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Death as an Enemy 3
Oct. 20th, 2017 09:20 pm Zandee's brief notes on the many dangerous places of the netherworld lead into a longer section entitled "The Journey of the Dead". In the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts, the king ascends to the sky. The Book of Two Ways describes "a black land by road and a blue road by water, which is only part of the whole complex. Sometimes a whole labyrinth is mentioned."
The deceased's journey may take him or her to Osiris, who may be located in "heaven" or in the Ḥtp-field; and to Re and his solar barque. Like someone travelling from town to town, the deceased might have to pass gates, using spells to "impose his will" on the "demoniacal gate-keepers". Other spells protected the deceased from various demons and dangers, such as a pool of fire. Another spell gains the use of a ferry-boat and helpful spirits in order to cross a stream on the way to the ʾI3r-w-field. Zandee points out the parallel journey of "the funeral procession and the funerary voyage".
The dead also face judgement, on the basis of their actions towards other people, and towards the gods and their cults. The most famous scene is in the Book of the Dead Chapter 125, in the "hall of the double truth" and its forty-two judges / executioners, in which the deceased makes the "negative confession", Anubis weighs their heart against the feather, and The Devourer eats anyone who fails to be acquitted. Various versions of the judgement are based on real-life Egyptian court hearings, with a judge (Osiris or Re), an "opposing party" (called ḫfty, "enemy"), there's a verdict, and so forth. Multiple spells prevent the dead person's own heart from giving evidence against them. Apparently the dead could bring court cases against each other in the hereafter! The deceased could also bring a case against a living person who interfered with the tomb, winning the right to "annoy, as a ghost, the tomb robber still living on earth".
The deceased's journey may take him or her to Osiris, who may be located in "heaven" or in the Ḥtp-field; and to Re and his solar barque. Like someone travelling from town to town, the deceased might have to pass gates, using spells to "impose his will" on the "demoniacal gate-keepers". Other spells protected the deceased from various demons and dangers, such as a pool of fire. Another spell gains the use of a ferry-boat and helpful spirits in order to cross a stream on the way to the ʾI3r-w-field. Zandee points out the parallel journey of "the funeral procession and the funerary voyage".
The dead also face judgement, on the basis of their actions towards other people, and towards the gods and their cults. The most famous scene is in the Book of the Dead Chapter 125, in the "hall of the double truth" and its forty-two judges / executioners, in which the deceased makes the "negative confession", Anubis weighs their heart against the feather, and The Devourer eats anyone who fails to be acquitted. Various versions of the judgement are based on real-life Egyptian court hearings, with a judge (Osiris or Re), an "opposing party" (called ḫfty, "enemy"), there's a verdict, and so forth. Multiple spells prevent the dead person's own heart from giving evidence against them. Apparently the dead could bring court cases against each other in the hereafter! The deceased could also bring a case against a living person who interfered with the tomb, winning the right to "annoy, as a ghost, the tomb robber still living on earth".
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Zandee, J. Death as an Enemy According to Ancient Egyptian Conceptions. (Studies in the Histories of Religions, Supplement to Numen, V). Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1960.
