THE BOOK AM-TUAT AND THE BOOK OF GATES.

"AM-TUAT," or SHAT AM-TUAT, i.e., the "Book of what is in the Tuat," is the name given by the Egyptians to the large funeral book in which the priests of Amen describe the Other World according to the views of their order, and the passage of their god Amen-Ra, through the mysterious country which he traversed during the hours of the night. Its object, in the first place, was to impress the followers of Amen and others with the idea of the absolute supremacy of that god in the realms of the dead, and to show that all the gods of the dead in every place of departed spirits throughout Egypt rendered to him homage in one form or another, and in return received benefits from him. And in the second place, the book, being an actual "guide" to the Underworld, with pictures of its various divisions and of the gods and demons of every kind that were to be met with in them, was invaluable for the faithful, who were able to learn from it, whilst they were living upon earth, how to find their way from this world to the next, and how to identify the beings who would attempt to bar their way, and what to say to them. The BOOK AM-TUAT was a very lengthy work, and a complete copy of it occupied much space whether on walls or on papyrus, and, as poor folk could not afford tombs with chambers and corridors sufficiently large to hold all its texts and pictures, they were obliged to be content with sections, and smaller extracts from it. The need of a shortened form of the work was felt at a comparatively early period after it came into general use, and it is therefore not surprising to find that the priests collected all the facts, which were absolutely essential for the soul that had to travel by itself through the Other World, into a small book that may for convenience be called the "SUMMARY OF AM-TUAT." In this "Summary" all the lengthy speeches of Amen-Ra, and the answers of the gods, and, of course, all pictures are omitted.

The oldest copies of the BOOK AM-TUAT are found in the tombs of Thothmes III., Amen-hetep II., and Amen-hetep III., at Thebes. The most complete and best illustrated copy is that which is found on the walls of the tomb of Seti I. at Thebes; here we have eleven out of the twelve sections of the BOOK AM-TUAT, and the first six divisions of the SUMMARY of the work. The texts and pictures of this fine copy have been completely published by M. Lefébure, assisted by MM. Bouriant, Loret, and Naville, and M. Maspero has translated and discussed the work at length in one of the most important of his luminous dissertations on Egyptian mythology. The next fullest copy is found in the tomb of Rameses VI., and provides us with eleven divisions, but the drawings are less careful, and the texts are less accurate, and contain numerous additions which appear to represent beliefs of a later period. The history of the Book AM-TUAT shows us that the Egyptians treated it as they treated their older Books of the Dead; they first copied it on the walls of tombs, then on the sides of stone sarcophagi and wooden coffins, and next on rolls of papyrus. We have seen how the kings of the XVIIIth and XIXth Dynasties had it copied on the walls of their tombs, and it must now be noted that Rameses III. decorated his red granite sarcophagus with scenes relating to the course of the sun in the Other World. This sarcophagus is preserved in the Museum of the Louvre in Paris, and its cover is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Among other sarcophagi inscribed with text and pictures from the BOOK AM-TUAT may be mentioned those of: 

1. Horus, son of Tarut-en-Sekhet; 

2. Tchet-hra, a priest of Ptah; 

3. Qem-Hap, the son of Takhaau; and Nekht-neb-f. 

Now, whilst on the walls of tombs, and on the side of sarcophagi, divisions Nos. I.-XI. are found, the only divisions which are met with on papyrus are Nos. IX.-XII. Thus the Louvre Papyrus, No. 3071, which formed the subject of a special study by Devéria and Pierret, and the Turin Papyrus, published by Lanzone and the Leyden Papyrus T. 71, contain each the last four divisions only. The Leyden Papyrus T. 72 contains divisions X., XL, and XII., the Berlin Papyrus No. 3001 contains divisions IX., X. and XII., and the Berlin Papyrus No. 3005 contains divisions X. and XI. only. There are several papyri in the British Museum inscribed with similar selections.

The principal authorities for the text of the SUMMARY of AM-TUAT are those which M. Jéquier consulted when preparing his edition, viz., the Berlin Papyrus No. 3001, the Leyden Papyrus T. 71, the Louvre Papyrus No. 3071, the Papyrus of Turin, published by Lanzone, and, of course, the tomb of Seti I., which gives the text of the first six divisions. The most valuable of all these is the Leyden Papyrus T. 71, of which an excellent fac-simile, with a complete translation, was published by Drs. Pleyte and Boeser in 1894; in this papyrus the text of the SUMMARY only fills 119 short columns, and the great popularity of the work is attested by the fact that the priests of Amen were induced to compress all the most important portions of Am-Tuat into so small a compass.

Similar in many details, but widely different from the BOOK AM-TUAT in point of fundamental doctrine, is the great funeral work to which the names "Book of the Lower Hemisphere," "Book of Hades," "Livre de l'Enfer," have been given. A glance at the pictures which accompany the texts of this Book is sufficient to show that it deals with the passage of the Sun-god through the Other World during the hours of the night, but, as M. Maspero pointed out long ago, it is wrong to call the region through which the god passes by the name of "Lower Hemisphere," for it suggests that it is below the surface of our earth, which is not the case. There is much to be said also against the titles "Book of Hades," and "Book of Hell," and as among the prominent characteristics which distinguish it from the BOOK AM-TUAT is a series of gates, it will be convenient and more correct to call it the "BOOK OF GATES." The form in which we first know this work is, clearly, not older than the XVIIIth or XIXth Dynasty, but many parts of it are very much more ancient. As the BOOK AM-TUAT was composed with the view of asserting the absolute supremacy of Amen-Ra in the Other World, so the BOOK OF GATES was compiled to prove that, in spite of the pretensions of the priests of Amen-RA, Osiris, the ancient god of the dead, was still the over-lord of the Underworld, and that his kingdom was everlasting. The BOOK AM-TUAT practically ignores Osiris, and is silent even concerning the doctrines of the Judgment and Sekhet-Hetepet, and in fact about all the fundamental principles of the religion of Osiris as regards the dead, which had been universally believed throughout Egypt for thousands of years.

The most complete copy of the BOOK OF GATES known to us is found inscribed on the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I, king of Egypt about B.C. 1375, and it consists of two parts:--1. A series of texts and pictures which describe the progress of the Boat of the Sun-god to the kingdom of Osiris, the Judgment of the Dead, the life of the beatified in Sekhet-Hetepet, the punishment of the wicked, and the foes of the Sun-god. 2. A series of texts and pictures which represent the magical ceremonies that were performed in very ancient times with the view of reconstructing the body of the Sun, and of making him rise each day. That the BOOK OF GATES embodied many of the most. ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and traditions is evident, but it is. quite certain that it never became as popular as the BOOK AM-TUAT; it must always be a matter for wonder that Seti I., having covered several walls in his tomb with the texts of this Book, should fill several more with sections of the BOOK OF GATES, and then have a complete copy of it cut and inlaid on the sides of his alabaster sarcophagus and its cover!

We may now consider the region through which the Sun-god passed during the hours of the night, and the descriptions of its divisions and their inhabitants which are furnished by the BOOK AM-TUAT and the BOOK OF GATES. This region was called by the Egyptians "Tat," or "Tuat," or "Tuaut"; the oldest form of the name, and that which is met with in the earliest of the Pyramid Texts is "Tat;" the chief god of the Tuat was called "Tuat," or "Tuaut," and the beings who lived therein were called "Tuatiu." The meaning of the name Tat, or Tuat, is unknown, and it is useless to speculate upon it or to invent etymologies for it; it was applied to the home of the beatified spirits and the damned, no doubt in predynastic times, and the exact meaning which it conveyed to the minds of those who first used it has been lost. To describe its general situation is less difficult, but not many details as to its exact extent are forthcoming.

To find a word which shall at once describe the situation and character of the Tuat is impossible, for the reason that the Egyptian conception of the place of departed spirits is unique. The Tuat is not the "Lower Hemisphere," because it is not under the ground, and though for want of a better word I have frequently used "Underworld," when speaking of the Tuat, it is unsatisfactory, for unless it is specially defined to mean the place of departed spirits in general, it produces a wrong impression in the mind. Again, the word Tuat must not be rendered by "Hades," or "Hell," or "Sheol," or "Jehannum," for each of these words has a limited and special meaning. On the other hand, the Tuat possessed the characteristics of all these names, for it was an "unseen" place, and it contained abysmal depths of darkness, and there were pits of fire in it wherein the damned, i.e., the enemies of Osiris and Ra, were consumed, and certain parts of it were the homes of monsters in various shapes and forms which lived upon the unfortunate creatures whom they were able to destroy. On the whole, the word Tuat may be best rendered by "The Other World," or "Underworld," always provided that it be clearly understood that the Egyptians never believed it to be under the earth.

