This is a small papyrus π πππ of the Book of the Dead ππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊ which belonged to a man named Amenhotep (not the pharaoh). Amenhotep was the βOverseer of the Builders of Amunβ and he lived during the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom).
This particular papyrus π πππ sheet shows portions of Chapters 42 and 74 of the Book of the Dead ππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊ. The βChaptersβ are a modern numerical sequence put together as more copies of the papyrus π πππ were found. There is no particular order to the ancient Egyptian spells – each copy of the Book of the Dead ππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊ is different which is part of what makes it fascinating!
Chapter 42 of the Book of the Dead ππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊ associates different parts of the body πππΌ with that of a particular deity πΉ. For example, one line from this spell πππ is βThe lips of Anubis, the teeth of Serketβ¦β and it continues in that fashion!
Chapter 74 of the Book of the Dead ππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊ is the spell for βhastening on foot and going out from the earth.β
In ancient Egypt ππ ππ, the Book of the Dead was actually referred to as the βBook of Coming Forth by Dayβ which is what the hieroglyphs πΉππͺ βππππ»π πππ²π³πΊπΌπΊβ translate to!
Letβs take a closer look:
ππππ» – Coming Forth
π – By
πππ²π³πΊ – Day
πΌπΊ – Determinative for papyrus scroll (which is where βbookβ comes from)
If you want a lot of information about the Book of the Dead, I suggest looking at UCLβs website – itβs what I use to reference the chapter numbers and anything in quotes in this description is from their website!Β
If you were interested in this post, please check out Part 2 which looks at the second papyrus that belonged to Amenhotep!
This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.
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