1. Gods and priests. The ancient Egyptians believed that people and nature were ruled by powerful gods. If people do not please the gods, they will be angry and bring disaster to the whole country. Therefore, they tried to appease them with gifts, prayed for mercy and mercy.
People built dwellings for the gods - temples. They carved large statues of gods out of stone, made figurines
bronze or clay. The Egyptians believed that God inhabits the image and hears everything that people say, accepts their gifts.
At the temples there were priests - servants of the gods. It was believed that it was the priest who was the best at talking with God - he knew special prayers that were kept secret from other people. The chief priest entered the temple where the god lived. He rubbed the statue with fragrant oils, dressed it, offered a delicious treat, and then moved away, backing away so as not to turn his back on God. The pharaohs gave the temples gardens and arable land, gold and silver, and numerous slaves. Gifts were made to the gods, who supposedly lived in temples. The priests were in charge of them.
The priests were rich and powerful because the Egyptians believed that they spoke on behalf of the gods themselves.
2. What did the Egyptians tell about their gods. The most important, beautiful god, the Egyptians considered the Sun. The sun god was called Ra, Ambn or Amon-Ra. Every morning appears in the east of Amon-Ra. While the day lasts, he slowly sails through the sky in his magnificent boat. A round solar disk dazzlingly sparkles on the god's head. Plants come to life, people and animals rejoice,
birds sing, glorifying Amun-Ra. But now the day is drawing to a close, because the boat of Amon-Ra is descending from heaven. At the western edge of the sky, she floats into the gates of the underworld. Here the god of light, Amon-Ra, enters into a mortal battle with the god of darkness, a ferocious serpent, whose name is Apbp. The battle continues all night. When the serpent is defeated, the crown of the sun god shines again, heralding the coming of a new day.
People live on earth, and a huge tent of heaven is spread over them. The Egyptians depicted the god of the earth named Geb as a man with the head of a snake: after all, the snake is the most "earthly" animal. The sky goddess Nut was represented as a cow with a body dotted with stars.
In the beginning, Earth and Heaven were inseparable: Nut was the wife, and Geb was the husband. Every evening, Nut gave birth to stars. And all night they floated over her body, to the edge of the sky. And early in the morning, when Amon-Ra appeared, Nut swallowed all her children. Geb was angry with his wife, saying: "You are like a pig devouring its own pigs." It ended with the fact that Geb and Nut began to live separately: the sky rose high above the earth.
The god of wisdom Thoth enjoyed special respect - he has the head of an ibis bird with a long beak. He taught people to read and write. Goddess Bastet is a flexible cat - the patroness of women and their beauty.
The Egyptians worshiped animals - birds, snakes, fish, insects. At one of the temples in Memphis they kept a large black bull with a white mark on its forehead. His name was Apis. The whole country was plunged into sadness when this bull died. The priests were then looking for a new Apis. Archaeologists find in the sands of Egypt entire cemeteries of sacred bulls, cats, crocodiles, buried according to special rules.
3. Myth1 about Osiris and Isis. Once the king of Egypt was the god Osiris. Big dark eyes sparkled in his swarthy face, and his hair was shiny and black, like the very earth on the banks of the Nile. Good Osiris taught the Egyptians how to grow grain and grapes, how to bake bread. The younger brother of Osiris - Seth was the god of the desert and sandstorms. He had small evil eyes and sandy hair.
Set envied Osiris and hated him. Once Seth appeared at a feast in the royal palace. The servants carried behind him a luxurious coffin, decorated with images and inscriptions. “Whoever will fit this precious coffin,” said Seth, “will get it!” The guests were not surprised by the gift: the Egyptians were preparing for life in the “land of the dead” from a young age. One by one, the guests went into the coffin, but it was too
who is big for them.
Now it's Osiris' turn. As soon as he lay down on the bottom of the wooden box, the servants of Set slammed the lid. They lifted the coffin and threw it into the waters of the Nile. Osiris is dead.
The faithful wife of Osiris, the goddess Isis, wept bitterly. She hid from Seth in dense thickets on the banks of the Nile. She nursed her little son there - the god Horus. When Horus matured, he decided to take revenge on Seth for the death of his father. Horus entered into single combat with him and in a fierce battle defeated the enemy. Isis searched for a long time in the swamps of the delta for the coffin with the body of her husband. Finding it, she miraculously revived Osiris. God resurrected, but did not want to stay on earth. He became the king and judge in the "country of the dead", and Horus - the patron of the earthly pharaohs. Isis became the protector of all wives and mothers.
In Egypt, the most difficult time of the year is a drought in May - early June. The Egyptians believed that Osiris died then. But then the waters of the Nile spilled, the fields and trees turned green - it was Osiris who came to life again.
4. What did the Egyptians tell about the "country of the dead". There is light and warmth, blue water flows in the canals, grain ripens in the fields and sweet dates grow on palm trees. But not everyone will be allowed to live in that kingdom after death.
The god Anubis, who was depicted with the body of a man and the black head of a jackal, is in charge there. Taking the deceased by the hand, he leads him to the court of Osiris, who sits on a throne with a rod and a whip in his hands. The deceased, standing in white robes, swears:
“I did no evil. I didn't kill. I didn't order the kill. I didn't steal. I didn't lie. I didn't cause tears. I didn't raise my hand to the weak. I didn't envy.
I didn't swear. I did not speak ill of the king. I did not neglect the gods. I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean!
The testimony of the deceased is recorded by the god Thoth. The veracity of the oath is checked: the human heart is placed on one scale, and on the other - the figure of the goddess of truth - Maat. Balance means that the deceased did not lie: he was a kind and righteous person. Next to the scales, a ferocious monster with the body of a lion and the toothy mouth of a crocodile leans on its front paws. It is ready to swallow the one who did evil in life. And the righteous will be allowed into the wonderful fields of the dead.