In inventing a situation for the Tuat the Egyptians appear to have believed that the whole of the habitable world, that is to say, Egypt, was surrounded by a chain of mountains lofty and impassable, just like the Jebel Kaf of Muhammadan writers; from one hole in this mountain the sun rose, and in another he set. Outside this chain of mountains, but presumably quite close to them, was the region of the Tuat; it ran parallel with the mountains, and was on the plane either of the land of Egypt or of the sky above it. On the outside of the Tuat was a chain of mountains also, similar to that which encompassed the earth, and so we may say that the Tuat had the shape of a valley; and from the fact that it began near the place where the sun set, and ended near the place where he rose, it is permissible to say that the Tuat was nearly circular in form. That this is the view taken by the Egyptians themselves is proved by the scene which is reproduced in the BOOK OF GATES (page 303). Here we have the body of Osiris bent round in a circle, and the hieroglyphics enclosed within it declare that it is the Tuat. With the identification of Osiris with the Tuat we need not deal here, but it is important for our purpose to note that in the time of Seti I. the Egyptians assigned a circular form to the Tuat. The view put forward by Signor Lanzone to the effect that the Tuat was the place comprised between the arms of the god Shu and the body of the sky-goddess Nut, whom, according to the old legend, he raised up from the embrace of her husband the Earth-god Seb, so forming the earth and the sky, thus appears to be untenable.

Now as the Tuat was situated on the other side of the mountains which separated it from Egypt, and from the sun, moon, and stars which lighted the skies of that country, it follows that it must have been a region which was shrouded in the gloom and darkness of night, and a place of fear and horror. At each end of the Tuat was a space which was neither wholly darkness nor wholly light, the western end being partially lighted by the setting sun, and the eastern end by the rising sun. From the pictures in the BOOK AM-TUAT and the BOOK OF GATES we learn that a river flowed through the Tuat, much as the Nile flowed through Egypt, and we see that there were inhabitants on each of its banks, just as there were human beings on each side of the Nile. At one place the river of the Tuat joined the great celestial waters which were supposed to form the source of the earthly Nile.

How, or when, or where the belief arose it is impossible to say, but it seems that at a very early period the inhabitants of Egypt thought that the souls of the dead when they departed from this world made their way into the Tuat, and took up their abode there, and long before the Dynastic Period the Tuat was regarded throughout Egypt as the kingdom of the dead. Certain sections of it were considered to belong by traditional right to certain cities, e.g., Heliopolis, Memphis, Herakleopolis, Abydos, etc., each possessing its own "Other World" and gods of the dead, and all these had to be considered by the theologians who formulated general plans of the Tuat. How the Egyptians imagined the dead to live in the Tuat, or upon what, is not clear, but they seem to have thought that all their wants could be provided for by the use of words of power, amulets, talismans, etc. In the earliest times of all the souls of the dead remained in the "Other World" which belonged to their town or city, but when Osiris attained to the supreme power over the dead, it was only natural that departed spirits should flock from all parts of Egypt to his kingdom, wherein the beatified enjoyed a life very much like that which they had lived upon earth. The celestial kingdom of Osiris, that is to say, Sekhet-Hetepet or Sekhet-Aaru, was originally a copy of some very fertile region in the Delta, and, to the very end of the period of native Egyptian rule, the Egyptian Paradise consisted of green fields intersected by streams of living, i.e., running water, with abundant crops of wheat and barley, and its appearance represented a typical middle-Delta landscape. So long as Osiris had his kingdom in the Delta, probably near the ancient city of Mendes, the souls of the dead travelled from south to north, but at a later period, when Osiris had absorbed the position and attributes of KHENT-AMENTI, perhaps the oldest god of the dead of Abydos, departed spirits made their way from north to south, so that they might enter the Tuat by the "Gap" in the mountains there. Still later, the Egyptians reverted to their old belief as to the situation of the domain of Osiris, and the books which deal with the Tuat always assume that it lies far away to the north, and were intended to guide souls on their way to it.

The ultimate fate of the souls of human beings who had departed to the Tuat must always have been a matter of speculation to the Egyptians, and at the best they could only hope that they had traversed the long, dark, and dangerous valley in safety. The same may be said of numbers of the gods, who in very early times were believed to possess a nature which closely resembled that of men and women, and to be in danger of extermination in the Tuat. Of the gods the only one about whose successful passage of the Tuat there was no doubt was Ra, or according to the priests of Amen, Amen-Ra, for he rose each morning in the East, and it was manifest to all that he had overcome whatsoever dangers had threatened him in the Tuat during the past night. This being so, it became the object of every man to obtain permission to travel in the boat of Ra through the Tuat, for those who were followers of Osiris could disembark when it arrived at his kingdom, and those who wished to remain with Ra for ever could remain in it with him. To each class of believer a guide to the Tuat was necessary, for up to a certain place in that region both the followers of Osiris and the followers of Ra required information about the divisions of the Tuat, and knowledge of the names of the Halls and Gates, and of the beings who guarded them and who were all-powerful in the land of darkness. For the worshippers of Amen, or Amen-Ra, the BOOK AM-TUAT was prepared, whilst the followers of Osiris pinned their faith to the BOOK OF GATES. From each of these Books we find that the Sun-god was not able to pass through the Tuat by virtue of the powers which he possessed as the great god of the world, but only through his knowledge of the proper words of power, and of magical names and formulae, before the -utterance of which every denizen of the Tuat was powerless. Osiris had, of course, passed through the Tuat, and seated himself on his throne in the "House of Osiris," but even he would have been unable to perform his journey in safety through the Tuat without the help of the words of power which Horus, the son of Isis, the son of Osiris," had uttered, and the magical ceremonies which he had performed. Words and ceremonies alike he learned from Isis, who, according to a later tradition, obtained the knowledge of them from Thoth, the Divine Intelligence. Now if Osiris and Ra had need of such magical assistance in their passage through the Tuat, how much greater must have been the need of man!

The Tuat was, according to the authors of the funeral works of the XVIIIth and XIXth Dynasties, divided into twelve portions, some of which are called "SEKHET," i.e., "Field," others "NUT," i.e., "City," others "ARRIT," i.e., "Hall," and others "QERRET," i.e., "Circle." The first indicates that the region to which it was applied was believed to consist of cultivated lands, the second suggests a place where there were many buildings and houses, the third a territory which was vast and spacious, and which, in some respects, represented an empty courtyard, or hall, or compound of a house, and the fourth probably describes the circular form of some divisions. Now since the Tuat was traversed by the sun-god during the hours of the night,, the Egyptians regarded each of these divisions as the equivalent of an hour, and hence it came that the sections of the Books of the Tuat were often called "Hours," the First Hour corresponding to the First Division, and so on up to the Twelfth Hour. It will, however, be urged that during the summer in Egypt the night is not twelve hours long, but the answer to this objection is that the first division is in reality only the ante-chamber of the Tuat, and the twelfth the ante-chamber of the sky of this world, into which the Sun-god enters to begin the new day. The divisions II. to XI. of the Tuat have an entirely different character from the ante-chamber of the Tuat and that of the sky.

