Book of Death

The Book of the Dead, also known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, is a collection of ancient religious and magical texts intended to ensure the soul's safe passage through the Egyptian Hell, known as Anenti. Egyptians believed that knowledge of the formulas and hymns contained within allowed souls to defeat demons and undergo purification before the judges in the Hall of Osiris. The book, which dates back to the predynastic period, was placed in tombs, and its various versions, including the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts, illustrated beliefs about the afterlife and the necessity of leading a virtuous life

Pages from Selected Egyptian Books of the Dead

Also known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead (known in ancient Egypt as the "Book of Passing by Day"), it was a collection of ancient Egyptian magical and religious texts, hymns, and formulas intended to ensure the safe passage of the soul or life energy (Ka) through Anenti (Egyptian Hell)

The Egyptians believed that knowledge of these formulas, hymns, and prayers enabled the soul to overcome demons attempting to hinder its progress and undergo purification before 42 judges in the hall of Osiris, god of the underworld. A soul undergoing purification could enter among the gods. If the purification failed, it was devoured by a monster that was part hippopotamus, part crocodile, and part lion. Records in the Book of the Dead also indicated that happiness in the afterlife depended on the deceased leading a virtuous life on earth.

Parts of the Book of the Dead are believed to have originated during the predynastic period of Egyptian history. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the dynasty placed the Book of the Dead on sarcophagi in the tombs of kings, and thus the book became known as the Pyramid Texts. Around the 8th century, the dynasty wrote a colorfully illustrated book on papyrus scrolls 15 to 30 meters long. This papyrus was placed in or near the coffin of the deceased, and over time it became known as the Coffin Texts.