But in order to exist in the “land of the dead”, a person needs a body in which his soul could again inhabit. Therefore, the Egyptians were very concerned about preserving the body of the deceased. It was dried, impregnated with resin and wrapped in thin bandages - it turned into a mummy. Then the mummy was placed in a coffin, decorated with drawings and inscriptions - a sarcophagus on which spells were written and gods were depicted. The tomb where the sarcophagus stood was considered the home of the deceased.
 Judgment of Osiris. Ancient Egyptian drawing on papyrus. |
5. The Egyptians deified the pharaoh and called him the son of the Sun. They believed that Amon-Ra was the king among the gods, and his son, the pharaoh, was the king among the people inhabiting Egypt. Without the pharaoh, just as without the Sun, life on earth is impossible. The Egyptians prayed to the pharaoh to make sure that there was a good harvest in the fields, and livestock brought offspring: cows - calves, sheep - lambs. The Nile flooded regularly at certain times of the year, but the Egyptians said that there would be no flood unless the pharaoh ordered the river to flood. Everything must obey the will of the pharaoh - not only people, but nature itself.
Explain the meaning of the words: temple, priest, statue, sarcophagus, mummy. Test yourself. 1. To whom do the names Amon-Ra, Apop, Geb and Nut, Bastet, Apis, Osiris and Isis, Seth, Thoth, Horus, Anubis, Maar belong? What did the Egyptians say about each of them? 2. What natural phenomena are reflected in the myths about Osiris and Set, about Gebe and Nut? 3. For what purpose was the body of the deceased turned into a mummy? 4. Why were the priests rich and powerful?
II Describe the ancient Egyptian drawing on the papyrus "The Judgment of Osiris" »1 (see p. 55) according to the plan - from left to right: 1) the jackal god and the deceased; 2) recording the testimony of the deceased and weighing the heart; 3) the god Horus with the justified at the trial; 4) the appearance of Osiris - the lord of the "country of the dead." Think about why the Egyptians revered Amon-Ra as the main god. To answer, remember how the worship of the Sun is connected with the main occupation of the Egyptians. What role do sunlight and heat play in plant growth?
The Egyptian lived a long, happy life. But then Ba left him. He died.
Seventy days later, he will be transferred from the embalming shop to the eternal home. He will retire to the Duat and become Osiris.
But this will be only after seventy days: after all, Isis, Nephthys and Anubis exactly 70 days collected in parts and restored the chopped body of the great god, and since then the number 70 has become a special number that governs the earth and heaven: “the tear of Isis”2 for the murdered husband every year descends into the Underworld beyond the western horizon and after 70 days reappears in the east, marking the beginning of the new year, the flood of the Nile and the spring resurrection of nature, similar to the resurrection of Osiris from the dead
In the meantime, for now, the relatives of the deceased should put on mourning clothes and mourn him. From now on, the Egyptian himself is Osiris, so his son, before the end of the funeral ritual, must “become” Horus, and his wife and sister - Isis and Nephthys.
After mourning, the dead body on a funeral boat will be transported to the west coast to the House of Gold - the embalmers' workshop.
There are five embalmers. The most important of them is Anubis: after all, a priest in a jackal mask becomes Anubis in the same way as the deceased becomes Osiris, and his son becomes Horus. Four afterlife gods help Anubis: Hapi4, who has the head of a baboon, the jackal-headed Duamutef, Ke-behsenuf with the head of a falcon, and Has with a human head.
In seventy days, the embalmer gods will make a mummy. First they will wash the body with Nile water, and the body will become the sacred Sah. Then, having expelled from the House of Gold the para-shit, who had criminally opened Sakh with a knife, Anubis and his henchmen will extract the insides and lower them into canopy - burial vessels filled with decoctions of medicinal herbs and various potions. Canopy! made in the form of figurines of Hapi, Duamutef, Kebehsenuf and Imset.
Having closed the canopies, the gods-embalmers will treat the body of Sakh with drugs from incense and herbs and tightly swaddle it with cloth bandages. These bandages will be made by the god of weaving Hedihati from the tears of the gods for the murdered Osiris.
Relatives and friends of the deceased must vigilantly ensure that all rituals are strictly observed. Not a single ritual can be broken, not a single magic spell can be forgotten, otherwise the Ka of the deceased will be severely offended by neglect and will not forgive the offense. He will become an evil demon and will pursue his kind, sending misfortune to the descendants.
If the deceased was poor, his mummy will be placed in a simple wooden coffin. On the walls of the coffin, on the inside, the names of the gods who will resurrect the deceased and lead him to the Duat should be written, and on the lid - a prayer to the lord of the dead, Osiris: “O you, Unnefer5 good god! Give this man in your Kingdom a thousand loaves, a thousand bulls, a thousand mugs of beer!”
The rich man's coffin will be luxuriously finished, decorated with paintings.
Seventy days later, the funeral procession, announcing the western bank of the Nile with weeping and groans, will approach the tomb. The deceased bought this tomb many years ago, almost in his youth, and since then - for the rest of his life - he has been equipping this eternal refuge, preparing to move here6. For a very high fee, he hired stonemasons, scribes, sculptors and artists who decorated the walls of the tomb with reliefs, inscriptions containing various spells; they carved a statue for Ba and statues of gods who should guard the sarcophagus; and they made all kinds of utensils - everything that the deceased in the Duat would need: amulets, clothes, weapons, armchairs and papyri with sacred spells.
At the entrance to the tomb, the funeral procession will be awaited by the gods of the Duat. A wooden coffin will be lowered to the ground, and the last rite will be performed over the mummy - “opening the mouth”.