It has already been said that a river flows from one end of the Tuat to the other, and its existence can only be explained in one way. At a very early period of their history the Egyptians believed that the Sun-god passed over the sky, which they held to be a vast watery mass, in some kind of boat; the belief in the existence of such a boat was absolutely necessary, for unless the fire of the sun was protected from contact with the water of the sky, it would, they argued, be extinguished. So far back as the period when the Pyramids of Giza were built, the existence of two boats was assumed; in one, called MATET, the Sun-god sailed from the time he rose

until noon, and in the other, called SEKTET, he sailed from noon to sunset. When the conception of the existence of the Tuat was evolved, and the belief that the Sun-god passed through it each night gained credence, it became necessary to find some means of transport for the god. It was impossible to remove him from his boat, which was, like himself, eternal, hence its name, "Boat of Millions of Years," and even if it had been possible the difficulty remained either of taking his boat back from the place of sunset to the place Of sunrise, so that it might be ready for him on the following morning when he emerged from the Tuat, or of providing him with a new boat each day. The simplest way was to assume in the Tuat the existence of a river which was in direct communication with the watery mass of the sky on which Ra sailed by day, and to make the Sun-god to enter the Tuat on it. This was the natural way out of the difficulty, for apart from the fact that no other means of transport for the god could be devised, it was consistent with experience that kings, and nobles, and high officials, always travelled through Egypt by water. No animal and no chariot could convey the god through the Tuat, for, even had animals or chariots suitable for the purpose existed, they must have been consumed by the god's fire. We shall see later that there was one division of the Tuat through which the Sun-god could not pass even in his boat, and that he was obliged to leave it and travel on the back of a serpent.

From the titles of the BOOK AM TUAT, as it is found in the tomb of Seti I., we may gather that the pictures accompanying the texts were supposed to be exact copies of the divisions of the Tuat as they actually existed in AMENTI, i.e., the "hidden place," or the "Other World," and the texts were supposed to give the traveller in the Tuat all the information he could possibly require concerning the "souls, the gods, the shadows, the spirits, the gods of the Tuat, the gates of the Tuat, the hours and their gods, and the gods who praise Ra, and those who carry out his edicts of destruction." The divisions of the Tuat according to this work are:--

Division I. Names--MAATI, and NET-RA.
Warder--ARNEBAUI.
Hour-goddess--USHEM-HATIU-KHEFTIU-NU-RA.

Division II. Name--URNES.
Warder--AM-NEBAUI.
Hour-goddess--SESHET-MAKET-NEB-S.

Division III. Name--NET-NEB-UA-KHEPER-AUT.
Warder--KHETRA.
Hour-goddess--TENT-BAIU.

Division IV. Name--ANKHET-KHEPERU.
Name of the gate of this Circle--AMENT-SETHAU
Hour-goddess--URT-EM-SEKHEMU-S.

Division V. Name--AMENT.
Name of the gate of this Circle--AHA-NETERU.
Hour-goddess--SEKMET-HER-ABT-UAA-S.

Division VI. Name--METCHET-NEBT-TUAT.
Name of the gate of this City--SEPT-METU.
Hour-goddess--MESPERIT-AR-AT-MAATU.

Division VII. Name--TEPHET-SHETAT.
Name of the gate of this City--RUTI-EN-ASAR.
Hour-goddess--KHESFET-HAU-HESQETU-NEHA-HRA.

Division VIII. Name--TEBAT-NETERU-S.
Name of the Gate--AHA-AN-URT-NEF.
Hour-goddess--NEBT-USHA.

Division IX. Name--BEST-ARU-ANKHET-KHEPERU.
Name of the Gate--SA-EM-KEB.
Hour-goddess--TUATET-MAKTET-EN-NEB-S.

Division X. Name--METET-QA-UTCHEBU.
Name of the Gate--AA-KHEPERU-MES-ARU.
Hour-goddess--TENTENIT-UHETES-KHAK-AB.

Division XI. Name--RE-EN-QERERT-APT-KHATU.
Name of the Gate--SEKHEN-TUATIU.
Hour-goddess--SEBIT-NEBT-UAA-KHESFET-SEBA-EM-PERT-F.

Division XII. Name--KHEPER-KEKIU-KHAU-MEST.
Name of the Gate--THEN-NETERU.
Hour-goddess--MAA-NEFERT-RA.

The divisions of the Tuat according to the BOOK OF GATES are usually marked by Gates, which are guarded by serpents; they are as follows:--

Division I. Name of Guardian Gods.--SET and TAT.
Name of the Region.--SET-AMENTET, Western Vestibule.

Division II. Name of the Serpent--SAA-SET.

Division III. Name of the Serpent--AQEBI.
Name of the Gate--SEPTET-UAUAU.

Division IV. Name of the Serpent--TCHETBI.
Name of the Gate--NEBT-S-TCHEFAU.

Division V. Name of the Serpent--TEKA-HRA.
Name of the Gate--ARIT.

Division VI. At the entrance to this division is the Judgment Hall of Osiris.
Name of the Serpent--SET-EM-MAAT-F.
Name of the Gate--NEBT-AHA.

Division VII. Name of the Serpent--AKHA-EN-MAAT.
Name of the Gate--PESTIT.

Division VIII. Name of the Serpent--SET-HRA.
Name of the Gate--BEKHKHI.

Division IX. Name of the Serpent--AB-TA.
Name of the Gate--AAT-SHEFSHEFT.

Division X. Name of the Serpent--SETHU.
Name of the Gate--TCHESERIT.

Division XI. Name of the Serpent--AM-NETU-F.
Name of the Gate--SHETAT-BESU.

Division XII. Names of the Serpents--SEBI, and RERI.
Name of the Gate--TESERT-BAIU, Eastern Vestibule.

From the above lists it is clear that in the BOOK AM-TUAT the actual divisions of the Tuat are considered without any reference to Gates, even if such existed in the scheme of the priests of Amen-Ra, and that according to the Book of Gates, the Gates of the divisions in the Tuat are the most important and most characteristic features. The absence of Gates in the BOOK AM-TUAT is not difficult to explain; the compilers of this work, wishing to exalt Amen-Ra, did away with the Gates, which were the most important features of the kingdom of Osiris, so that the necessity for Amen-Ra to seek permission of their warders, who were appointed by Osiris, was obviated.

The Books of the Heavens (Sky) and Night

After the death of Akhenaten, signaling the end of the Amarna Period, we find a new set of Books related to the afterlife. These books centered around Nut, who swallows the sun god in the evening, only to give birth to him in the morning. During the day the sun god passes visibly along her body, but during the night, he travels through her body back to the place where he will rise once more.

Beginning with Ramesses IV, two of the Books of the Sky were usually placed next to each other on the ceilings of royal tombs. They depicted a double representation of Nut, back to back. The the focus is on the sun god, other heavenly bodies are also included. Generally speaking, the books emphasize cosmography and the topography of the sky, a topic which had its beginnings in the Book of the Heavenly Cow, though the astronomical ceilings found in the tombs of Seti I (KV17) through Ramesses III (KV11) can also be viewed as precursors to the Books of the Sky (heavens). These books are generally considered to consist of the Book of Nut, the Book of the Day and the Book of the Night.

The Book of Nut also known as The Fundamentals of the Course of the Stars

We have actually very few example of the Book of Nut. We find examples in the cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos and in the tomb of Ramesses IV, though the latter is abbreviated. The only other evidence of this book is a commentary written in the Roman Period, and an incomplete version in the tomb of Mutirdis (TT410) dating from the 26th Dynasty. The longer appended text that accompanies the captions was reproduced in the Papyrus Carlsberg in Demotic script.

It was Jean-Francois Champollion and Hippolito Rosellini who published the earliest drawing of the representation of the sky goddess. These, and some investigation that followed, were all from the version found in the tomb (KV2) of Ramesses IV, for the Osireion in Abydos had not been discovered at that point. The commentary from the Roman period was published by H. O. Lange and Otto Neugebauer in 1940.

The book itself is pictorial in nature, and resembles to some degree the Book of the Heavenly Cow. There are brief captions that seem to be overwhelmed by the huge image of the sky. Nut is shown as a woman supported by the God Shu who holds her body aloft. Interestingly, in the tomb of Seti I, she is oriented correctly for the swallowing and birth of the sun, but not in the tomb of Ramesses IV. Other motifs within the scene include several sun disks, a winged scarab in front of the knees of the goddess, a vulture atop the heraldic plant of Upper Egypt behind her legs, and nest of migratory birds next to her arms. The captions on the scene are also accompanied by a longer appended text.

The book is intended to provide both a topography of the sky and an understanding of the sun's daily course. The brief captions augment this understanding and are distributed over the entire scene, describing its details as well as the actions of the sun god, the decans and other divine beings.

O. Neugebauer set out and coded the various captions within the depiction. For example, Text L provides a definition of the "far regions of the sky", that are in the primeval darkness and waters, not touched by the sun. They have no boundaries or cardinal directions. A list of decans that may originate in the Middle Kingdom are provided in Texts S through X. These captions tell us the decans work and their periodic invisibility, including their transit through the meridian. The text labeled Dd through Ff explain migratory birds and their nests.

