Gods and scenes from the Books of the Netherworld

Amente/Amenti (Jmnt.t), the Goddess of the NetherWorld, wearing the Tyet (“the knot of Isis”) and holding two Ankh-signs (the symbol of Life) in each hand; next to Her Crown (that is the symbol of the West), two human headed Ba-birds (representing the Soul of the blessed dead) holding incense bowls.
Detail from the inner side of the coffin of Henettawy,”Lady of the House”, “Chantress of Amon”, “Chief of the priestesses of Amon”, “Flutist of Mut”, and “God’s Mother of Khonsu”.
Dynasty XXI, ca. 990–970 BCE; now in the Metropolitan Museum…

 

the Goddess Neith (at the top, on the right) in Her form of winged Uraeus (wearing the Solar Crown) spreads Her wings as a sign of protection towards the “beautiful Amente/Amenti (Jmnt.t)”.
The Goddess Amente/Amenti is represented wearing the hieroglyph for “West” (with a sacred Falcon and the feather of Maat) as Crown, and playing the Menat-necklace.
Detail from the coffin of Dirpu, Chantress of Amon-Ra at Uaset-Thebes; XXI Dynasty (ca. 1070–945 BCE), now in the cairo museum…

 

-BOOK OF GATES-

IV DIVISION

the Sun God Ra in His sacred bark (on the hull is represented the Eye of Ra). Ra is represented in His ram-headed form and is called “the Flesh of Ra”: He stands in a Shrine enveloped and protected by the sacred serpent Mehen; Ra holds the Ankh (the symbol of Life) in His right, the Uas-scepter of Power and Dominion in His left, and wears the Solar Crown; before Him is another sacred serpent, standing on his tail. In front of Ra is represented Sia (the God of perception: Sia is the heart or mind of Ptah), and behind Him Heka (God of Magic and Power). 

 

Horus and the four races of mankind, (drawing by E. Eirund, E. Weidenbach): (from left to right) -four Ancient Egyptians, -four Asiatics (Sekhmet is the Goddess Who takes care of their Bau-Souls), -four Nubians/Kushites (Horus is the God Who takes care of their Bau-Souls) -four Ancient Lybians (Sekhmet is the Goddess Who takes care of their Bau-Souls).

 

V DIVISION

on the left, Osiris enthroned on a chair with lions’ feet mounted on a platform at the top of a flight of nine steps; in front of Him is a balance supported by a mummiform God; on the steps are the Gods of the “Ennead Who follows Him”, each on his own step; in the top right corner is Anubis, looking towards Osiris, and under Him is represented a large ape with a stick, and a barque in which a large ape called “Devourer of the Arm” is beating a pig with a stick; along the top edge, above Osiris, hang four upturned gazelle heads.

IX DIVISION

-In the upper register, on the left and on the right, are represented four Gods raising up from the ground, by means of a rope and aided by a standing God, a pole/staff surmounted by a human head (the one at left is crowned with the Hedjet, the White Crown, and the one at right with the Deshret, the Red Crown): the Four Gods on the left (wearing the Hedjet) are called “the Gods of the South”, and those on the right (wearing the Deshret) “the Gods of the North”. In the middle is represented a Falcon/human-headed Sphinx called “Horus in His boat”; upon the double headed Sphinx (both the two heads of the Sphinx wear the Hedjet) stands “He of the Two Faces”, also called “Horus Whose face is sublime”, Horus with the two faces of Horus (at right) and Seth (at left), His arms outstretched above the upper part of the crowns of the Sphinx.  -In the lower register, from left to right: the Boat of Ra (with Heka, Ra, and Sia) towed by Four Gods of the NetherWorld; a God standing upright, and three seated Gods wearing an Uraeus on Their heads (the first Deity is Sekhmet, lioness-headed)

-BOOK OF CAVERNS-

V DIVISION

translation of the inscriptions:
-the Uraeus-headed God:
“the Uraeus, the Upright-One”

-the Cauldron:
“The two arms in the Place of Doom …. which is in the Duat (one of the names of the NetherWorld).
This cauldron is so:
the two arms rise from the Place of Destruction, and they raise You, O Great Flame to which have been given the heads of the enemies of Nut. The Uraeus-headed God, the Lord of the Flame, breathes fire against you who are in the cauldron.