This rite symbolizes and repeats a great event that once happened on earth - the arrival of Horus to the mummy of Osiris. As in those distant times, Horus let his father swallow his healed eye, and Osiris rose from the dead, so now: Horus - a priest in a falcon mask - will touch the mummy's lips with a magic wand with a tip in the form of a ram's head. Ba7 is located in this tip, so the rite of “opening the mouth” will return the deceased to his Ba and resurrect him for life in the Duat.
If the deceased was rich, then the priests, having completed all the funeral rituals, will take his coffin to the tomb and lower it into a stone sarcophagus. At the southern wall of the burial chamber, a canopy depicting Imset will be placed, at the north - Hapi, at the east - Duamutef and at the west - Kebehsenuf. The entrance to the tomb will be sealed with the seal of the necropolis, covered with stones, covered with rubble so that the robbers would not find loopholes, and they will leave, leaving the deceased forever to enjoy peace.
And if the Egyptian was poor, and he has neither a stone sarcophagus nor a tomb, then a wooden coffin or a body wrapped in a mat will be placed in a pit near the rich burial, and the Ka of the deceased will be able to eat the sacrifices that the rich man will bring.
Resurrection and Journey Through the Underworld
And then the day came for the return of Ba to the mummy.
Ba on wings flew into the tomb and descended at the western wall, near the magical image of the door to the other world. Through this image, the Double-Ka came out towards Ba.
At their call, the gods gathered to the sleeping sarcophagus. Solemnly raising their hands, they uttered magic spells, and the deceased rose from the dead.
Finally, the event for which the Egyptian had been preparing all his life on earth was happening! Step forward - and through the magical image of the door, he entered the other world.
Immediately outside the door rose a stone bulk of the gate - the first gate to the kingdom of Osiris. Two gatekeepers - two monstrous snakes - blocked the road and demanded that the deceased give their names to Ren.
How could an Egyptian know the names of the guardians of the Duat? More from the past, earthly life. He had to read the "Book of the Dead" - a sacred papyrus, where the Underworld is described in detail, and there are even color pictures depicting afterlife scenes, and maps of the other world are drawn. The Book of the Dead lists the names of all guardians and demons; and the spells that you need to know in order to safely pass all obstacles are written down exactly as they should be pronounced, word for word. No sound can be added or subtracted from the spell, otherwise it will lose its power. But learning all the magic words is more difficult than memorizing hieroglyphs - therefore, a papyrus scroll with the entry of the "Book of the Dead" was necessarily placed in the sarcophagus of the deceased along with the amulets: after all, the deceased could forget something or get lost in the Duat without a map. And the most important spells were carved on the sarcophagus and on the walls of the burial chamber...
- "Many-faced" and "Following the fire" - these are your names! - answered the deceased, and the gatekeeper snakes opened the gates.
Before entering the Underworld, the Egyptian had to stop at the gate and say, referring to Osiris:
O great lord of the Duat! I have come to you in order to find bliss and peace in your Kingdom. My heart is sinless. May the great Ra light my way!
Behind the gates began two winding paths. Both of them led to the Hall of Two Truths; I only had to choose one, any. And in both cases, the path was not easy. The paths were divided by a fiery river. The flame roared furiously, red-hot coals rained down on the head, poisonous smoke choked and ate out the eyes. In order not to suffocate, the deceased had to carry an amulet with the image of the air god Shu.
Monsters and giant snakes lived along the banks of the river. Only those who knew their names, cast spells correctly and had talismans with them, saving them from troubles and dangers, could walk along the path.
The paths closed again across the river. Here the road ran into the second gate.
To make it easier for the dead to travel around the Duat, the gods created arits there - quiet, safe corners in grottoes and caves. Neither snakes nor scorpions crawled into arits; spring water gurgled there, it was light and easy to breathe. In arita, the deceased could rest and gain strength for further travel. But, of course, not everyone could enter the blissful corner, but only those who knew the magic spells and the names of all the demons standing guard.
Having passed all the gates, the deceased finally reached the goal of his journey - the Great Hall of the Two Truths.
Judgment of Osiris and eternal life in the Fields of Reeds
On the threshold of the Hall of the deceased, Anubis met.
Greetings, great among the gods of the Underworld! I have come to you, my lord, said the deceased.
The jackal-headed god of the dungeon remained majestically silent. After listening to the greeting, he took the Egyptian by the hand and led him into the hall where the Judgment was being held.
 | "Map" of the Duat. In the middle is a fiery river; along the banks of the river (above and below) - paths to the Hall of Two Truths |
 | Judgment of Osiris. Left: Anubis brought the deceased to the Great Hall of the Two Truths. Center: Anubis weighing the heart of the deceased on the Balance of Truth; on the right bowl of Libra - the feather of Maat, symbolic "truth"; next to Libra is Ammat. God Thoth writes down the result of the weighing and the sentence. Above: the deceased delivers a speech of justification before the Great Ennead, headed by the god Ra. Right: Horus brought the deceased after the acquittal to the throne of Osiris. At the foot of the throne in a lotus flower are the sons of Horus: Has, Hapi, Duamutef and Kebehsenuf; above - the winged Solar Eye (a symbol of the protection of the world order) with the feather of Maat; behind the throne - Isis and Nephthys |
They walked past statues and past columns entwined with living snakes. Every now and then monsters crawled out of the darkness towards them and, baring their teeth, severely demanded to be named. The answer had to keep the deceased - Anubis was silent and waited.
And then the last doors opened, and the Egyptian followed Anubis into the courtroom.
Here, in silence and solemn twilight, the gods-judges sat: two Enneads of gods, the Great and the Lesser9. Before each of the two Enneads, the Egyptian had to answer for his earthly deeds, twice had to prove that all his oaths of sinlessness were not false, but true. Therefore, the courtroom was called the Hall of Two Truths.
The headdresses of the judges were decorated with the feather of Truth - the feather of Maat.