In the cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos, we find a text reporting a quarrel between Geb and Nut because she is swallowing their children, the stars. The dispute is settled by their father, Shu, who advises that the Nut give birth to the stars each time so they might live.

The Book of the Day

The Book of the Day, though found in the royal necropolis at Tanis, along with excerpts from the tomb of Osorkon II and a nearly complete version in the tomb of Shoshenq III, is also depicted within the tomb of Ramesses VI. The latest version of the book we have is from the private tomb of Ramose (TT132) that dates from the 25th Dynasty. Otherwise, only brief components of the text regarding the hours of the day have been discovered on sarcophagi and papyri of the Late Period. Also related are the hymns to the hours of the day in the pronaos of the Edfu Temple.

Champoliion originally copied versions of the book from the sarcophagus chamber and corridors of the tomb of Ramesses VI, but they received little attention. In 1942, Alexandre Piankoff published and edition of the book but without regard to the Tanis versions.

The scene and captions of this book are arranged under the figure of the sky goddess Nut, with her arms and legs spread out. All of the figures within the scene face the head of Nut, and so the end of the book. Arranged horizontally into five registers, the text follows the course of the twelve hours of the day. This arrangement, however, makes it unclear where one hour ends and the next begins. A prologue and concluding representation stand out from the main text. It should also be noted that the Book of the Day and the Book of the Night may have been intended as a single entity, but they are only shown together in the tomb of Ramesses VI.

The Book of the Day is notable because, unlike most of the funerary text, it is focused on the journey of the sun god during the day, rather than his nocturnal voyage through the underworld. Hence, the sun god appears with a falcon's head rather than his ram-headed nighttime image. Yet underworld motifs such as the repulsing of Apophis and the Field of Reeds occur in the middle of the composition. Mostly, this book is concerned with the enumeration of deities, with little descriptive text.

The Beginning of the Book of the Day

Book of the Day showing Apophis

Book of the Day showing the Last Hour

Conclusion of the Book of the Day

The Book of the Night

The first version of the Book of the Night that we know of comes from the Osireion at Abydos, and only extends to the ninth hour of the night. There was a copy in the tomb (KV8) of Merneptah on the ceiling of the antechamber, but it is mostly gone now. Ramesses IV included this book next to the Book of Nut on the ceiling of his sarcophagus chamber, though only as far as the fourth hour. However, the tomb (KV9) of Ramesses VI gives us two complete copies, one on the west side of the ceiling of the sarcophagus chamber while the second version is spread out through earlier chambers Both versions are complemented by representations of the Book of the Day. We also find scenes from the book in the tomb of Ramesses IX



In all of these instances, the book is depicted on the ceiling of the New Kingdom tombs, though at Tanis, they shifted to the walls. Osorkon II combined it with the Book of the Day, while Shoshenq III followed Seti I's version.

During the Late Period, we also find extracts from the book in several tombs, including TT33, 132 and 410, along with fragments from the Nilometer at Roda. Even as late as the 30th Dynasty we may also note examples on sarcophagi, where they are combined with hours from the Amduat. There are also text from the second hour of the night found in the solar sanctuaries of Deir el-Bahri, Medinet Habu and Karnak.

Again, Champollion provided the initial copies of the versions found in the tomb of Ramesses VI, and later Eugene Lefebure added the Ramesses IV version in 1889. Edouard Naville discovered the version of the Book of the Night in the cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos in 1914, which was published by Henri Frankfort in 1933. Alexandre Piankoff also published the Book of the Night in 1942, but again did not take into account the versions found in the Tanis tombs. That version was replaced by one written by Gilles Roulin.

The Book of the Night is divided into twelve sections separated from each other by vertical line of text designated as "gates". Unlike the Book of Gates, these precede the hours of the night to which they belong. The arms and legs of Nut represent the first and last gate, though the first hour is not presented. For each hour there is an introductory text which provides the most important details, though the remaining captions are brief.

The book is arranged in three registers that are staggered into five to seven registers due to space considerations. The sun barque travelers through the center register. Within this boat, the sun god, who is in his shrine, is surrounded by the coils of the Mehen-serpent while another serpent protects him. The crew of his boat features Sia at the prow as the spokesman of the god, Hu at the stern, Ma'at, and in the version at Abydos, the king. Within the upper registers are various deities while the lower register features various groups of deceased people, including the blessed and the damned. In front of the boat is a large group of towmen, sometimes as many as thirty, called the Unwearing Ones, who are led by the king. There is no descriptive text like that found in he Books of the Netherworld, and generally, the registers are not divided into scenes. At the end, a summary of the entire course of the sun is provided.

There must obviously be many similarities between this book and other Books of the Netherworld. Interestingly, however, the sun's enemy Apophis does not appear in this book at all though he appears in the Neitherworld books. Instead, the repelling of Seth is mentioned several times.

This book complements the Book of the Day, beginning at the point where the sun god is swallowed by Nut and ending when she gives birth to him in the morning as a scarab. The sun god take the form of the Ram-headed nocturnal god, and is designated as flesh.

Sia takes an important role in this book, appearing as the spokesman of the sun god. The sun god has his own escort in the middle register of each hour, in place of the hour goddesses who accompany him in the Amduat and the Book of Gates.

Only in the Seti I version are remains of an introductory text. Here, the sun god provides us with an explanation of the goal of his journey through the underworld, which has to do with judging the damned and caring for the blessed. The primeval darkness is mentioned as a border area.

As in the Amduat and the Book of Gates, the first hour is seen as interstitial, and thus is not presented. The book begins with the second hour, where in the upper register depicts both individual and groups of deities. These include the deities of the four cardinal points, the bas of Buto and Hierakonpolis, and the two Enneads, which stand for the all divine beings.

In the upper register of the seventh hour, general forms also appear that represent existence and nonexistence. To their opposite are all of the deceased in the lower register, appearing as transfigured ones (akhu), mummies and the "dead", who are damned.

Missing is the union of Re and Osiris, found in other funerary text, though the representation of bas and corpses in the lower register of the sixth hour indicates the longed for union in the depths of night, with which the regeneration in the seventh hour is connected. Here, the critical moment requires the overcoming of various enemies. In the lower register of the seventh hour, another motif that first appears in the Book of Gates (13th scene) takes form. here, Horus looks upon both foreigners (shown as Asiatics, Libyans, Medja bedouins and Nubians) and Egyptians (shown as dwellers in the fertile land and the desert). The foreigners are depicted as bound enemies. The speech of the sun god also includes motifs from the 21st scene of the Book of Gates.

On the lower register of the eighth hour we find an enthroned Osiris, with Horus and the other gods connected with him in attendance. He is shown in victory over enemies, though only in Late Period representations are they directly addressed as Seth. Here, the groups of the blessed and damned are turned to Osiris is prayer, and their depiction continues into the ninth hour, when they are addressed by Sia. He dictates their fate in the afterlife and their attachment to Osiris, but in the tenth hour, only the blessed appear in the lower register.

The tow-men preceding the solar barque are joined by four jackals designated "Western bas" in the twelfth and last hour. Here, the deities, including Osiris, in the lower register pray before the concluding representation which summarizes the entire course of the sun. The sun god, with the help of the primeval gods, is transformed into a scarab and a child. In the backdrop are the two boats of his daytime and nighttime passage, together with Isis and Nephthys who were later depicted in the prow of the barques, keeping the sun in motion between them. The text here refers to the total course of the sun god in the three cosmic realms consisting of the netherworld (Duat), the primeval waters (Nun) and the sky (Nut).

At the end is a description of the "Western bas". who tow the sun god into the sky.

1st and 2nd Hour of the Book of the Night

3rd Hour of the Book of the Night

4th Hour of the Book of the Night

5th Hour of the Book of the Night

6th Hour of the Book of the Night;

7th Hour of the Book of the Night

8th Hour of the Book of the Night

9th Hour of the Book of the Night

10th Hour of the Book of the Night

11th Hour of the Book of the Night

11th Hour of the Book of the Night

12th Hour of the Book of the Night

Conclusion of the Book of the Night

The Book of Caverns

The Book of Caverns appears to have originated in the Ramessid Period (the 20th Dynasty). As an underworld book, it seems almost to emphasize that previous text had been too soft on those deceased who fail their judgment in the afterlife, while at the same time focusing also on the rewards of those who do. It is, in fact, one of our best sources on the ancient Egyptian concept of Hell.

