A long time ago I saw a documentary on The Egyptian Book of the Dead. A book that was made to guide Egyptians through the obstacles they would face in the afterlife. It was placed in their tombs, and contained spells and instructions needed to reach paradise. In the end of their journey, they would encounter Osiris; the god of the afterlife, and he would weigh their soul’s heart against the feather of truth and harmony. If the heart was heavier than feather it was thrown to Amenti (a terrifying beast), who immediately devoured it. But, if it was lighter than the feather, the golden gates were opened so that the person could go into paradise. Since I saw it a long time ago my memory is a bit sketchy. I only remember what the end.
Only remembering the end has made me wonder many things. For example, if the man who used the book couldn’t walk, would he be able to float around? Or would he just give up? And not even purchase a book to begin with. But, then again it is the after life, so probably health and disabilities don’t matter, most likely they don’t. Also, they would get the book specially made for them. What if the person who was in charge of making their book hated them, and gave them all the wrong spells on purpose? I wonder if they included music in this, I can’t help but think that if I was going through this journey The Pink Panther theme song would be playing.
Since I forgot most of the things about The Egyptian Book of the Dead I plan on searching for the documentary, or even reading about it. Hopefully I end up finding the answers to all my questions. It would be interesting to find out what their spells really say and if their gods have some special scent, or even if they can smell in the afterlife.
No comments:
Post a Comment