The Great Ennead, which included Ra, Shu, Tef-nut, Geb, Nut, Nephthys, Isis, Horus - the son of Osiris, Hat-hor, Hu (Will) and Sia (Reason), began the interrogation of the deceased.
Who are you? Say your name, the gods demanded. The deceased identified himself.
Where did you come from? - followed the second question.
The Egyptian named the city in which he lived.
When the interrogation ended, witnesses appeared before the Great Ennead - Meskhent, Shai and Ba of the deceased. They told what the Egyptian did in his life good and what bad deeds.
After listening to the witnesses, the gods of the Great Ennead turned their heads and looked point-blank at the deceased. The Egyptian tremblingly directed his eyes towards them, hoping to guess from the faces of the judges whether they were merciful to him or severe. But the faces of the gods were impassive, and the Egyptian, lowering his eyes, froze in submissive expectation.
Talk about yourself, - then it was heard in the dungeon. This was ordered by Ra himself.
And the deceased, raising his right hand as a sign that he swears to tell only the truth, read out his exculpatory speech before the judicial Ennead - "Confession of Negation":
I have not committed injustices against people.
I did not oppress my neighbors.
I didn't rob the poor.
I did not do what was not pleasing to the gods.
I didn't incite the servant against his master
So he listed forty-two crimes, swearing to the gods that he was not guilty of any of them.
And the judges were still impassive. In vain the deceased looked into their eyes in the hope of guessing his fate. Followed by the order to turn to face the Little Enneada and utter the "Second acquittal".
And again, calling by name each of the forty-two gods of the Ennead, the Egyptian listed forty-two crimes, assuring that he was not involved in any:
O Useh-nemtut, who appears in Yun, I did no harm! Oh Hepet-sedezhet, who is in Kher-aha, I did not steal! O Denji, coming to Hemenu, I did not envy!
O Sed-kesu who comes to Neninisut, I did not lie!
O Udi-neser, who appears in Het-Ka-Pta, I did not steal food!
About Kerti, coming to the West, I did not grumble in vain!
Two confessions were read out, and the deceased assured that his every word was true. But was there really no lie in his speeches? .. People are skillful pretenders: they can pronounce the most shameless lies, looking into the eyes, with a simple face, swear by the name of Ra, and not a single muscle will flinch. Only the heart will beat a little faster - but you can’t see the heart ...
Do not see - earthly judges. And the judges of the Underworld see everything.
Anubis takes the heart of the deceased and places it on the scale of the afterlife Scales of Truth. Maat herself, the goddess of justice, truth and justice, owns these Scales. On the other bowl is her feather, the symbol of Truth.
If the heart turns out to be heavier or lighter than a feather and the arrow of Libra deviates, then the deceased lied, uttering some kind of oath. The more false oaths there were, the greater the difference between the weight of the heart and the Truth was shown by the scales of the goddess. The deceased fell to his knees in despair, begging for mercy, but the gods were indifferent to such belated repentance. The name of the sinner was declared non-existent, and the heart was given to be eaten by the goddess Am-mat - the "Eater", a monster with the body of a hippo, lion's paws, a lion's mane and a crocodile's mouth. Ammat ate the sinful heart with a champ, and the Egyptian lost his life - now forever.
If the bowls remained in balance, the deceased was recognized as justified. The Great Ennead solemnly announced its decision to grant him eternal life, and the god Thoth wrote down the name of the Egyptian on papyrus.
After that, Horus took the deceased by the hand and led to the throne of his father - the lord of the Underworld Osiris. Throughout the trial, Osiris silently watched what was happening. He did not take part either in the interrogation or in the weighing of the heart, but only consecrated the entire ritual with his presence.
The Egyptian was solemnly led past the great god seated on the throne. The trial ended there. The deceased went to the place of his eternal bliss - to the Fields of Iara, "Fields of the Reeds." He was accompanied there by the patron god Shai.
In the Fields of Kamysh, the same life awaited him as he led on earth, only without earthly anxieties, sorrows, needs and worries. Seven Hathor, Nepri and other gods provided the deceased with food, made his afterlife arable land fertile, livestock fat. So that the deceased could enjoy their rest, so that they would not have to cultivate the fields with their own hands and graze cattle themselves, in the tombs, in special boxes, they left wooden or clay figurines - ushebti.
The word "ushabti" means "answerer". The sixth chapter of the Book of the Dead tells how to make the ushabti work. When the gods call the deceased to work in the Fields of Reeds, the Ushabti man should come forward instead of the owner, respond: "I'm here!" and unquestioningly carry out the work that is entrusted to him.
Wealthy residents of Ta-Kemet could buy as many ushebti as they wanted for eternal life. Those who were poorer bought 360 of them, one for each day of the year. And the poor people bought one or two ushebti men, but together with them they took a roll of papyrus to the Underworld - a list that listed 360 helpers. Thanks to miraculous spells, the ushebti listed in the list came to life and worked for the owner as hard as wooden and clay figurines.
1 In ancient times, only dead pharaohs were identified with Osiris. Starting around the 17th-16th centuries BC. e. Any dead Egyptian was considered Osiris. The name of the supreme afterlife god was added to his name: for example, after his death, they spoke of a man named Rahotep “Rakhotep-Osiris”.
2 Sirius, the brightest star.
3 In ancient times, the first sunrise of Sirius in the latitudes of Egypt coincided with the day of the summer solstice - June 21.
4 Do not confuse this god with Hapi - the god of the Nile.
5 Unnefer - "being in a state of goodness", the most common epithet of Osiris. From him came the Russian name Onufry.
6 The Greeks said that "the life of an Egyptian consists of preparations for death."
7 The words "Ba" and "ram" were pronounced the same.
8 The “Resurrected Egyptian” is both his Double-nik-Ka and his “afterlife”, moreover, the “body” and the mummy are not the same: the “body” travels through the Underworld and appears before Osiris at the Judgment, and the mummy remains in the sarcophagus. There is nothing surprising in such illogicality. It is completely natural: after all, there have not been and are not clear and unambiguous ideas about what happens to a person after death in any religion, just as there were and are no unambiguous descriptions of the other world. At different times, different ideas are formed, which are gradually superimposed on one another and intertwined in the most incomprehensible way.