The Osireion, a well known cenotaph of Seti I located at Abydos, along with his mortuary temple, has the first known version of The Book of Caverns that is nearly complete (having its upper register damaged. It is found directly across from the rendering of the Book of Gates within the entry corridor on the left wall. Hence, it appears to be a relatively late funerary text of the New Kingdom, not showing up at all until the 19th Dynasty, and not making it into the tombs within the Valley of the Kings until the following reigns. A deviated version of the final depictions are given a dominant position in the decorative theme of the sarcophagus chamber in the tombs of Merneptah (KV8), Tausert (KV14) and Ramesses III (KV11), so versions of this book may have also been inscribed on earlier gilded shrines around the sarcophagi. Unfortunately, these earlier shrines are lost to us, so that possibility may never be known.

In the third corridor of the tomb of Ramesses IV (KV2) in the Valley of the Kings, Ramesses IV employed the earliest versions of the first and second sections of The Book of Caverns, rather than the traditional Amduat passages, and then repeats these passages twice more in the room behind his sarcophagus chamber. By the reign of Ramesses VI (KV9), we find an almost complete version of the book, here as in the Osireion, opposite the Book of Gates in the front half of the tomb, though due to the limited wall space, some passages had to be continued on pillars and in the upper pillared hall as well. While in the tomb of Ramesses VII (KV1), we find a similar arrangement to that of Ramesses VI on the right wall, here only the first corridor is decorated, with a small excerpt from The Book of Caverns second section. Later though, in the Tomb of Ramesses IX (KV6), there were selections from the first four sections on the right wall of the first and second corridors. However, in the sarcophagus chamber we also find parts of the two remaining sections of the book.

Afterwards, bits and pieces of The Book of Caverns appears here and there, during various periods. For example, the first section and passages of the fourth section, along with the concluding representations were included on a 21st Dynasty papyrus of Nedjmet. There is also a Late Period version in the tomb of Petamenophis that has yielded otherwise missing parts of the text, and another Late Period version containing the first two sections of the book were inscribed on the Nilometer at Roda Island. Though used rarely on late sarcophagi, one example exists with the book's first two sections, along with parts of the Amduat and the Litany of Re.

Jean Francois Champollion apparently first described the version of the book in the tomb of Ramesses VI, and even provided some translations in his thirteenth letter he sent from Egypt. However, no scholars seemed particularly interested in the book until a century later when a second complete version was discovered in the Osireion. Henri Frankfort tried to compose the first translation of that text, assisted by Adriaan de Buck in 1933. However, it was not until the period between 1941 and 1646 that Alexandre Piankoff executed an edition of the text based on several versions which he translated into French. He also translated the text from the tomb of Ramesses VI into English in 1954. Not until 1972 was a version translated into German by Erik Hornung, and a synoptic edition of the text has never been published.

The name we give this text, The Book of Gates, is a modern invention based on the netherworld being divided into "caves" or actually "caverns" from the Egyptian "qerert", for no original title has ever been discovered. However, it should be noted that Piankoff translated qerert to mean "envelope" or "cocoon". Unlike the Amduat and the Book of Gates, this book is not divided up into regions of the night, though an attempt is made to follow the general divisions divided up between three registers. However, these registers often had to be staggered due to space limitations. In all, every version divides the two initial sections into five registers. We also end up with problems in the version of the book in the tombs of Ramesses VI and Ramesses IX, for apparently the initial design of these versions was meant for a left hand wall, but transposed on the right hand wall.

The Book of Caverns is divided into two halves by two large depictions of the ram headed sun god, and each half is further divided into three parts. Hence there are a total of six sections. The text of the first two sections of the book are separated from the representations, with the text placed after the representations, though this order is reversed in the version found in the tomb of Ramesses VII. Here, the sun god invokes the individual beings or groups of gods depicted in the representations within a long monologue. The remaining sections combine representations and captions, as well as a descriptive formula of the earlier books. Each section within the second half of The Book of Caverns is preceded by several litanies, with section five having a total of thirteen.



Like the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, with the exception of the final representation, divides the text into registers with further pictures. It should also be noted that it is more literary then previous funerary books of the New Kingdom, having a higher percentage of text to pictures. In section five, the depictions are of Nut and Osiris, with the image of Nut alluding to the theme of the Books of the Sky, which describes the nightly journey of the sun through the body of Nut.

The solar bargue is only found within the final representations. In sections three through six in which the damned and their punishment (occupying the lower registers) are not depicted, the individual scenes have a sun disk. The beings who are portrayed in the various caverns are often enclosed in ovals, while there are sarcophagi that enclose the bodies of gods and goddesses. In the single example found in the tomb of Ramesses VI, some two hundred remarks were added referring to the king.

The obvious theme of this book, like other such text, is the sun god's nightly passage through the netherworld. Interestingly, the distinction between Osiris and Re are clouded, and both actually seem to be viewed as attributes of a sole deity. A principle motif of the book is established primarily in section three. Here, Osiris, who is more prominent then in most prior funerary text, is encountered by Re as a corpse in his "coffer". In section four the god begins to regenerate. Less prominent is the battle with Apophis found in the Amduat and the Book of Gates.

First Section of the Book of Caverns

At the very beginning of the book, two vertical strips depict the solar disk and Re as a ram headed sun god. This is "Re who is in the sky", and his mission is to enter the primeval darkness in order to defend and and provide care to Osiris. Afterwards, depictions of section one are divided into five registers. The separate text is a monologue of Re directing various groups of entities. Here, the three snakes of the Duat's first cavern guard the cavern entrance. Re faces Osiris with his hand extended to him in the third register. We see Osiris within his shrine, protectively surrounded by a serpent, as are his followers inside their sarcophagi. In the bottom register, Osiris' enemies are shown beheaded though still guarded by another three serpents. They are to be punished in the "Place of Annihilation", an ancient Egyptian concept of Hell, as Re condemns them to nonexistence.

Second Section of the Book of Caverns

In section two, Re must reach the various gods and goddesses in their sarcophagi who are guarded by several serpents. He meets various forms of Osiris in the second register and beseeches them to "open their arms to me...receive me". In the third register, Re encounters Osiris in his coffer, which sits aside the ram and jackal headed posts of the sun god found also in the Book of Gates. Other forms of Osiris are encountered in the fourth register, while in the lowest register, we again find Osiris' enemies who are bound and beheaded. Some of these figures are depicted hanging head first with their hearts torn out. Once again, Re condemns them to nonexistence, sending them to the Place of Annihilation where their punishment is carried out by guards with knives. Now, Osiris is told by Re that he will enter the "cavern where Aker is".

Third Section of the Book of Caverns

Hence, in the third section, Re enters the cavern that contains Aker and finds the ithyphallic body of Osiris lying beneath Aker, an earth god. Here, in the first register, Osiris is depicted as the dead king in his sarcophagus, which is guarded by several serpents. After that scene we find depicted several figures with the heads of catfish. They are the helpers of Aker who we will encounter again, and represent the deepest and darkest regions of earth and water. In addition, Re also finds other manifestations of himself within sarcophagi, while the end of the register is filled with divine sarcophagi "in the cavern of Osiris-Khentamentiu".

In the middle register of the third section, we initially encounter Re once again in his manifestation as the Eldest One, who leans on a staff. He addresses four forms of Osiris as the "lords of the Duat". The center scene in this register depicts Aker as a double sphinx surrounded by the gods of the Ennead. The next scene seems to stress the unity of Re and Osiris, with the corpse of Osiris in his sarcophagus, along with a Ram's head, and the eye of Re in sarcophagi. Surrounding all of this is a ouroboros. Next, Osiris is once again shown surmounting a serpent as "the one who has become two".

In the lower register of section three, we once again encounter those who are in hell. In this case, the "enemies" are all upside down and some have been decapitated. Here, in the first two groups who are pleading for mercy, we find for the first time, female enemies. Now the wicked are in the primeval darkness of the Place of Annihilation, and by the end of the register, even their ba (souls) are upside down, and thus being punished. Interestingly, the ithyphallic corpse of Osiris is also here among the enemies, but the sun disk sits above him, and he is protected by a serpent.

