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The magical text that decorated the tombs of the ancient
pharaohs of Egypt basically provided a detailed roadmap of the
what the Egyptians believed to be the Netherworld. Actually,
most of these were derived in some manner from the much
earlier Pyramid Texts developed by the Kings of the 5th and
6th Dynasty.
While a number of tombs are said to contain the whole text
of one are more of these books, none actually have the entire
text of any single book, though some have most of the
text. Other tombs simply have passages from the books.
The oldest of the royal funerary books is the Amduat.
From the Ramessid period onward, the underworld and the
heavens received new attention. The commonly used names of all
the books are of modern origin. The books include:
Pyramid Text
are the oldest collection of religious spells known
to us from ancient Egypt. This collection forms the basis of much of the later
religious theology and literature of ancient Egypt. The passages were eventually
separated and categorized, as well as illustrated and eventually evolved into
the Book of the Dead,
or more properly, "The Book of the Coming forth by Day". The oldest
of these text come from that Pyramid
of Wenis, or more popularly these days, Unas
at Saqqara. However, the first
Pyramid Text that were actually discovered were from the Pyramid of Pepy I.
The Coffin Text, which basically superseded the Pyramid Text
as magical funerary spells at the end of the Old
Kingdom, are principally
a Middle Kingdom phenomenon, though we may begin to find
examples as early as the late Old Kingdom. In effect, they democratized
the afterlife, eliminating the royal exclusivity of the
Pyramid Text.
 Amduat
(Called by the Egyptians, the Book of the Secret
Chamber): As mentioned above, this book is the earliest
of all funerary text, and documents the sun god's journey
through the 12 divisions of the underworld, beginning on the
western horizon and reappearing as Kehpri, the newborn sun in
the East. They correspond to the 12 hours of the
night. Amduat can be interpreted to mean, "That
Which Is in the Underworld". In this book the dead
pharaoh travels through the underworld to the afterlife in his
solar boat. While most tombs in the Valley of the Kings
(on the West
Bank at Luxor which
was ancient Thebes)
contain passages from the book, the burial chambers of Tuthmosis
III and Amenophis
II contain almost the complete text.
Litany of Re: This is a two part Litany of the Sun
that provides the sun God Re under 75 different forms in the
first part. The second part is a series of prayers in which
the pharaoh assumes various parts of nature and various
deities but particularly that of the sun god. Developed in the
18th Dynasty, it also praises the king for his union with the
sun God, as well as other deities. The text was used in
the entrance of most tombs from the time of Seti
I, though
we first know of it form the burial chamber of Tuthmosis
III.
 Book
of Gates: We first know of the Book of Gates in the late
18th Dynasty, but passages from the book appear in the burial
chambers and first pillared halls of most tombs
thereafter. Like the Amduat, but somewhat of a more
sophisticated text, this book references the hours of the
night, but referred to as the 12 gates and emphasis is placed
on the gates as barriers. It deals with the problems of the
underworld, such as Apophis, justice, material blessings and
time. The infinity of time was symbolized by an apparently
endless snake or doubly twisted rope being spun from the mouth
of a deity. Time is thought of as originating in the depths of
creation, and eventually falling back into the same depths.
The most complete texts we find in tombs appears on the tomb
of Ramesses VI and on the sarcophagus of Seti I.
Book of
the Dead (Called by the Egyptians, the Book of Coming
Forth by Day): While this book is well known to many modern
fans of Egyptian antiquities, it was certainly not the most
important of the funerary texts. In fact, the earliest
examples of the book were used by commoners. Later, passages
from the Book
of the Dead can be found in the antechambers of some
Ramessid tombs. The book is actually a collection of
magical spells, many of which were derived from earlier Coffin
and Pyramid Texts.
 Book
of Caverns: This books gives us a vision of the underworld
as a series of six pits, or caverns over which the sun god
passes. Most of the underworld is illustrated, while the text
primarily praises Osiris. It stresses the destruction of
the enemies of the sun god, and references afterlife rewards
and punishments. The dead King, in order to complete his
journey through the underworld, must know the secret names of
the serpents and be able to identify his guardian deities. We
only know of a nearly complete version in the tomb of Ramesses
VI, though it appears in the upper parts of others.
Books of the Heavens: This book, developed during
the late New Kingdom, describes the sun's passage through the
heavens. There are actually a number of individual
books, but the better documented of these include the Book of
the Day, the Book of the Night and the Book of Nut. Closely
related is The
Book of the Celestial Cow. For example, the Book of the Night, like other
books, documents the sun's journey but set within Nut, goddess
of the heavens. She swallows the sun at the close of the
day and gives birth to it each morning. Passages from these
books are mostly found in Ramessid period tombs. The Book of
the Divine Cow begins with the "Myth of the Destruction
of Mankind", the Egyptian version of the story of the
great flood. In the beginning daylight was always
present, and humans and gods cohabited on earth. This
was depicted as paradise, but humans rebelled against the aging
sun god, Ra. Ra sent
Hathor as his eye (cobra snake) to punish
the rebels, who began to destroy them with fire.
However, Ra ended up feeling sorry for them and so deceived
Hathor into letting some humans live. Ra then rearranged
heaven and the underworld and left earth on the back of the
celestial cow.
Book of the Earth: This is a four part book
describing the sun's night time passage through the
underworld. It was developed in the 20th
dynasty, and appears
in the burial chamber of several late Ramessid tombs. It
also sometimes appears on some anthropoid sarcophagi of the
same period.
See also:
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