9 The Greek word "ennead" corresponds to the Egyptian "pesed-jet" - "nine". However, the Great Ennead included 11 gods, and the Lesser Ennead - 42. They were called “Nines” because they were considered, as it were, “afterlife twins” of the Great Nine of the gods of the city of Iunu (Heliopolis), revered throughout Egypt (Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb , Nut, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Set). Following the model of the Heliopolis Nine, in other cities of Egypt they also created their own, local nines of gods.
The most important, even the only goal of their life. It taught to consider not only earthly blessings as gifts of the gods, happiness as a consequence of pious deeds and thoughts, misfortune as a consequence of the wicked, but also to look beyond the limits of earthly life, to an afterlife, to believe that the fate of the soul in the future life depends on how a person behaves. on the ground. This fate is decided on the court of the god of the underworld, Osiris.
Not only the Greek writers, especially Herodotus, tell us that the Egyptians were the first people to come to believe in the immortality of the soul; we know from the Egyptians themselves that they had a detailed doctrine of the fate of the soul at the end of earthly life. Their ideas about this are introduced to us by images in the tombs and a wonderful work of Egyptian literature, " book of the dead”, which was placed in the coffin with the deceased, as if a guide for his upcoming journey to the kingdom of the dead. This is a collection of prayers and speeches, a more or less complete list of which was given to the deceased on a papyrus scroll; to them are added mystical invocations, which were already incomprehensible even to the Egyptians of later times, so that comments had to be added to them. The soul, on its path shown in this book through the regions of the underworld of Osiris, will meet gods and spirits and must pray to them and speak with them, as it is written in the book; she will be interrogated, and the answers she is to give are written here. One of the most important places in the book is a scene depicting how the soul, after the burial of the body, descends with the sun descending under the horizon into Amentes, the gloomy realm of shadows, and how the judges of the dead pass judgment on it there.
At the entrance to the court of Osiris, the Devourer (Absorber) sits on a dais - a monster that looks like a hippopotamus; his mouth is wide open, like a Greek Cerberus. Behind the entrance through the richly decorated pylons, is the anteroom of the palace of the dead; The ceilings of the halls of this palace rest on columns. In the anteroom sits on a throne the judge of the dead Osiris in the form of a mummy, with a crown on his head, with a whip and a staff curved at the top in his hands. On the sides of it near the wall of the hall sit 42 spirits; the figures of some of them are quite human, others with the heads of different animals. These are the members of the court pronouncing the verdict on 42 deadly sins forbidden by the Egyptian religion, in which the deceased calls himself innocent. The seat of Judge Osiris is surrounded by water. On the lotus flowers above it are depicted four "spirits of the kingdom of the dead", with the heads of a man, a monkey, a falcon and a jackal; these spirits were dedicated to the internal organs of man, each special.
Weighing the heart of the scribe Hunefer at the afterlife court of the god Osiris. "Book of the Dead"
The deceased enters from the other end of the hall. Maat, the goddess of truth and justice, adorned with her symbol, an ostrich feather, meets him and leads him to the scales of justice on which his heart is weighed: it is placed on one cup, an ostrich feather on the other, or a small statue of the goddess herself is placed. Doing the weighing business god Horus, depicted with the head of a falcon, and the guide of the dead Anubis, who has the head of a jackal. The god of writing and science Thoth, with the head of an ibis, stands with a written cane and a tablet to write down the result of the weighing and the sentence. In interrogation and confession of the sins of the judge there is no lofty moral feeling. The person facing the judgment of Osiris is not imbued with humble sorrow for his sinfulness, but refers to the conformity of his life with the law: he did not violate the sacred decrees; did not slander with words either the king, or the father, or the gods, did not show disrespect to them; he was neither a thief, nor a drunkard, nor an adulterer, nor a murderer; did not tell lies, did not give a false oath, did not shake his head, listening to the words of truth; was not a hypocrite; his piety was not feigned; he was not a slanderer; did not kill or eat any sacred animal, was not guilty of not performing the established rites and prayers; did not steal any of the sacrifices to the gods, did not steal anything from their sanctuaries, etc. Probably, the stories about the trial of Osiris gave the Greeks a reason for the erroneous idea that already on earth, immediately after the death of a person, a judgment is made on him and the wicked are deprived of the honor of being buried, and as if the fear of this was for many kings an impulse to reign justly.
With the fate of souls after the pronouncement of the sentence by Osiris, the images in the tomb acquaint us pharaoh Ramses V. The souls of people who lived piously and justly go to the heavenly regions where the highest gods live. Refreshed by the water of life that the goddess pours on them from Perseus (the tree of life) chickpeas, - a harbinger of what was proclaimed over the dead: may Osiris give you cool water! - and reinforced by the fruits with which she feeds them, the souls of the righteous pass through the underworld, in which there are many terrible monsters, snakes, crocodiles, and come to the fields of the blessed. On them, those who are acquitted in court lead a life of heavenly innocence and joy. They are engaged in rural labors there, tearing heavenly fruits from trees, walking along flower beds and alleys; bathe in heavenly waters; they gather harvests to eat themselves and offer a part of what they have harvested as sacrifices to the gods; rejoice and enjoy at the sight of the sun - Ra.