Fourth Section of the Book of Caverns

The second half of the Book of Caverns begins with section four. Initially we find an erect serpent named Great One on His Belly, with the solar disk and the ram headed sun god to either side. Here, the opening text in vertical columns consists of three litanies praising the sun god, praising his beauty as he illuminates the region of darkness. Re faces Osiris and his followers and makes a number of promises. In the upper register, we first encounter Isis and Nephthys who lift the body of Osiris so that he may be resurrected. This is followed by a scene depicting Osiris being cared for by his two "sons", Anubis and Horus and following this, Osiris is portrayed as the Bull of the West, accompanies by Horus-Mekhentienirty, a mongoose (ichneumon) who is his son.



The second register of section four begins with Re, one more leaning on a staff, facing the three forms of Osiris. This is followed by a scene depicting Horus and Anubis protecting the double corpse of Osiris, and another scene where they stand in a pose symbolic of protecting Osiris and his ba.

In the lower register, we once again encounter the enemies in hell, who are found and standing on their heads, which this time have not been cut off. However, between them are the "annihilators in the Place of Annihilation,". In this initial scene, the punishing demon is Miuti, the "cat-formed one, from whose clutches there is no escape". We are told that there bodies have been robbed of their souls, and that they can neither see nor hear Re.

Fifth Section of the Book of Caverns

At the beginning of the fifth section of the Book of Caverns, Tatenen, the litanies reveal a little known but important deity as both an earth god and the father of the gods, who rejuvenates the sun. The initial depictions portrays Nut, the goddess of the sky, who lifts the ram headed sun god and the solar disk on her upraised palms. She faces the three registers and is surrounded by motifs representing the course of the sun, including on one side a scarab pushing the solar disk, then a ram, a disk, a ram headed deity and a child, while on the other side, a series of crocodiles pushes a ram's head, a scarab, an utchat eye and a disk. There is also human headed, bearded serpents that rear up on either side of Nut. Her arms are stretched towards the heavens in order to receive the solar child. Here, Nut is called the Mysterious One and "she with the mysterious form.".

A part of the Fifth Section of the Book of Caverns

The upper register of section five begins with Osiris, whose hands are extended out to Re, along with four human headed serpents. In the next scene, we encounter a representation of Tatenen, who is propped up by the corpses of Atum and Khepri. Next, we find two sarcophagi, one of which encases the two manifestations of Re as a child.

In the middle register, initially we find represented the four falcon headed mummies who are forms of Horus, which is followed by Anubis in his role as guardian and a coffin containing the scepter of Atum, which embodies the creative power of the sun god, and therefore "created the netherworld and brought forth the realm of the dead". At the end of this register, we find four unknown goddesses in sarcophagi.

The bottom register of this section opens once again with the ancient Egyptian concept of Hell, where a female deity who carries two stakes in her hand is about to punish two bound prisoners who kneel before her. In the following two scenes the enemies are being punished in large cauldrons. We see in the first cauldron their heads and hearts (which the ancient Egyptians thought of more as the mind), and in the second we find the decapitated, bound, upside down enemies themselves. A uraei fans the flames beneath the cauldrons, which are being held above the fire by the "arms of the Place of Annihilation.

The three registers of section five are interrupted by an image of Osiris, once again depicted in his ithyphallic guise, together with his ba that is symbolized by a bird atop his head. He is guarded by a protective serpent. As the registers continue, we first find an oval containing the four "flesh" hieroglyphs which refer to the corpse of Osiris. His corpse is now cared for by the light and voice of Re. Below this, the goddess Tayt greets the sun god and Osiris, which is followed by a scene depicting the head of Re in its ram manifestation being adored by Osiris and Horus. Another cauldron, in the lower register, contains the flesh, the souls and the shadows of the enemies of Re and Osiris. Once again, the arms of the Place of Annihilation hold the cauldron which is being heated by two goddesses.

It should be noted that the shadow held important connotations to the ancient Egyptians. It was considered to be a major component of an individual, as well as a separate mode of existence. We find the mention of shadows mostly in funerary text such as this, with early references appearing in the Coffin Text of the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom.

Between section five and six, the final part of the Book of Caverns, there is a long text consisting of thirteen litanies which refer to the prior section (five). Here, Re addresses all the entities, including his enemies, portrayed in the section five. The sun god gazes upon his own corpse with the intent of effecting the resurrection of Osiris-Imenrenef, who is "he whose name is hidden".

Sixth Section of the Book of Caverns

The first scene in the upper register of part six depicts the funerary god, Anubis, caring for corpses ("the bodies which are in the earth") in their sarcophagi, which is followed by a second scene where Anubis tends to the sun god, who in his sarcophagus, is depicted as a ram with a falcon head. In the third scene, the sun god, in several manifestations is now being watched over by two goddesses, each of whom stand on the symbols for flesh. Here, he is presented with a ram's head, as a scarab and in his role as "he of the netherworld". In the final scenes of this register, Osiris-Orion leans over a mound containing a fettered and decapitated figure, followed by a god who prays before a falcon. Osiris is shown protecting Horus, his son, as well as the sun god who is within Horus.

In the middle register, initially we find a scene portraying a scarab beetle pushing the sun disk before it out from "between the two mysterious caverns of the West" (the mountains of sunrise). This cavern contains both Osiris and Re, who are met by four standing gods. Here, text addresses the rebirth of the god, which is heralded by the scarab. Yet, even now there remains a final threat, depicted as the great serpent encircling the solar beetle. This obstacle is overcome by the "two old and great gods in the Duat", who cut the serpent into pieces and place a spell upon it. While this serpent seems malicious, another represented in the third scene appears to regenerates Re, who emerges from the mound in a ram head manifestation, to sit upon the tomb of Tatenen. In a fourth scene, two sarcophagi holding falcon headed gods are encountered by Re, while in the next scene, he meets several gods who are headless. Re restores their head with his creative power.



The motif of the lowest register, consistently followed throughout the Book of Caverns, is once again present in this final part of the sixth section. Again, we find scenes of punishment in the place of Annihilation, where at first, goddesses wielding knives torture supine, beheaded figures with their heads set at their feet and who's hearts have been torn from their bodies. The accompanying text also explains that the soul and shadows of these enemies have also been punished. In the second scene, we encounter four bound female enemies who are guarded by two jackal headed goddesses. Re has condemned these enemies, once again, to the "Place of Annihilation, from which there is no escape". Next, four more headless, kneeling and bound enemies are guarded by a god and goddess, and finally in the last scene, the enemies are thrown head first into the depths of the Place of Annihilation, while Osiris rises out of the abyss.

A final representation after the sixth section of the Book of Caverns shows Re emerging from the "two mounds", which are each protected by a god. We also find the solar barque, towed out of the netherworld by twelve gods, while seven more rejoice to either side. While the boat is not yet completely revealed, we do see the ba, the scarab and the ram headed morning form of the sun god, and in front of the barque, we see a ram headed scarab beetle, along with the sun as a child. A symbolic representation of the route through the netherworld, consisting of two triangles, is sown leading to a large representation of the sun disk. The triangles each are half black (the netherworld) and half blue, representing water. In the end, we finally witness Re at the end of his nightly journey, entering the eastern mountains from where he will rise once more to provide light for the living world.

Book of Gates Hour Five; gate of Set-em-Ma´at-f

In the top register, there are twelve gods bowing in adoration who are named as "those who make adorations in the Duat". They are followed by twelve gods holding a surveying cord to allot both space (in the form of a field or estate) and time (represented by the serpent and the shen in the bottom register). They are named "Holders of the cord in the Duat". Finally, there are four "henbi" gods (overseers), each holding the symbol of life in his right hand and a sceptre in the left. The text says;

(These are) they who make songs to Ra in Amentet and exalt Heru-khuti. (These are they who) knew Ra upon earth, and who made offerings to him. Their offerings are in their place, and their glory is in the holy place of Ament. They say to Ra "Come, Ra, progress through the Duat. Praise be to you! Enter among the holy (places) with the serpent Mehen". Ra says to them "There are offerings for you, O you who made offerings. I am content with what you did for me, both when I used to shine in the eastern part of heaven, and when I was sinking to rest in the chamber of my Eye". Their food is of the bread-cakes of Ra, and their drink is of tcheser drink, and their libations are made of cool water, and offerings are made to them on the earth in (return) for the praisings which they make unto Ra in Ament.

