All about history book of myths and legends. ( PDFDrive )

JUDGING THE SOULS

The souls of the deceased were judged at a place near the end

of the journey, the Hall of the Two Truths. The souls were

put through a test and if they passed, the deceased would

declare their innocence and then be judged by Osiris and

42 assessor gods. Osiris was assisted in his task by judges

who included Ra, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis, Nephthys,

Horus, and Hathor. Each god judged a particular aspect of

the soul. Three possible fates awaited the soul after the

assessment. The truly wicked characters were condemned

to a second and final death devoid of mummification and with

no chance of passing unharmed through Duat. The ordinary

souls were sent to serve Osiris eternally, and the virtuous

souls were allowed to move on to a happy and free eternal life.

Death was considered by the ancient

Egyptians to be the potential beginning

of a new life. After a person died, the

body was carefully preserved as a

mummy because it was believed

that the deceased began a journey

through the Underworld to the next life, where

their souls would need to take up residence in

their bodies once again. This belief in the

migration of the soul to the Underworld was

widespread and the journey was described in

great detail in a complex myth.

THE MYTH

The Egyptians believed that many spiritual

aspects of a person’s being survived

death and, if they were correctly

cared for, could re-inhabit the

person’s body in the afterlife.

Foremost of these was the

ka, the person’s life force, and the

ba, the soul. If all went well after

death, the ka and ba would unite

to form a spirit that would live

again inside the body. To achieve this, the dead body had to be

preserved appropriately through mummification, which was a

re-enactment of what happened to the god Osiris’s body after

he died. The process involved a series of 75 rituals, in

which parts of the body would be touched with special

instruments to be reanimated – as a result, the body would

become a fitting vehicle for the person’s ka. This process also

identified the deceased with the god Osiris, ensuring that they

would set out on the journey to everlasting life.

JOURNEY THROUGH DUAT

The deceased then began their journey through a realm

known as Duat or the Underworld, which was full of many

horrors and perils. Here, they had to contend with dangers

such as fiery lakes and venomous snakes. There were many

special spells that could be recited to protect the voyagers

on the way. These spells were written down in a Book of the

Dead, a compilation of important texts that was often buried

with the mummies so that the deceased had access to the

right spells on their journey through the dark realm.

Journey to the Land of the Dead

ANCIENT EGYPT

Osiris

Osiris presided over the process

in which the deceased travelled

from this life to the afterlife.

Assessor gods

The assessor gods had names such as Bone-breaker and Blood-drinker,

and looked on eagerly when the souls protested their innocence. They

drank the blood of the deceased if there was any proof of guilt.

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