Ani's kneeling petitioner before Osiris in the Kingdom of the Dead. Behind Osiris - the goddesses Isis and Nephthys
Like other Eastern peoples, the Egyptians believed in the transmigration of souls, consisting in the fact that from time to time the soul returns to earth and lives in the body of a person or some animal. But it seems that in Egypt the return of the soul to earth was not considered a punishment, as it was according to the belief of the Indians; on the contrary, the Egyptians prayed that the deceased would be allowed to return to earth and take on whatever body he pleased. - In the tomb of Ramesses V, the torment to which those condemned by Osiris are subjected is also depicted, not illuminated by the divine rays of the sun. In various sections of the underworld, guarded by armed demons, black souls tormented by red demons are depicted, some in the form of people, others in the form of birds with human heads. Some of them are tied to poles and the demons cut them with swords; others in long rows, go without heads; some are hanged by their feet, others are thrown into boiling cauldrons; the demons are chasing the pig - this, no doubt, is also the soul of a sinner. Human fantasy has always been fruitful in inventing torments, both in Christian times, Dante's poetry about Hell, and in Egyptian antiquity.
The news of Greek writers, according to which the Egyptian transmigration of souls is presented as a process of purification of sinners, is difficult to reconcile with the data on ancient monuments. Perhaps the doctrine of direct retribution after death, of heaven and hell, should be considered an ancient belief, and the dogma of the transmigration of souls, which, according to Herodotus, could last three thousand years, was a new doctrine. According to this dogma, it depends on the person himself to shorten the time of his earthly wandering by a pious life, after which his soul becomes pure and blissful. There is no eternal hellish torment after the judgment of Osiris; sooner or later, but certainly there comes a state of peace, desired by the people of the eastern countries. Such thoughts testify to the high development of a religion based, like the Egyptian one, on the deification of nature.
One of the most important components of the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians was the belief in the afterlife, which was preceded by the judgment of Osiris. The order of events that were supposed to happen after death, as well as the methods of preparation in the other world, was described by the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
An important component of the funeral cult was a list of advice on a papyrus, and later on a leather scroll, placed in a sarcophagus with the body of the deceased. It should be noted that this practice has been going on for thousands of years. At the same time, the content of the texts changed, but the essence of the advice remained the same. During the funeral rites, hymns and incantations were recited.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead itself included both texts and drawings, which should have more clearly represented the contents of the Book. In particular, the drawings depicted scenes of burial, as well as court of Osiris. The trial was considered the most important event in the realm of the dead, because it was Osiris who determined the subsequent fate of everyone in accordance with the judicial investigation. The court passed quickly and fairly, surrounded by 42 gods.
Before the arbitrators stood scales, on one of the bowls of which was the heart of the deceased, and on the other - the figure of the goddess of truth Maat. The figure was very light, but if a person on earth lived righteously, then the figure easily outweighed the heart. If the heart belonged to a sinner, it pulled the cup down.
Moments were spent on this action, and it immediately became clear to the gods who was in front of them. The righteous was immediately sent to paradise, and the sinner fell into the mouth of the terrible monster Amata. However, based on the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a sinner condemned by his heart had a chance for justification. He could speak in his own defense, for which a special speech was being prepared during his lifetime. she was recorded and was present in the sarcophagus with the deceased. The gods could agree with the statements of the deceased and pass a verdict of not guilty. In this case, Osiris sent him to the dwelling place of the righteous.
The texts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead played an extremely important role in the spiritual life of Ancient Egypt. The very content of this religious system is very original, although at the same time it contains the fundamental concept of the Judgment of Osiris common to a number of religions. That is, we are talking about the obligatory retribution after death. At the same time, unlike Christianity, where the Omniscient God knows every thought of a person, the gods of Egypt do not have such omniscience, which gave reason to mortals to hope that some deeds would not be noticed.
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Burial, the way through the Duat and the court of Osiris. Judgment of Osiris and eternal life in the fields of Iaru. Egyptian mythology
Before crossing the threshold of the Hall, the deceased must turn to Ra:
- Glory to you, great god, Lord of the Two Truths! I have come to you, my lord! I was brought to see your perfection. I know you, I know your name, I know the names of the forty-two gods who are with you in the Hall of Two Truths, who live as guardians of sinners, who drink blood on this day of trial [of people] in the presence of Unnefer.
“He whose twins are beloved - Two Eyes, Lord of Two Truths” - such is your name. I have come to see you, I have brought you the Two Truths, I have taken away my sins for you.
The deceased will be listened to by the Great Ennead - the gods administering the Court, and the Little Ennead - the gods of cities and nomes. The Great Ennead includes Ra, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Nephthys, Isis, Horus, Hathor, Hu, and Sia. The heads of the judges are decorated with the feather of Maat.
In the face of the Great Ennead, the deceased must utter the "Confession of Denial" - list forty-two crimes and swear to the gods that he is not guilty of any of them:
I have not committed injustice against people.
I did not oppress my neighbors.<…>
I didn't rob the poor.
I didn't do anything that didn't please the gods.
I did not incite the servant against his master.
I didn't poison<…>
Having named all the crimes, the deceased must swear:
- I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean! My purity is that of the Great Benu in Nenini-sut.<…>I will not be harmed in the Great Hall of the Two Truths, for I know the names of the gods who are there with you.
After the "Confession of Denial", the deceased must appear before the Little Ennead and in the same way, calling each of the forty-two gods by name, assure them of his innocence in crimes.
It is noteworthy that in the New Kingdom, the pharaoh also had to justify himself before the Afterlife Court and have ushabti (see below).
Then the gods will begin to weigh the heart on the Scales of Truth. A heart will be placed on one cup of Libra, and a feather of the goddess Maat will be placed on the other. If the arrow of the scales deviates, then the deceased is a sinner, and the Great Ennead will pass a guilty verdict on him. Then the sinful heart will be given to be eaten by the terrible goddess Amt (Ammat) (Fig. 213) - the "Eater", a monster with the body of a hippopotamus, lion's paws and mane, and the mouth of a crocodile. If the scales remain in balance, the deceased is recognized as "right-handed" (Fig. 214, 215).
