryman named he who looks behind himself. Interestingly, ferrymen sailing in pirogues on the Nile still take this position, as I could see for myself many times. The condition for boarding was to name all the elements of this particular bark, like, for example, one of the ropes was called the Braid of Isis. If the dead passed this test, they could cross to the other side, where more challenges awaited them. They had to overcome a series of hills and thickets full of ingenious traps and dangerous demons, attacking souls unarmed with spells. It was a vast land, fragmentary descriptions from the Book of the Dead, as well as older texts, sometimes decorated with maps of the afterlife, the beautiful land of the West, show a diverse picture of lakes, fields, deserts and mountains, including the gigantic mountain Baku, on the top of which the heavens are supported. On the Imhet hills, the deceased could see the gods living there and feed on the offerings gathered for them. The land of Isis was inhabited by the gigantic serpent Rerek, the enemy of the sun, compared to Apep. However, he lived in a place too distant for anyone to see it with their own eyes. On the northern horizon stretched a panorama of endless waters, and somewhere in the north, among the circumpolar stars, was supposed to be a land of plenty, called the Fields of Offering, where the soul fed to its fill. In the west, according to the Book of Amduat, there was the desert land of Sokar, Rosetau, full of snakes and fire, an inhospitable land. Armed with the spells of the Book of the Dead, the deceased could travel between dimensions, returning to the world of the living to partake of the bounty of the Nile Valley and visit important sanctuaries, such as those at Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis and Abydos. Several chapters of the book describe the journey through guarded gates, many gates. According to some versions of the book, there are twenty-one of them, and they are called pylons in the house of Osiris. At the end of them, if the soul overcomes this dangerous route, it will stand before the face of the God of the Dead, and will be finally judged. Approaching each of the gates, the deceased assures the guard that he has performed the ritual of purification and anointed himself with holy oils. Then he names the gates and their guards, doorkeepers and heralds, for generally each pylon of Osiris was guarded by three demonic figures. Like most of the dangerous inhabitants of the Duath, they were shown armed with long, sharp knives. Standing in front of the first gate, the deceased addresses both the gate and the beings guarding it, quote, Lady of Tremblings, High-Walled, the Sovereign Lady, the Lady of Destruction, who uttereth the words which drive back the destroyers, who delivereth from destruction him that cometh. The name of her doorkeeper is Neruid. Each of the gates has its own unique character, but it's dangerous for unprepared travelers. The eighth pylon is called Blazing Fire, Unquenchable, with far-reaching tongues of flame, Irresistible Slaughterer, which one may not pass through fear of its deadly attack. The name of her doorkeeper is Kuchatev. Interestingly, some of the names of the guards aren't directly given in the Book of the Dead, but are only enigmatically described, quote, a demon with red hair and eyes, who appears at night and traps the devil in his lair, or, terrible one, Lady of the Rainstorm, Destroyer of the Souls of Men, Devourer of the Bodies of Men, Orderer, Producer, and Maker of Slaughter, is thy name. Before the last gate, the deceased must call out, Twenty-first pylon of the Still Heart, I have made the way, I know thee, I know thy name, I know the name of the goddess who guarded thee, Sword that smited at the utterance of its own name, Stinking Face, Overthrower of him that approached her flame, is thy name. As in the great Pharaonic sanctuaries, the successive pylons led to the holiest of holies, the House of the God, the Seat of Osiris, the Hall of Two Truths. The Court of Osiris was the most dangerous obstacle to achieving eternal life. There was no appeal from his sentence. The deceased was led into the Hall of the Two Truths, the Hall of Mud, by guards armed with knives. Full of humility, with raised hands, he greeted the forty-two judges gathered there, whose number obviously corresponded to the number of gnomes of Upper and Lower Egypt. I have come unto thee, O my Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy beauties. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the forty-two gods who live with thee in this Hall of Mud, who live by keeping ward over sinners, and who feed upon their blood on the day when the consciences of men are reckoned up in the presence of the God. Now comes the famous negative confession, declaration of innocence. The deceased denies his sins by addressing each of the forty-two gods. Each of the judges specializes in one sin. Hail, Ousek-Nemd, who comes forth from Anu! I have not committed sin. Hail, Heptket, who comes forth from Keraha! I have not committed robbery with violence. The long list of sins in negative confession includes I have not stolen, I have not slain men and women, I have not uttered lies, I have not committed acts of sexual impurity or lain with men, I have not eaten the heart, I have not been an eavesdropper, I have not been angry without just cause, I have not debauched the wife of any man, I have not polluted myself, I have not shut my ears to the words of truth, I have not acted with undue haste, I have not worked witchcraft against the king, I have not cursed God. The deceased's confession before the divine tribunal isn't enough. Now he must demonstrate his secret knowledge concerning the kingdom of Osiris. To this end, the deceased enters into a strange dialogue with the doors and floor of the Hall of Two Truths, revealing their secret names, and then confronts the divine doorkeeper of the Hall of Mad. I will not announce thee unless you tell us my name. And I reply, Discerner of Hearts, Searcher of Bellies, is thy name. The doorkeeper saith, Thou shalt be announced. He saith, Who is the God who dwells in his hour? Speak it. And I reply, Aotawi. He saith, Explain who he is. And I reply, Aotawi is Toth. The doorkeeper turns out to be the God of Wisdom himself. The last obstacle before the deceased stands before the God of the dead. Quote, Come