The document discusses several aspects of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead based on sources from the British Museum, Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Wikipedia, and images found online. It describes the book's organization into four sections covering the deceased's journey through the underworld. Key chapters and scenes are summarized, including the weighing of the heart in Chapter 125 and obstacles faced by the deceased like demon gatekeepers. The purpose and contents of the book are examined, along with its use from the New Kingdom through the Roman period.

1. OCTOBER 6 UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF TOURISM & HOTEL MANGMENT
“THE BOOK OF THE DEAD”
SUBJECT : ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION & MYTHS
SECOND YEAR
NAME : NORA TAREK HUSSEIN

3. The Books of the Dead from the Saite period tend to organize the
Chapters into four sections:
•Chapters 1–16 The deceased enters the tomb, descends to the underworld, and the
body regains its powers of movement and speech.
•Chapters 17–63 Explanation of the mythic origin of the gods and places, the deceased
are made to live again so that they may arise, reborn, with the morning sun.
•Chapters 64–129 The deceased travels across the sky in the sun ark as one of the
blessed dead. In the evening, the deceased travels to the underworld to appear before
Osiris.
•Chapters 130–189 Having been vindicated, the deceased assumes power in the
universe as one of the gods. This section also includes assorted chapters on protective
amulets, provision of food, and important places.There are 192 unique chapters known,
and no single papyrus contains all known chapters.

4. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Book of the dead was used from the new kingdom until the early Roman period.
It is known as the Book of the dead because its papyrus copies were often found
buried with mummies.
Some of the chapters and spells from the book were also inscribed on coffins, in
tombs and even on temples walls.
The spells known from some of the sources were associated with shaw abtis
(chapter 6), heart scarabs (chapter 30) and the hypocephali (which are flat circles of
linen or papyrus ,sometimes covered with gesso plaster, bearing chapter 162 of the
book of the dead).
For the late period examples which list chapters 162 to 165 as addition to the
original.
The two of the important chapters of the book of the dead are 110 and 125.
Chapter 110 was known from the coffin texts to refer to the Elysian fields or paradise
for the ancient Egyptians this sekhet –hetepu or field of offerings is a place where an
“equipped” or blessed spirit can plow, reap, eat, drink, copulate and “do everything
that is done upon earth”.
Chapter 125 is a new addition to the funerary literature which includes a “judgment
scene “where the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of truth.
The book of the dead made from a wide variety of ingredients the most abundant
constituent of bread is normally a starch-rich material.

5. •The
Book of the dead is the modern name for a collection of spells which the
ancient Egyptians called “The spells for going out by day”.
•This collection was first used around 1600 B.C.
•Some of the spells are much older than this.

6. •There
are at least 190 chapters in the Book of the dead but no single copy
contains them all because people used to choose the chapters they wanted.
•The spells were usually written in Hieroglyphs on rolls of papyrus.
•Copies made for rich and important people had beautiful illustrations.

7. •The
rest were a guide to survival in the afterlife.
•The Book of the dead promises to reveal the secrets of the underworld.
•The illustrations show the spirit of the dead man or women facing all kinds of
dangers from demons who caught the dead in fishing nets to hungry crocodiles.
•Knowing the names of the demons and monsters in the underworld could be
enough to control them.

8. •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 had to be able to plead innocent to a long list of sins.
•This was known as the “Negative Confession”.
•The person’s heart would be placed on a pair of scales and weighed against the feather
of Ma’at (truth)
•Those who survived the judgement became blessed spirits .
•About one third of the chapters in the Book of the Dead are derived from the earlier
Coffin Texts.

9. •They
could use spells from the Book of the dead to turn themselves into birds
and visit the world of the living by day .

10. •Part
of chapter 125 in a beautifully illustrated copy of the Book of the dead .
•The owner of this copy is shown being tried in the court of Osiris the king of the
underworld .
•shows Hunefer's heart being weighed as above .
•Hunefer is led by Anubis to the judgement hall .
•In the panel after the weighing the triumphant Hunefer having passed the test
is presented by Horus to the shrine of the green skinned Osiris god of the
underworld and the dead accompanied by Isis and Nephthys .
•The 14 gods of Egypt are shown seated above in the order of judges .

11. •Hunefer's
mummy stands before the entrance of his tomb in the protective
embrace of Anubis.
•The two women are probably family members, they are patting dirt on their heads
this was a sign of mourning.
•The priest wearing the leopard skin (a sign of priesthood) burns incense and
presents offerings of food and drink .
•the other two are about to perform the important ceremony of "opening of the
mouth".
•This ceremony was thought to restore the mummy's ability to see, breathe, eat and
drink.

