Egypt & Near East
Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead (rw nw prt m hrw)
Reciting its spells carries one past the dangers of the underworld to the paradise of Osiris.
BookFirst recorded c. 1550 BCE
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Photograph: A wooden boat model from Middle Kingdom Egypt. On a green boat with a raised sail stand figures of a rower, a seated person and a steersman.
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3,000 × 2,000 PX3000×2000
ArchiveEgypt & Near East · Mount
Solar Barque of Ra
Solar Barque of Ra
Crossing the sky by day and the underworld by night, it makes the sun rise again.
- Owner
- Ra, god of the sun
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Pyramid Textsc. 2400 BCE
- Gallery
- Egypt & Near East
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
The ancient Egyptians believed the sun crossed the sky in a boat. In the morning the sun god Ra rose in the east in a boat called Mandjet, and in the evening he changed to Mesektet and entered the underworld beyond the western horizon.
In the night world the giant serpent Apep lay waiting to swallow the sun. The gods aboard, Set above all, had to fight off Apep so that the sun could rise again the next morning.
Pharaohs hoped after death to board this boat and travel the sky with Ra. The ship 43 meters long found beside the pyramid of Khufu is regarded as evidence of this belief.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Model boat(Middle Kingdom, ca. 1981–1802 B.C.), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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