By The European Times | Created at 2026-07-28 09:14:09 | Updated at 2026-08-05 05:24:09
1 week ago
Like many other ancient cultures, the ancient Egyptians also had a rich belief system regarding the afterlife and viewed death as the beginning of a long and difficult journey to the eternal lands. Plagued by obstacles and demons, the path to paradise was treacherous for the deceased in Ancient Egypt – so the so-called Book of the Dead served as a guide to help the deceased navigate this supernatural terrain.
Origin of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Despite its name, the Egyptian Book of the Dead is not a book. Rather, it is a collection of spells written over a period of about 1,000 years, with no formal order, structure, or narrative. Each of these spells is intended to help the deceased overcome a specific challenge they are likely to face in the underworld, and various combinations of these spells can be found on papyri placed in tombs with the bodies.
The earliest of these were inscribed on objects in the burial chambers of Egyptian royalty around 2400 BC and became known as the “Pyramid Texts”. Later versions – known as the “Coffee Texts” – were inscribed on the coffins of the non-royal elite, before the collection was revised in the 16th century BC under the title “The Book of the Coming of the Day”.
Now available to anyone who could afford it, “The Book” began to be sold by booksellers and was seen as a basic tome for those preparing to leave the world of the living; dying mortals usually only bought a few chapters, and no tomb containing the complete collection of spells has ever been discovered.
It was not until 1842 that the collection became known as the “Book of the Dead” – when the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius published the text under that name.
What’s in it?
The various spells in the Egyptian Book of the Dead are intended to help people say the right things at the right time to avoid destruction and reach eternal life after death. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the dead must pass through the underworld to meet the god Osiris, where they will be judged according to their righteousness during life.
However, this path is guarded by terrifying monsters and other supernatural abominations that must be appeased or tamed in order for a person to pass. Many of the spells in the Book of the Dead are intended to provide the deceased with phrases to use to overcome these enemies. Others contain answers to the many questions the gods ask during the journey.
Those who reach Osiris must recite the names of each of the 42 deities who judge the souls of the dead. They must then make a so-called “negative confession,” in which they affirm that they have abstained from 42 different sins during their lifetime, from murder to theft.
Fortunately, all of this information is recorded in the Book of the Dead, so those who purchase papyrus before death need not worry.
Only after all these challenges have been met is the deceased’s heart weighed on a scale against a feather. If the scales balance, the person is considered free from sin and is allowed to enter the afterlife. But those whose grave sins tip the scales are immediately swallowed up and condemned to oblivion for all eternity.
Photo: Louvre Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