12. •The
Mother ship known as Bennu (aka Nibiru) .
•Bennu sends out it's smaller ships called "Hennuaat“ (Shams - On High) .
•This ship is to select the chosen (in sets of 50) to travel threw 12 check points
beyond the constellation Orion and eventually back to the tri-star solar system .

13. EXAMPLE:
•the Gold worker of Amun, Sobekmose, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, probably
reign of Thutmose III to reign of Amunhotep II ( 1479–1400 B.C.).
• The texts on the front side are written in approximately 530 columns of
hieroglyphs reading down and from right to left.

14. •Nakht
was a royal scribe and overseer of the army at the end of the 18 Dynasty (about 1550-1295
BC).
•Chapter 117 of the Book of the Dead is a spell for taking the road to Rosetjau, the burial place of
Osiris.
•The vignettes include scenes showing Anubis taking Nakht towards a false door, the offering place
in the tomb through which the spirit of the deceased entered and left
the next world .
•Nakht is also shown receiving a liquid offering from the tree goddess, and being subjected to the
Opening of the Mouth ritual by Horus.

15. •Chapter
17 of theBook of the Dead is a long and complicated spell, with an equally long
history.
•It is essentially a statement of religious doctrines relating to the sun-god Re.
•The text is accompanied by a range of vignettes (illustrations).
•On the left Any and his wife Tutu are shown at left playing the senet board game while in
front of the both their ba spirits are shown as human headed birds perched on top of their
tomb.
•The two lions are those of the horizon over whose backs the sun rises daily while the bird to
the right is the benu and soul of the sun-god Re.

16. •The
scene of an owner and his or her spouse (here Nebseny and his wife
Senseneb) receiving offerings.
•Such offerings are conventionally the duty of the eldest son ' Ptahmose'.
•The text of the offering prayer is written in 'retrograde' style.
•A 'retrograde' text should be read starting at the opposite end.

17. •One
of the most important scenes shows an episode in the creation of the world according to the
Hileopolis myth.
•The myth centres on the Hileopolis god Atum as the creator.
•Atum has Shu(air),Tefnut(mist),Geb(earth)and Nut(sky).
•This vignette shows Nut stretched over the earth represented by Geb who lies below her.
•The toes of the goddess are at the eastern horizon and her fingertips at the western horizon.
•She is separated from Geb by Shu who holds her up with both hands.
•This separation did not prevent Geb and Nut having four children: Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys.
•The myths surrounding these four deities relate to the emergence of human society the separation

18. There were many obstacles on the path to the Afterlife in ancient Egyptian belief.
•As here in a mummified form crouching and holding sharp knives.
•The demons were often shown with their heads twisted round behind them or face on.
• Most had the heads of recognizable animals often ones that were no threat in the living world such
as rams or hares.
•Others like the double snake-headed demon were creatures of fantasy.
•Another demon gatekeeper was the upright snake with human arms and legs.
•

19. •This
individual was the last guardian who stood at the doorway of the judgement
chamber.
•The other scene on this papyrus shows the deceased woman Taminiu receiving
cool water from Nut appearing as a sycamore goddess.
• Her ba the small human-headed bird is at her feet.
•Behind her is the goddess Maat whose head is replaced by the feather that is her
emblem.

20. •Chapter
15 of the Book of the Dead is a collection of hymns loosely associated
with the worship of the sun-god at the setting of the sun.
•The mixture is so diverse that it can also include the worship of Osiris god of
the dead and keeper of the Underworld.
•This sheet shows the wonderful scene of Nakht and Tjuiu his wife adoring
Osiris and Maat who represents the established order of things.

21. •The
scene also includes a single-storey house and a garden.
•This picture is often taken as visual evidence for how ancient Egyptians lived.
•The house is probably there as an expression of the deceased's wish to return to
earth.
•The pool is also symbolic of rebirth and resurrection with other scenes showing the
ba spirits of the deceased drinking from pools or the tree-goddess pouring water for

22. •The
harpist chants laudation of the Pharaoh before the god Shu.
•symbolizing the space between Heaven and Earth and god of the air.
•Shu who wears an ostrich feather headdress and holds a scepter Was.
•symbolizing the power and domination and the sign of life The Key Ankh.

23. •Anubis
was the god of mummification and the dead.
•Anubis was the god who helped to embalm Osiris after he was killed by Seth.
•Priests often wore a mask of Anubis during mummification ceremonies.
•He watched over the process of mummifying people when they died.
•Here Anubis made a mummification to the deceased.

24. FROM THE BOOKS:
-THE BRITISH MUSEUM (ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF ANCIENT EGYPT).
-OXFORD ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
-FROM
THE NET:
-BOOK OF THE DEAD ANCIENT EGYPT –WIKIPEDIA ,THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA.
-IMAGES FOR BOOK OF THE DEAD ANCIENT EGYPT
04/11/2010