Rice. 213. Amt.
Rice. 214. Judgment of Osiris.
Left: Anubis brought the deceased
to the Great Hall of the Two Truths.
Center: Anubis weighs on the Scales of Truth,
depicted as the goddess Maat,
the heart of the deceased; on the right side of Libra -
the feather of Maat, the symbolic "truth";
God Thoth writes down the result of weighing
and sentence; next to Libra - Amt.
Above: the deceased pronounces an acquittal
speech before the Great Ennead led by
god Ra. Right: The choir brought the deceased
after acquittal
in front of Osiris. At the foot of the throne -
the sons of Horus in a lotus flower; upstairs -
the winged Solar Eye with the feather of Maat;
behind the throne are Isis and Nephthys.
Drawing from the "Book of the Dead" ("Papyrus Ani");
XIX dynasty; British Museum, London.
Rice. 215. Judgment of Osiris.
In the center of the top row - the deceased,
under his outstretched arms are two eyes,
symbolizing the act of return
acquitted by the deceased's view.
Next in the top row is an ornament of uraeus,
lamps and hieroglyphs "shu" (air) -
allegory of the return to the dead of ability
see the light and breathe; along the edges - two baboons
with weights. Middle row: Deceased
makes excuses in front of
Great and Lesser Enneads. On the bottom row
from right to left: deceased surrounded by "Two Truths";
Anubis and Horus weighing the heart on the Balance of Truth,
crowned with the image of a baboon;
the god of magic Heka, seated on the image of the wand -
a symbol of power; That; Amt; the sons of Horus in a lotus flower;
Osiris on the throne. Above Amt - two patron gods,
left - Shai. Between Amt and Thoth - the name Meskhent
and its image in the form of a maternity brick
with a female head. Drawing from the "Book of the Dead"
("Papyrus of the scribe Nesmin"); 4th century BC e.; Hermitage Museum.
Why the sinful heart had to be lighter (or heavier) than the feather of Maat is unknown. A number of Egyptologists are of the opinion (shared by the author) that Libra served as a kind of “lie detector” for the afterlife judges: the weighing of the heart was carried out not after the “Confession of Denial” and the second acquittal, but simultaneously with them - throughout the entire interrogation, the heart rested on the scales , and if the deceased turned out to be guilty of any of the crimes, then as soon as he began to swear to the contrary, the arrow was immediately rejected.
It seems to the author that the ancient Egyptian mythical act of weighing the heart symbolically expresses the spiritual meaning of confession as such, a meaning that is apparently the same in all religions, regardless of differences in the external attributes of the confessional rite.
It is known that a person, having committed an act contrary to morality, involuntarily (this process is unconscious) seeks, and therefore finds, an excuse, the essence of which usually boils down to the fact that the act was forced by circumstances, and not committed by free will. Talking about such an act or remembering it, a person feels the need to give arguments justifying him; if he does not have such an opportunity, he is immediately seized by some kind of inner unrest, inconvenience.
In fiction, it is described many times how in such a situation one wants to “look away”, “change the topic of conversation”, etc. The rite of confession just does not allow any kind of excuse - only “let your word be:“ yes, yes ", "no no"; but what is more than this is from the evil one” (Matt. 5:37). Thus, a person who convinces himself of his own sinlessness (or, in relation to Christianity, of the sincerity of his repentance for sin) a person, declaring his sinlessness (repentance) out loud and being deprived of the opportunity to add anything, will immediately feel this most inner inconvenience - “The heart will expose the lie,” and the arrow of Libra will deviate.
After weighing the heart, the gods will begin to interrogate the deceased:
- Who are you? Say your name.
- I'm the undershoot of papyrus. The one who is in his olive. Here is my name.
- Where did you come from?<…>
- I came from a city that lies north of Oliva.
When the interrogation is over, Meskhent, Shai, the goddess of good fortune Renenutet and Ba of the deceased will appear before Ra-Horakhti and both Enneads. They will testify to the character of the deceased and tell the gods what good and bad deeds he did in life.
Isis, Nephthys, Serket and Neith will defend the deceased before the judges.
When the Great Ennead announces the acquittal, the god Thoth will write it down. After that, the deceased will be told:
- So, come in. Cross the threshold of the Hall of Two Truths, for you know us.
The deceased must kiss the threshold, call it (the threshold) by name and name all the guards - only after that he can finally enter under the canopy of the Great Hall of the Two Truths, where the lord of the dead Osiris himself sits on the throne, surrounded by Isis, Maat, Nephthys and the sons of Horus in the lotus flower.
The divine scribe Thoth will announce the arrival of the deceased:
“Come in,” he says. - Why did you come?
“I have come to be announced about me,” the deceased must answer.
- What state are you in?
- I am cleansed of sins.<…>
Whom should I tell about you?
- Raise about me to the one whose vault is made of fire. Whose walls are made of living snakes and Whose floor is a stream of water.
- Tell me, who is it? - will ask the last question to be answered:
- This is Osiris.
“Verily, truly, they will tell [him] [your name],” Thoth will exclaim, rejoicing that the deceased is clean before the great ruler of the Duat Osiris and is worthy to be reunited with him.
Initially, there was another idea - that the Afterlife Court is headed by Ra (Fig. 216). This idea lasted until the Ptolemaic period, but was much less popular.
Rice. 216. Ra-Horakhti, heading
Underworld Court.
Canopy box painting; XX dynasty;
Louvre, Paris.
