Tag: Survey 1

Final Level Unlocked! The Ultimate Guide to Surviving the Egyptian Underworld

Samantha Yeung1 Comment

Welcome, reader. You are now officially dead.

The end of your life marks the beginning of the long and treacherous journey of the dead. Though if you show yourself worthy, an eternity in the afterlife welcomes you with open arms. Most importantly, prove yourself innocent against the test of purity, and you will be rewarded. You will now be transported to the underworld. Be careful, and best of luck.

Entering the duat in 5…4…3…2…1…

If I was a nobleman living in the time of Ancient Egypt, that is what I would like to imagine would happen after I die. The underworld sure sounds unpleasant, but fortunately, I came prepared.

The Origin Story

Egyptian hieroglyphics was undoubtedly one of the most prominent and notable inventions of its time. Writing revolutionized the way people communicated in their everyday lives in such a massive civilization, but who knew it would be so useful to the dead? According to Egyptian belief, a dead man needs to pass through the duat, or the underworld, to reach the peaceful and perfect afterlife. Thus, the Book of the Dead, also known as the Book of Coming Forth by Day, was created to help Egyptian kings and nobles overcome the obstacles to safety.

coffin texts egypt
Figure 1: Coffin texts (shown above) and pyramid texts were precursors to the Book of the Dead. These targeted the common people of Egypt who could afford coffins as the Egyptians started to believe that people other than the Pharaoh could also go to the afterlife. (source)

But What Are They Really?

Rather than being pages of paper bound together, these “books” were actually long scrolls of papyrus written and drawn by multiple scribes customizable to each buyer. The book is said to be filled with spells and chants written in hieroglyphs or hieratic script to help with all sorts of things, from ones to scare away snakes and crocodiles to ones that help open your mouth to eat. The writing is accompanied by drawings of the gods and the owner of the book traversing through the obstacles.

Figure 2: Located in the British Museum, the Papyrus of Ani is the most famous and well preserved Book of the Dead we have today. This frame depicts Ani and his wife in white on the left, the scale with his heart and a feather, and the Egyptian gods above watching over the scene. (source)

The Final Test

Though all obstacles of the underworld are dangerous, the weighing of the man’s heart is said to be the part that determines the man’s fate. At the end of the underworld lies a scale, with a feather on one end and the man’s heart on the other. It is said that if the heart weighs more than the feather, the heart is bearing too much weight from the man’s sins on earth. Thus, it will be eaten by Ammit, a creature with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the rear of a hippopotamus (shown in Figure 2, bottom right). But if the man proves to have lived a good life, he would have passed the final stage and will be transported to the long-awaited paradise of the afterlife.

Book of the Dead of the Priest of Horus, Imhotep (Imuthes), Papyrus, ink
Figure 3: This is the full papyrus for Imhotep, the priest of the god Horus, which is now located in the MET. This papyrus is significantly longer than Ani’s, stretching to over 70 feet long! See source for larger image. (source)

Have you lived a good life? What would your papyrus look like? Do you have what it takes to survive?

Congratulations, you have succeeded in the final level of the duat. You have lived a pure and perfect life and are now eligible to collect your rewards.

Entering the afterlife in 5…4…3…2…1…

Sources

https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/fofworld/book_of_the_dead/0?institutionId=6884. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_afterlife_beliefs#Journey_to_the_afterlife. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yv_MXNYbAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWr0QmN0Ocg