Author Description

The true title of The Book of the Dead of the ancient Egyptians is The Book of Coming Forth by Day, with 'day' being a reference not only to the world of the living, but also to any luminous principle opposed to darkness, oblivion, annihilation, and death. According to the religion of Ancient Egypt, the deceased sought to travel on the boat of the sun-god Ra and cross the realm of Osiris, the god of the dead. To guide it in the other world, the dead carried its funerary book with itself. These are rolls of papyrus, covered with mortuary formulas, placed next to the mummy in the sarcophagi. Each Book of the Dead is different, one being written for each person. This occurred because the beneficiary chose the formulas that suited it, probably according to what it could afford, since the production of these manuscripts represented a significant investment. For this reason, some Books of the Dead are shorter and less elaborate, while others contain almost all known formulas and prayers and were richly illuminated. This edition brings an anthology of hymns compiled from several Egyptian funerary books, the Book of the Dead of priests, officials, singers, dancers, and others who lived and died millennia ago, in an extremely religious society. In addition to the original hymns, this book contains an introduction to the Book of the Dead, written by the prestigious English archaeologist and Egyptologist Wallis E. A. Budge.