now, said Toth, for what purpose hast thou come? And I reply, I have come and have journeyed hither that my name may be announced to the God. Toth said, In what condition art thou? And I reply, I am purified from evil defects, and I am wholly free from the curses of those who live in their days, and I am not one of their number. Toth said, Therefore shall thy name be announced to the God. Toth said, Tell me, who is he whose heaven is of fire, whose walls are living serpents, and whose ground is a stream of water, who is he? And I reply, He is Osiris. Toth said, Advance now, thy name shall be announced to him. Now comes the culminating moment of the judgment of Osiris, which is also the most famous fragment of the Book of the Dead, the weighing of the dead's heart. This scene was shown on papyrus vignettes, so we know that the deceased is led by the jackal-headed Anubis, the ancient funeral deity guardian of the dead, great Imbalma. On one of the scales was a feather symbolizing truth, cosmic order, and balance, the divine law of math. On the other scale was placed the heart of the deceased. During the weighing, Anubis checked the scale while the divine scribe Toth wrote down the result of the weighing. Of course, the great-god of the dead Osiris is present in the whole, sitting on a throne, accompanied by his sisters Isis and Nephthys. Illustrations of this scene often show Horus as the one who leads the dead before his father. Of course, the book's vignettes always show the scales perfectly balanced, meaning that the dead will be saved, justified. The rich, terrifying descriptions of the hellish torments of sinners in various funeral texts, the annihilation of their souls if their hearts were heavier than the feather, prove that the verdict wasn't always favorable to the dead. The Duat was full of the enemies of Osiris, awaiting in torment the second death. Hence, it was crucial to provide magical protection to the heart itself, which, as we know, although it was part of the soul of the deceased called Ib, wasn't controlled by him, it was a serum of truth about him. Therefore, the heart was especially protected as necessary for salvation, and, of course, it was left in the mummified body, additionally protected magically by an amulet in the form of a scarab placed under the bandages. Some of the first spells of the book of the dead concern the heart. My heart is with me, and it shall never come to pass that it be carried away. I am the lord of hearts, the slayer of the heart case. I live in truth. I have my being therein. I am Horus, the dweller in hearts. I am in the dweller in the body. I have life by my word. My heart hath being. My heart case shall not be snatched away from me. It shall not be wounded. It shall not be put in restraint if wounds are inflicted upon me. The hearts of sinners were devoured immediately after the verdict was pronounced by a demonic being of strange and terrifying appearance, Ammit, devourer of the dead, waiting under the scales for her prey. She was a hybrid of the most dangerous animals known to the Egyptians. In the book of the dead we read, Her forepart is like that of a crocodile, the middle of her body is like that of a lion, her hindquarters are like those of a hippopotamus. The Egyptians had great faith in the power of their book and spells. For those who followed its instructions, the verdict couldn't be other than not guilty. The divine scribe Toth announced the court's verdict. Quote. Hear ye this judgment. The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been weighed, and his heart soul hath borne testimony on his behalf. His heart hath been found right by the trial in the great balance. There had not been found any wickedness in him. He had not wasted the offerings which have been made in the temples. He had not committed any evil act. And he had not set his mouth in motion with words of evil whilst he was upon earth. To which the collective tribunal of the gods added. The devourer Ammit shall not be permitted to prevail over him. Mid-offerings and admittance into the presence of the god Osiris shall be granted unto him, together with an abiding habitation in the field of offerings as unto the followers of Horus. Finally, brought by Horus before the god of the dead, the deceased addresses Osiris directly. Quote. Here I am in your presence, O lord of Amentat. There is no sin in my flesh. I have not spoken anything that is not true knowingly, nor have I done anything with a false heart. Make me like those privileged ones who follow you, that I may be Osiris. Osiris then considered the deceased justified, and allowed him to live in Sekhet Aru. The book states. He is cleansed and purified, and is arrayed in linen apparel, and is shot with sandals of white leather, and his eyes are painted with antimony, and his body is anointed with an The field of reeds became his home, a wonderful land surrounded by a copper wool. Decorated with turquoise trees, the land of plenny, where the barley and wheat reached seven cubits high, resembled the Nile delta, a fertile area crisscrossed by canals. Although the fields in the afterlife also had to be cultivated, the inhabitants of paradise spent his time there carefree, thanks to their shifty figurines taken to the tomb. These, animated by magic, performed all the necessary work for their lord. As a fully effective, efficient soul, Akh, the deceased could travel freely around the world of the living, return to his tomb, and even become a god, or star, only to return finally to his domain in Sekhet Aru, accept offerings, supervise the harvests, and hunt hippopotami, like the noble lords of the old kingdom, immortalized on the walls of their mastabas. In Ptolemaic times, the Book of the Dead began to be gradually replaced by new popular funeral texts, its simplified version called the Book of Breathing. This text, attributed to Isis, enjoyed popularity even in the first centuries of our era. It preserved some of the key chapters of the Book of the Dead, such as the Negative Confession. To this day, there's ongoing discussion among scholars about how much influence these widely known records had on the formation of later traditions, including the great monotheistic religions. I hope you learned something new about the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. Thank you for listening. 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