-Words of Ra to this cave:
“O Uraeus-headed God, O Cobra, O Snake, O Beheader, O God Whose forms are great, Who shakes the flame, Who makes the flame sparkle in the cauldron which You keep, You to which have been given the heads and the hearts of the enemies, the rebels against me and against Shentayt (Isis). Take care that its flame does not diminish! Breath Your Flame and cast Your Fire against all my enemies!!!

VI DIVISION

in the middle register, the Ba (the Soul) of Ra, ram-headed and winged; in the upper register, above, Ra as a Child emerging at dawn from the NetherWorld, while the Gods and the Souls of the Blessed Ones make adorations to Him; and Ra as Kheper-Ra, the God of the Morning Sun, in His sacred form of scarab

-BOOK OF THE EARTH-

I PART

 I part, IV register: “the Passage through the Caverns of Nun:

-the rising (at left) and setting (at right) of the Sun God Ra and of His boats on the double Lion-God Aker, symbolizing the Mountains of the East (left) and West (right)
-in the center, “the Arms of Nun” arise from the ground and lift the Sun;
right and left there are three standing mummies each one called “Muiu-Nun” (“the watery Nun”);
-in front of the mummies, at right, a God (the God of the Primaeval Mound) receives the Solar boat of the Night (the Mesketet boat), and at left, another God, Nun, sends the Solar boat of the Morning (the Mandjet boat) to its diurnal course;
-each boat carries the ram-headed sacred scarab of Ra between two Ba-birds (the “Ba” is the Soul) making adorations to Him: in each boat, one is the “Ba of Atum” and the other is the “Ba of Khepri”;
-the Solar boat of the Night (on the right) is dragged by Ba-birds with human heads and arms, called “The towing-ones”;
-the Solar boat of the Morning (on the left) is towed by Uraei with human heads and arms, called “The Guides”;
-in the lower register are represented the enemies of Maat and of all the Gods, bound and decapitated;
From the “House of Eternity of Kings Ramses V and VI, KV9, Valley of the Kings, West Uaset, Diospolis Megale-Thebes”

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV PART

-BOOK OF THE AMDUAT-

I DIVISION

-in the upper register, from right to left, are represented “the Traverser of the Hours” carrying a magic wand; a Serpent standing on His tail (called “the Hour”); four human-headed stelae called respectively “the Decree of Osiris”, “the Decree of Khepry”, “the “Decree of Atum”, and “the Decree of Ra”; a ram-headed God called “the Great Illuminator”; Sekhmet, lioness-headed; Osiris Khenty-Amentet; “the Cutter”, holding a blade; and Maat. -Behind Osiris, in the upper register, from left to right are represented Nephthys; a Goddess with the Deshret (the Red Crown), called “the Divine Goat”; Neith wearing the Hedjet (the White Crown); Henebty holding two crossed Heqa-scepters; and three Falcon-headed Gods, each holding the Serpent-staff and the Ankh; in the lower register are depicted twelve Goddesses (at right) and three Gods (at left, from top to bottom) with Their hands raised in adoration.