(These are they who) hold the measuring cord in Ament, and they go over the fields of the Khu (blessed spirits). (Ra says to them) "Take the cord, draw it tight, and mark out the limit of the fields of Amentet, the Khu whereof are in your abodes, and the gods whereof are on your thrones." The Khu of Neterti are in the Field of Peace, (and) each Khu hath been judged by him that is in the cord. Righteousness is to those who are (who exist), and unrighteousness to those who are not. Ra says to them "What is right is the cord in Ament, and Ra is content with the stretching of it. Your possessions are yours, O gods, your homesteads are yours, O Khu. Behold, Ra makes (works) your fields, and he commands on your behalf that there may be sand (earth?) with you." Hail, journey on, O Khuti, for verily the gods are content with that which they possess, and the Khu are content with their estates. Their food (comes) from Sekhet-Aru, and their offerings from that which springs up there. Offerings are made to them upon earth from the estate of Sekhet-Aru.

To the four bearded gods Ra says "Holy are you, O Henbi gods, overseers of the cords in Amentet. Establish fields and give (them) to the gods and to the Khu (after) they have been measured in Sekhet-Aaru. Let them give fields and sand (earth?) to the gods and to the souls who are in the Duat." Their food shall be from Sekhet-Aaru, and their offerings from the things which spring forth therein.

The boat of Ra is in the middle register. With Ra (as ever) are the gods Heka and Sia. In front of the four gods towing the sun barque stand twelve shrouded gods holding the coils of a huge snake. They are named as "those who hold Ennutchi" (Apep). In front of these gods stand twelve gods named "the souls of the men who are in the Duat". They are followed by Hetepi the god who is "over his Corner" (or "of his angle"). The text reads;

The gods of the Duat draw along this great god, and he journeys through the hidden place. (Ra says) "Draw me along, O gods of the Duat, and sing praises to me, O you who are at the head of the stars; let your cords be strong, and draw me along by means of them, and let your hands and arms be steady, let there be speed in your legs, let there be strong intent in our souls, and let your hearts be glad. Open a prosperous way into the chambers of hidden things."

Those who are in this scene carry this serpent. Ra strikes them and advanceth towards them to rest in (the gateway called) Nebt-Ahau. This serpent travels as far as it (the gateway), but he does not pass beyond it. Ra says to them "Strike the serpent Ennutchi there, give him no way (to escape), so that I may pass by you. Hide your arms, destroy that which you guard, protect that which comes into being from my forms, and tie up that which comes into being from my strength." Their food consists of the hearing of the word of this god, and offerings are made to them from the hearing of the word of Ra in the Duat.

To those who have spoken what is right and true upon earth, and who have magnified the forms of the god, Ra says "Praises shall be (sung) to your souls, and there shall be breath to your nostrils, and there shall be to you joints in Sekhet-Aru. That which shall be indeed yours is what belongeth to the Ma´ati Gods. The habitations which shall be yours shall be at the corner where (live) those who are with me who weigh words for them." Their food is of bread-cakes, and their drink of tchesert drink, and their libations are of cool water. Offerings are made unto them upon earth as to the god Hetepi, according to what should be offered unto them. Ra says to this god "Let him that is over his Corner (Heri-Qenbet-f) cry out to those souls who are right, and true, and divine, and make them to sit at peace in their habitations at the Corner of those who are with me".

In the bottom register Horus leans upon a staff watching over four groups of four men representing the four races of mankind; Reth (Egyptians), Aamu (asiatic peoples from the deserts to the east and north-east of Egypt), Nehesu (Nubians and other african races), and Themehu (fair-skinned Libyans). Sakhmet is mentioned in text connected with this section but does not appear in the images. In front of them, twelve bearded gods hold the body of a long serpent who represents time. They are called the "Holders of the period of time in Ament". In front of them are a further eight bearded gods named as the "Sovereign chiefs of the Duat". The text reads;

Horus says to the creatures of Ra who dwell in the Black Land (Kemet, Egypt) and in the Red Land (the deserts which lie on each side of the Black Land) "Magical protection be over you, O creatures of Ra, who have come into being from the Great One who is at the head of heaven. Let there be breath to your nostrils, and let your linen wrappings be loosened. You are the tears of the eye of my splendour in your name of Reth. Mighty of issue you have come into being in your name of Aamu; Sekhmet has created them, and it is she who delivers (avenges) their souls. I masturbated (to produce you), and I was content with the hundreds of thousands (of beings) who came forth from me in your name of Nehesu; Horus made them to come into being, and it is he who avengeth their souls. I sought out mine Eye, and you came into being in your name of Themenu; Sakhmet has created them, and she avenges their souls."

Those who make firm (permanent) the duration of life stablish the days of the souls (in) Amenti and possess the word (command) of the place of destruction. Ra says to them "Inasmuch as you are the gods who dwell in the Duat, and who have possession of Meterui (the serpent), by means of whom you mete out the duration of life of the souls who are in Amenti who are condemned to destruction. Destroy the souls of the enemies according to the place of destruction which you are commanded to appoint, and do not let them see the hidden place."

(Here are) the divine sovereign chiefs who shall destroy the enemies. They shall have their offerings by means of the word (which becomes Ma´at; they shall have their offerings upon earth by means of the word (which becomes) Ma´at, and it is they who destroy and who pass the judgement concerning (literally "those who write") the duration of the life of the souls who dwell in Amenti. The destruction which is yours shall be (directed) against the enemies, and the power to write (judge) which you possess shall be for the place of destruction. "I have come, even I the great one Horus, that I may make a reckoning with my body, and that I may shoot forth evils against my enemies." Their food is bread, and their drink is the tchesert wine, and they have cool water wherewith to refresh (or, bathe) themselves. Offerings are made to them on earth. One does not enter into the place of destruction.

At the right hand side of the scene stands the fifth gate of the Duat (named Nebt-Aha). The gateway is guarded by twelve bearded mummy forms, who are described as the "gods and goddesses who are in this pylon". The entrance to the corridor is guarded by Maa-ib ("true of heart") and at the exit by Sheta-ib ("sectret of heart"). Between this gate and the serpent at the entrance to the sixth hour lies the Hall of Judgement (or the Hall of Ma´at). The roof of the hall is decorated with spear heads and four gazelle or ox heads (known as the Hahaiu) hang from it. Osiris wearing the double crown sits at the top of nine steps each with a god standing on it. In front of him are the scales. One side of the scales sits a rectangular object, in the other a figure of the bird representing evil. In front of the scales there is boat containing a pig called "Am-a" ("the eater of the arm") and a dog-faced ape holding a stick. In the top left we can see Anubis. The text reads;

(of Osiris); His enemies are under his feet, the gods and the spirits are before him; he is the enemy of the dead (the damned) among the beings of the Duat, Osiris puts (his) enemies under restraint, he destroys them, and he performes the slaughter of them."

(of Anubis); Hail, you who make to be Ma´at the word of your little one, may Thoth weigh the words, may he make to eat his father.

(by the boat);(When) this god enters, he (the Ape) rises and restrains Am-a .

adapted from the translation by E. A. Wallis Budge

Book of Gates Hour Four Gate of Teka Hra

The pylon of the Fourth Division or Fourth Hour is called Nebt-s-tchefau,, and the name of the serpent which guards it and stands upon its tail is tcheṭbi,; the gods in mummied forms who stand one at the beginning and one at the end of the corridor are called Nenuerbesta,, and Seṭa-ta,, respectively. The nine gods who guard the wall are the “the third company of the great god,” .

On the right side of the boat of the god are twelve gods, who are described as the “bringers of their doubles,” , and twelve jackal-headed figures, who are walking on the Lake of Life,^[9] and ten uraei, who rise out of the Lake of uraei ;^[10] to all these the Sun-god addresses words of comfort, and they respond suitably.

The uraei, who are called “those who live,” , are ordered to preserve their fames and fire for use against the enemies of Rā, and they answer the god, saying,

“Come to us, unite thyself to Tanen,”

.

