The saying “you can’t take it with you” may be a cliché to all of us in the 21st century, but it would have meant little to the ancient Egyptians. After all, one of the most widely recognized attributes of that civilization’s upper echelons is that its members spared no expense in making that very thing happen. The most convincing evidence includes the tombs of the pharaohs, which are lavishly kept as they were at the time, with everything from everyday items to religious artifacts to servants (statues or not). And without the Book of the Dead, no one in ancient Egypt would have been seen limping around this mortal coil, or whatever form the poets cast it into.
“A standard component of Egypt’s elite burials, the Book of the Dead is not a book in the modern sense of the word, but rather a collection of around 200 ritual incantations and prayers, with instructions for how the spirits of the dead should recite them in the afterlife.” The New York paper writes: timesFranz Ritz.
“1550 B.C. Compiled and refined over thousands of years since circa 1999, this document “provides a kind of visual map that allows newly disembodied souls to navigate the Duat, a labyrinthine underworld of caves, hills, and burning lakes.” ”Each “spell” dealt with a particular situation that the deceased might encounter during his journey, such as a snake attack, decapitation, or being knocked over that would “reverse his digestive system and cause him to consume his own excrement.”
It’s certainly understandable why these high-status ancient Egyptians didn’t want to take any chances. in Animated Ted-ED video onIn , we can follow the journey of one such person, a 13th century BC Thebes scribe called Anes. After his body is mummified for two months, his soul undergoes a harrowing journey through the underworld, conjuring up the spells he intended to include in the Book of the Dead during his lifetime. Next comes a moral judgment and weighing of the heart by a group of 42 “evaluating gods”, the final step before his entrance into the lush wheat fields that are the Egyptian afterlife. Whether Aneth ever got there is an open question, but in modern times the Book of the Dead (and many more books) are enshrined both physically and digitally. You can see it up close on Google Arts & Culture) After all, he and his compatriots were given some kind of immortality.
Related content:
How did the Egyptians make mummies? An animation introducing ancient mummification techniques
Listen to Laurie Anderson read Tibetan Book of the Dead About the new album bardo song
Scientists have discovered that ancient Egyptians drank psychedelic cocktails from 2,300-year-old mugs.
When the Grateful Dead performed in the shadow of the Sphinx in the Egyptian pyramids (1978)
Were Egyptian pyramids cut down, not built?: A bold new theory explains the structure of the pyramids
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