II DIVISION

VI DIVISION

 

VII DIVISION:

-in the first (upper) register, from right to left,
“the Noble One” (enthroned), “the Praising One” (Lioness-headed), and “the Living One” (Uraeus Goddess);
Osiris enthroned and encircled by the protective serpent Mehen;
three enemies of Osiris, bound and beheaded, and Medes-Hor (cat-headed) holding a pole and a blade;
three enemies of Osiris, lying on the ground and bound by “He Who punishes”;

-in the second register, from right to left,
three human-headed Ba-birds (the “Ba” is the soul) wearing the Double Crown;
Atum standing on the coil of a serpent;
and the Sacred Boat of Ra with Isis at the prow;

-in the third register, from right to left,
the cursed serpent apophis (the enemy of the Gods) bound and transfixed, and Serket and a God holding him in chains; four Goddesses holding knives; and four coffers;

-in the lower register, from right to left,
Horus enthroned, twelve Star-Gods (connected with the hours), and two of the twelve Goddesses of the hours

 

-in the upper register (from right to left),
Medes-Hor (with cat ears) holding a pole in His right and a blade in His left: He is one of the attendants of Osiris, “Whose duty is to chop off the heads of the enemies of Osiris”;
before Medes-Hor are represented three enemies of Osiris, bound and beheaded;
the Great God Osiris is represented enthroned, wearing the Double Feathered Crown with the Sun, holding the Ankh in His right, and encircled by the protective serpent Mehen: Mehen breathes fires against the enemies of Osiris;
behind Osiris are represented a human-headed Uraeus Goddess (“the Living One”) and a lioness-headed Goddess (“the Praising One”);

-in the lower register, the Sacred Boat of Ra with Isis at the prow; Isis is using Her magic power against the cursed serpent apophis (the enemy of the Gods); the cursed apophis is bound and transfixed with knifes, while the Goddess Serket (at his head) and a God hold him in chains; on the right, a Goddess (“She Who binds together”) holding a knife;
the Gods represented in the Boat of Ra are (from left to right),
“the Guide of the Bark”,
Hu (the God of authoritative utterance),
Nehes (the “Watcher”, Seth),
“the Ka of Maat”,
“Horus Hekenu”,
the Sun God Ra (represented in His ram-headed form and called “the Flesh of Ra”) standing in a Shrine enveloped and protected by the sacred serpent Mehen,
Heka (the God of Power and Magic),
Sia (the Divine Intellect),
and Isis.

 

scene from the highly sacred “Book of the AmDuat” (“the Book of what is in the Netherworld”), VII hour, top register, related to the retribution and punishment of the impious-ones (the rebels against Righteousness and Truth, here specifically the enemies of Osiris Who is for excellence He Who is Right and True and always benevolent) in the afterlife.
From the granite sarcophagus of King Ramses III, now in the Louvre Museum…

To the left are represented three enemies of the Gods, lying on the ground and bound by a God (to the right) Whose name is “the Punisher”. Above each one of the enemies is written “he who is bound”, and they are collectively called “those who have bound Osiris”.

Translation of the text related to this scene:
(from E.Hornung, “the Egyptian AmDuat”)

The majesty of this God (Ra) says:

“You who have bound Osiris and have rebelled against the Foremost of the NetherWorld,
slings are for your arms!
May your fetters be tight!
Annihilation is for your ba-souls,
hindering for your shadows!
The Punisher punishes you with His punishing knife,
and eternally you will not escape His watch!”

 

XI DIVISION:

 

scene from the highly sacred “Book of the AmDuat” (“the Book of what is in the Netherworld”), XI hour, detail of the lower register related to the retribution and punishment of the impious-ones (the rebels against Righteousness and Truth) in the afterlife.
From the funerary papyrus of Amenhophis, priest of Amon at Uaset-Thebes; dated to the XXI Dynasty, now in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin…

From left to right,
“Horus of the NetherWorld” (wearing the Solar Crown with the Uraeus), holding a staff, decrees the total annihilation of the impious-ones;
an upright sacred serpent, Whose name is “He Who burns millions”, breathing fire in a pit filled with fire;
a pit filled with fire, where are represented bound enemies of the Gods (above them is written “enemies”);
a Goddess (lioness-headed, wearing a red garment) Whose name is “She Who is above Her kettles”, holding a knife and breathing fire in the pit;
another pit of fire, contaning the corpses of the enemies of the Gods;
and a Goddess Whose name is “She Who is above Her pits”, holding a knife and breathing fire in the pit