Through the Eras

ReligionAn illustration of one of the entrances to the Egyptian afterlife, from the Book of Portals. The soul had to know the proper spell toget past the snake. © GIANNI DAGLI ORTI/CORBIS. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.Middle Kingdom (2008–1630 B.C.E.), the idea of a postmortemlife in the underworld realm of Osiris becamemore prominent, but was not the exclusive goal of thedeceased. The New Kingdom (1539–1075 B.C.E.) Bookof the Dead placed even more emphasis on the Osirianhereafter.DANGEROUS JOURNEY. The journey to the realmof Osiris was fraught with danger. The paths of the underworldwere guarded by knife-wielding demons that layin wait for the unprepared dead. At times these demonsguarded gates through which the deceased had to pass.In addition, these gates could be guarded by encirclingwalls of flame. During the New Kingdom, the numberof gates through which the dead had to pass was variouslygiven as seven (Book of the Dead Spell 147) ortwenty-one (Book of the Dead Spells 145 and 146). Thekey to safely negotiating these dangers was a knowledgeof the names of the demons and obstacles which one waslikely to encounter. Knowing their names rendered themunable to harm the deceased. Such knowledge was availablein the texts buried with the deceased.FIELD OF REEDS. After finally reaching the Hall ofOsiris, the deceased had to undergo the final judgmentand the weighing of his heart against the feather of maat(truth) in the presence of Osiris and the 42 judges of theafterlife. If the applicant passed successfully, he was admittedto the paradise of Osiris, referred to as the “Fieldof Reeds” or “Field of Offerings.” This realm was modeledon Egypt itself. The land was crisscrossed by irrigationcanals, and the deceased was responsible for suchagricultural tasks as plowing, sowing, and reaping. Sincethis was paradise, the fruits of such labor were muchgreater. Wheat was said to grow to a height of five cubits(2.29 meters), with ears two cubits (.91 meters) in length.Barley grew seven cubits (3.2 meters) high, with ears ofthree cubits (1.37 meters). In order to avoid performingArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 245