What does the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead look like?

Practically every culture is based on a certain life moment of a person, which determines the creation of rituals, rituals and relics. Around such moments, virtually the entire array of cultural values of a particular civilization. The most full of rituals and customs is the Egyptian civilization, which existed many years before the appearance of others. This culture is the cradle of modern society. Even before the first customs outside the African continent, the Egyptians already had their infrastructure in the cities, and even right. But these are not the only features of Egyptian culture. Its main highlight is the religion of Ancient Egypt.

Features of the religion of Ancient Egypt

It should be noted that virtually all of the ancient Egyptian religion is based on beliefs in the otherworldly realm. According to them, the afterlife does not just exist, but it also has its representatives in the face of the great pantheon of the gods. All the religious beliefs of Egypt revolve around the gods and their history, as well as the lives of ordinary people after death. By the way, life after death is exactly the fact that was mentioned earlier. In Egyptian culture, a large number of rituals and rituals are associated with the death of a person. By their nature, the Egyptians were very superstitious. They were convinced that the process of human life would decide the outcome of his future destiny in the afterlife. Due to such beliefs, the "Book of the Dead" was created, which regulates the life of a person after death in detail.

"The Book of the Dead" - what is this?

Ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" is a specific collection of religious hymns and texts that were created to help the deceased. The book was usually placed in a tomb, so that the deceased person could find the right path in the realm of the dead, and also to exclude the soul from getting into danger. This collection is a sort of guidebook of the soul in the world beyond the grave. The purpose of its creation is to provide peace for the soul.

We need to understand what the Ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" looks like. It can be found in several copies, depending on the time of creation. The thing is that for centuries the form in which the "Book of the Dead" was created was constantly changing. This was due to the religious and social trends that existed at one time or another.

The history of the book

It was previously indicated that the form in which the book found its manifestation changed with time. Moreover, the ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" is not a single collection of texts dedicated to the afterlife. In the history of Egypt , other similar letters are also known, namely: "Texts of sarcophagi" and "Pyramid texts".

The book was directly developed in the era of the Old Kingdom, when the custom of "wires" of the pharaoh to its afterlife appeared. During this ritual the priestesses uttered magically special formulas that were supposed to provide a "successful" afterlife to their lord. Later, all ritual songs and magic formulas began to be recorded on special plates that were mounted on sarcophagi. Already by the time of the Middle Kingdom, such sarcophagi became available not only to the pharaohs, but also to the prosperous nobles. In a still later period, the ancient Egyptians moved away from the tendency to write the "Book of the Dead" on the surface and began to "publish" it in the form of special scrolls, each of which was placed inside the sarcophagus. Scrolls were usually made of papyrus or leather. This form of the "Book of the Dead" gives an opportunity to answer the question of what the Ancient Egyptian book looks like.

Structure of the Book of the Dead

What else should I mention? Ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" has a peculiar structure. This is due to the trends of its creation. Earlier we already learned what the ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" looks like. It is presented in the form of scrolls (paper or leather), in which were laid out prayers, chants and other magical spells. All the studies of the Book of the Dead are based on the Thebian Book. It received its characteristic name because of the place where it was found. Later, other specimens were found, which make it possible to reconstruct the approximate structure of the collection in question.

Ancient Egyptian "The Book of the Dead", "The Word aspiring to the Light" - these are the most classical names. It is impossible to create a certain content of it, since all the constituent elements were collected from books published at different times. At the very beginning of the collection, you can select the section "Anthem to the Gods". It regulates the process of praising the deceased of the main gods. Next is the "Appeal of the deceased to spirits and gods". It is believed that in this part of the whole "after-trial process", which will be discussed later, the soul turned to all the gods and thereby justified all its sins. After that, the book contains countless chapters, each of which details the process of the afterlife.

Osiris Court - prototype of modern trial

Although the described peoples lived for a very long time, nevertheless the ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" contains detailed regulations of the whole after-trial process. Osiris is the chief judge of the afterlife. The soul of the deceased person turns to him, as well as to other Egyptian gods with the goal of justifying his sins. An interesting fact is that the soul, proving its innocence, can say about the absence of witnesses against it. Everything indicates the approximation of the process of the grave to the earthly. If you look in detail, then the real lawsuit of Ancient Egypt was almost the same as it is portrayed in the afterlife.

This similarity is due to the fact that over time, the book began to penetrate the norms of morality, which significantly influenced its structure and content. Thus, the most recent copies found represent the most ancient Egyptian book closest to society. It does not affect the living people, of course, but the process of the afterlife is very similar to that of the earth.

Conclusion

In the article we saw the main stages of the appearance and creation of the "Book of the Dead". The main tendencies of ancient Egyptian society were described, as well as the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.