The judgment will end there, and the Egyptian will go to the place of eternal bliss - to the Fields of the Reeds, the Fields of Iara. He is led there by the guardian god Shai. The path to the blissful monastery is blocked by the gate, the last obstacle on the path of the deceased. They will also have to conjure:
- Give way to me. I know you]. I know the name of [your] guardian god. Gate Name: "Lords of fear whose walls are high<…>The lords of destruction, speaking words that curb the destroyers, who save the one who comes from destruction. The name of your gatekeeper is: "He who [inspires] terror."
In the Fields of Iaru, the "right-handed" deceased is waiting for the same life that he led on earth, only happier and richer. He will not lack anything, he will not need anything. The servants depicted on the walls of the tomb will cultivate its fields (Fig. 217), graze cattle, and work in workshops. Seven Hathor, Nepri, Nepit, Serket and other deities will make his afterlife arable land fertile (Fig. 218), and his cattle fat and prolific.
Rice. 217. Agricultural work in the fields of Iaru.
Rice. 218. Worshiping Gods and Harvesting
in the fields of Iaru.
Fragment of the painting of the tomb of Senedzhem
in Deir el-Medina; XIX-XX dynasties.
The deceased will not have to work himself - he will only enjoy the rest! He will not need to cultivate the fields and graze cattle, because figurines of servants and slaves and ushebti figurines will be placed in the tomb.
Ushabti - "respondent". The sixth chapter of the "Book of the Dead" talks about "how to make the ushabti work": when the gods call the deceased to work in the Fields of Iaru, calling him by name, the ushabti must come forward and respond: "Here I am!", After which he will unquestioningly go where they are told, and will do as they are told.
Figurines and figurines, the purpose of which was to serve the deceased - the owner of the tomb in the Duat, can be divided into two groups (In popular publications on Egyptology, they are sometimes not distinguished and referred to by the general term "ushabti").
The first group, conventionally called "statuettes of servants", includes figurines depicting people at various jobs: plowmen, porters, brewers (Fig. 219), scribes (Fig. 220), weavers, shipbuilders (Fig. 221), overseers, etc. e. The presence of such figurines in the tombs, perhaps, goes back to the ancient custom at the funeral of the leader to kill his slaves, servants and wives and bury them near the burial of the master.
Rice. 219. A maid preparing beer.
Limestone painted figurine;
Archaeological Museum, Florence.
Rice. 220. Scribes.
Wooden painted figurines;
Middle Kingdom; Pushkin Museum.
Rice. 221. Rooks with ship squads.
Painted tree; Middle Kingdom.
In the Old Kingdom, "servant figurines" were made of wood and stone, starting from the Middle Kingdom, almost exclusively of wood. All types of figures have a fairly strict image canon: for example, brewers are always depicted kneading dough for barley loaves (from which beer was made) in a mortar, weavers - squatting at the machines, etc. In rich burials with a large number of "figurines of servants » figures were usually combined into groups and fixed on the board; each group depicted step by step the entire process of preparing one or another product - similar to compositions in tomb paintings depicting one or another workshop of a noble household (see, for example, Fig. 184).
The second group consists of ushebti - figurines made of faience, wood or clay in the form of swaddled mummies with hoes in their hands (Fig. 222, left) or in ordinary clothes (the so-called "ushebti in the clothes of the living") (Fig. 222, right). Ushabti were sometimes portrayed by the owner of the tomb himself (Fig. 223), but more often they were purely conditional images, without individual portrait features (made in the workshops by the “in-line method”). An inscription was made on the ushebti mummy - the so-called. "Ushabti formula" (quote from the 6th chapter of the "Book of the Dead"), complete or abridged. Sometimes ushebti-mummies were placed in a coffin (Fig. 224).
Rice. 222. Ushabti of the New Kingdom.
Left: ushebti in the form of a mummified person;
in the vertical column - "ushebti formula".
Right so-called. "get lost in the clothes of the living"
with the inscription "Osiris Khonsu" (that is, "the late
[Egyptian named] Khonsu."
Clay painted figurines;
XIX dynasty; Pushkin Museum.
Rice. 223. Ushabti of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
with the attributes of royal power -
scepter-staff and a triple whip in his hands.
XVIII dynasty; Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Rice. 224. Ushabti in a sarcophagus.
XIX dynasty; Pushkin Museum.
The purpose of the ushebti, unlike the “servant figurine”, is not to work in the Duat for the owner of the tomb, but to replace him when the owner himself is called, as the “formula” says, “to transport sand from East to West”. What is meant by "carrying sand" is not clear; perhaps this is just a metaphor denoting either just hard work, or an “afterlife analogue” of state labor service for free citizens of Egypt (which at different times was, for example, work on the construction of pyramids, in a noble or temple household, transportation of statues to tombs, etc. .).
Ushabti appear in the New Kingdom, and from the same time, “statuettes of servants” disappear from the tombs.
“Ushabti in the clothes of the living” were made only during the 19th dynasty. The explanation of such iconography is difficult; some researchers associate it with the echoes of the beliefs of the period of the sun-worshipping coup, when it was believed that the “soul” of the deceased spends the day among the living (see p. 183).
In the tomb, the ushebti were put into special boxes (Fig. 225).
Rice. 225. Ushabti box
depicting the deceased and his wife.
XVIII dynasty; Pushkin Museum.
The nobles usually took 360 ushabtis with them to the Duat - one for each day of the year; for the poor, the ushebti was replaced by a papyrus scroll with a list of 360 such workers. In the Fields of Iaru, with the help of magic spells, the men named in the list were embodied in ushebti and worked for their master (Fig. 226).
Rice. 226. Fields of Iaru.
Left and top - scenes of worship
deceased to the gods of the Underworld;
in the center - agricultural work in the Fields of Iaru;
below - day and night Boats of the Sun,
on which, together with the retinue of Ra, the deceased (?) travels.
Drawing from the "Book of the Dead" ("Papyrus of the scribe Nesmin");
4th century BC e.; Hermitage Museum.