On the left side of the boat of the god is Horus the Aged, who follows eleven human forms as they march behind the uraeus called Flame,, to a shrine in which the god Osiris, wearing the crown of the South, stands upon a serpent. Behind Osiris are the twelve gods, “who are behind the shrine,” and four gods, who preside over pits in the earth, and the “prince of destruction,” who holds a sceptre in his left hand andin his right.

In the middle is the boat of the sun being towed along the river of the Ṭuat by four gods as usual, and it is made to approach a long low sepulchral building in which are nine chapels, each containing a mummied god lying flat on his back; these are called

“the gods who are in the train of Osiris in their caves,”

.

At the end of this building are two groups, each containing six women, who are the personifications of the twelve hours in the Ṭuat; between them is the serpent Ḥerert,, with multitudinous coils and windings, and he is said to give birth to twelve young ones to devour the hours. In this division, as in the others, Rā addresses the beings who are in it, and makes arrangements for their supply of food, and reminds them of their duties to him their creator.

The "twelve gods who carry their double" the Lake of Life, which is guarded by twelve jackal gods, and the Lake of Uraei, guarded by twelve Uraei.

 The text says;

(These are) they who bear along their doubles, who immerse themselves in that which flows in abundance from the slaughtered ones during the time of their existence, and who carry the offerings which are rightly due (to the god) to his abode. To them says Ra "That which is yours (to do), O you gods who are among your offerings, is to offer as an obligatory offering your doubles. You have your own offerings, your enemies are destroyed, and they are not. Your spirits are on their thrones, (and your) souls are on their places." They say to Ra, "Adorations be unto thee, O Ra-Khuti! Hail to thee, O Soul who art protected in the earth! Hail to you, as being eternity, the lord of the years and of the everlastingness which has no diminution." Their food consists of offerings, their drink is of cool water, and there is lamentation to them when they hear their doors close upon them. Their food is given to them from the goddess Mu-sta (unknown) by Tesert-Baiu." 

(These are) they who come forth from this lake whereunto the souls of the dead cannot approach by reason of the sanctity which is there. Ra says to them "That which is yours (to do), O gods who are in this lake, is to keep guard upon your lives in your lake; your offerings are under the guard of the jackals which have set themselves on the edge of your lake." They say to Ra "Immerse thyself, O Ra, in your holy lake, where the lord of the gods immersed himself, where the souls of the dead approach not; this is what you yourself has commanded, O Khuti." Their food consists of bread, their drink is of the red (barley), and their vessels of drink are filled with wine. There is lamentation among them when they hear their doors close upon them. Their food is given unto them as lord(s) of their sceptres round about this lake. 

(These are) they who have their speech after Ra comes to them, and souls are turned backwards, and shadows are destroyed at the hearing of the words (or voices) of the Uraei. Ra says to them "That which is yours (to do), O Uraei who are in this lake, is to guard your flames and your fires (so that you may hurl them) against my (literally, his) enemies, and your burning heat against those whose mouths are evil. Hail to you, O Uraei." They say to Ra "Come to us, stride over Tanen."

In the middle register the sun barque is towed by towards nine shrines containing mummified gods named "gods who follow Osiris, who are in their abodes." They wait for Ra to resurrect and feed them. Ahead of them the coiled serpent Hereret represents time and twelve goddesses named "the hour goddesses who are in the Duat" represent the twelve hours of the underworld. Hereret is said to "spawn twelve serpents to be devoured by the hours." 

The text reads;

This great god is drawn along by the gods of the Duat, and he, journeys in the hidden place, and works in respect of the things which are there. (he says) "Draw me along, O beings of the Duat, look upon me, (for) I have created you. Pull with your arms and draw me there, and turn aside to the eastern part of heaven, to the habitations which surround Ares (or, Sar) (and to) that hidden mountain, the light of which goes round about among the gods who receive me as I come forth among you into the hidden place. Draw me along, (for) I work on your behalf in the gateway which covers over the gods of the Duat". And Ra says to them "Look upon me, O gods, for I strike those who are in their sepulchres, (saying), Arise, O gods! I have ordered for you the plan and manner of your existence, O you who are in your sepulchres, whose souls are broken, who live upon your own filth and feed upon your own offal, rise up before my Disk, and put yourselves in a (right state by means of my beams. The duties which you shall have in the Duat are in conformity with the things which I have decreed for you." Their food consists of flesh, and their ale is of the red (barley), and their libations are of cool water. There is lamentation to them after they have heard their doors close upon them." 

(These are) they who stand upon their lake, and it is they who guide Ra in a straight line by means of their instruments. To them Ra says "Listen, O goddesses of the hours of the night. sky. Work, and eat, and rest in your gateways, with your breasts towards the darkness, and your hind-parts towards the light. Make to stand up the serpent Hereret, and you live upon that which comes forth from it. It is your duty in the Duat to eat up the spawn of Hereret, and you shall destroy that which cometh forth from it. Draw you me, for I have begotten you in order that ye may pay homage (to me). Be at peace, O you Hours!" Their food consists of cakes of bread, and their ale is of the red (barley), and their draughts are of cool water, and there is given unto them as their food that which cometh forth with the khu (the blessed dead)."

On the bottom register, Osiris as Khentiamentiu wearing the crown of Upper Egypt stands on a snake within a Naos shrine. In front of him there is a flame goddess in the form of a serpent with twelve gods behind her and Horus the Elder at the far end. Behind Osiris there are twelve gods named "the gods who are behind the shrine" then four small gods named "masters of their pits" (and their four pits) and one bearded god named "master of earths" who holds an Ankh in his right hand and a sceptre in the left. 

The text reads;

Horus works on behalf of his father Osiris, he performs magical ceremonies for him, and restores to him the crown (saying) "My heart goes out to you, O my father, you who are avenged on those who would work against you, and in all the matters which concern you, you are guided by magical ceremonies. You have the mastery, O Osiris, you have the sovereignty, O Khentiamentiu, you have whatsoever is yours as Governor of the Duat, O you whose forms (or attributes) are exalted in the hidden place the beatified spirits hold you in fear, and the dead are terrified of you. Your crown has been restored to you, and I, your son Horus, have reckoned your weakness there." 

(the gods in from of the shrine say) "Let Him of the Duat be exalted! Let Khentiamentiu be adored! Your son Horus has restored to you your crown, he has protected you by means of magical ceremonies, he has crushed for you your enemies, he has brought to you vigour for your arms, O Osiris, Khentiamentiu." 

(Osiris says to Horus) "Come to me, O my son Horus, and avenge me on those who work against me, and cast them to him that is over the things which destroy, it is he who guards the pits (of destruction)." 

(Horus says to the gods) "Make inquisition for me, O gods who are in the following of Khentiamentiu, stand up, and do not withdraw yourselves, and be masters over yourselves; come, and live delicately on the bread of Hu, and drink of the ale of Ma´at, and live upon that whereon my father lives there. That which belongs to you in the hidden place is to be behind the shrine, according to the commandment of Ra. I call unto you, and behold, it is for you to do what it is your duty (to do)." Their meat consists of cakes of bread, and their ale is of the tchesert (otherworld) drink, and their libations are cool water. Their food is given unto them by the guardian of the things which are in the shrine. And Horus says unto these gods "Smite the enemies of my father, and hurl them down into your pits because of that deadly evil which they have done against the Great One, (who) found him that begot me. That which belongs to you to do in the Duat is to guard the pits of fire according as Ra hath commanded, and I set (this) before you so that, behold, you may do according to what is yours (to do)." This god stands over (or by) the pits."

At the end of the scene, there is another gate called Arit) guarded by the the jackalheaded Aau and the exit by jackal headed Tekmi. Nine gods named "fourth company of the gods" protect the corridor. The serpent in front of the door is Teka-hra. 

The text says;

This great god cometh to this gateway, and enters in through it, and the gods who are therein acclaim him," The nine gods say to Ra, "Ra-Heru-Khuti unfold our doors, and open our gateways. Hail, Ra, come to us, O great god, lord of hidden nature." He who is over this door opens to Ra. Sa says to Teka Hra "Open your gate to Ra, unfold your doors to Khuti, that he may send light into the thick darkness, and may make his radiance illuminate the hidden habitation." This door is shut after the great god has passed through it, and there is lamentation to those who are in this gateway when they hear this door close upon them.

adapted from the translation by E. A. Wallis Budge