gods and the deceased, showing various openings
through which the boat of RÉwould have to pass in
order to be released from perils. The JUDGMENT HALLS OF
OSIRISand the various paradises awaiting the deceased
are explained. The text also includes designs for SOLAR
BOATS, with arrows and magical disks. Such boats were
fashioned by the faithful and then burned in cultic ritu-
als to rejuvenate the sun in a mystical fashion each day,
as part of overthrowing APOPHIS(1). The earliest display
of the Book of the Gatesis on the walls of the tomb of
HOREMHAB (1319–1307 B.C.E.) in the VALLEY OF THE
KINGS.
The Book of the Opening of the Mouth,once part of the
LIST OF OFFERINGS, a text developed in the Eighteenth
Dynasty with new ceremonies attached to the traditional
ones, remained popular. Priests used the ur-hekainstru-
ment according to the rituals of this book and magically
opened the mouth of the corpse, while libations were
poured out in honor of the gods. The purpose of the
book and its rituals was to provide the deceased with a
new form in the other world and to make him or her part
of the divine cosmos there. The rites were also designed
to establish contact between the living and the dead, an
important aspect of Egyptian beliefs. In later periods the
corpse was no longer used for the rituals. A statue was
designed to take the place of the deceased during the cer-
emonies.
The Book of the Pylons,called the Shat en Sebau,was
another version of the Book of the Dead. This work was
written to provide the dead with detailed descriptions of
the Underworld. Another funerary text, called alternately
the Deliverance of Mankind or the Destruction of
Mankind, was discovered in the tomb of SETI I (r.
1306–1290 B.C.E.) of the Nineteenth Dynasty. The docu-
ment concerns a popular myth about the nature of man.
Yet other versions included the Book of Breathing,the Book
of Traversing in Eternity,and the Book of Beingin Tuat.The
various religious or funerary texts called the Book of the
Dead evolved over the centuries as mortuary rituals
became more sophisticated and broad in their appeal.
New versions appear in the New Kingdom, and another
one after the fall of the pharaonic dynasties. These were
recensions, formulated in HELIOPOLIS,THEBES, and SAIS.
Suggested Readings:Ellis, Normandi, Gary Robertson,
and Robert Kelley.Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian Book of
the Dead.New York: Phanes, 1991; Goelet, Ogden, ed.;
Raymond, Faulkner, trans. The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
The Book of Going Forth by Day.New York: Chronicle
Books, 2000; Seleem, Ramses. Illustrated Egyptian Book of
the Dead.New York: Sterling, 2001; Wallis Budge, A. E.
The Book of the Dead: The Hieroglyphic Transcript and
Translation into English of the Papyrus of Ani.New York:
Gramercy, 1995.
Book of the Gates See BOOK OF THE DEAD.Book of Thoth See THOTH,BOOK OF.Bubasteion A structure discovered in SAQQARA that
was part of the cultic traditions of the goddess BASTET,
this shrine was designed to foster cultic rituals, especially
during the popular FESTIVALSof the goddess. Mummified
cats were displayed in the Bubasteion.Bubastis This was a site 50 miles north of modern
Cairo, now called Zapgazig, the capital of the eighteenth
nome of the Lower Kingdom and the cult center for the
goddess BASTET. A vast temple was erected in the Rames-
sid Period (1306–1070 B.C.E.), and some statues from
this structure survive. A Sixth Dynasty (2323–2150
B.C.E.) shrine was also discovered, with architectural
seals belonging to KHUFU(Cheops; r. 2551–2528 B.C.E.)
and KHAFRE (Chephren; r. 2575–2134 B.C.E.) of the
Fourth Dynasty. A seal of PEPI I(r. 2289–2255 B.C.E.)
was also found on the site, which contained Tell Basta.
A great catacomb containing the remains of mummified
cats was found in Bubastis, which was a popular desti-
nation for pilgrims attending the lavish festivals in
honor of Bastet, and AMENHOTEP III (r. 1391–1353
B.C.E.) spent an anniversary of his coronation there. He
left an inscription at Bubastis to commemorate the
event and to announce his military campaign in
NUBIA. Bubastis is recorded as having suffered an earth-
quake c. 2700.
The city was a thriving community before the Fourth
Dynasty and was abandoned in the first century C.E.
Egypt’s largest festival was held there, with as many as
700,000 celebrators spending days in the vicinity. At the
close of the New Kingdom (1070 B.C.E.), Bubastis became
an even more important site. The city straddled one of
the major TRADE routes connecting MEMPHIS to the
Mediterranean and SINAIregions. OSORKON II(r. 883–855
B.C.E.) erected a temple there, and NECTANEBO II (r.
360–343 B.C.E.) built a sanctuary.Bubastite Portal This was a gateway to a court of the
temple of AMUN at KARNAK in THEBES, erected by
SHOSHENQ I(r. 945–924 B.C.E.). He had planned to reno-
vate the entire court but died before the rest of the archi-
tectural work could be accomplished. The elaborate
gateway, covered in detailed reliefs, celebrates Shoshenq
I’s campaigns in Palestine.Bucheum A site at ERMENT(Hermonthis), on the edge
of the desert, south of THEBES, serving as a necropolis for
the BUCHISbulls, the Egyptians called it bakhbekh.Exten-
sive, the necropolis also contained the graves of cows,Bucheum 73