Duat

The 'Weighing of the Heart' from the Book of the Dead from the Papyrus of Hunefer, dated to the 19th Dynasty around 1275 BCE. The deceased Hunefer is taken into the judgment hall by the deity Anubis, who weighs a portion of Hunefer's soul, represented by his heart. This ritual is completed with Ammit the Devourer awaiting the result, and Thoth recording. Next, the triumphant Hunefer, having passed the test, is presented by the falcon-headed Horus to Osiris, seated in his shrine with Isis, Nephthys and the four sons of Horus.[1]

The Duat or Tuat (Ancient Egyptian: Hieroglyph: 𓇽 romanized: dwꜣt) is a concept in ancient Egyptian mythology involving death. It is most often seen as a realm where people go after they die. Due to linguistic shifts within Ancient Egypt, the Duat has also been called Te (Coptic: Ⲧⲏ, romanized: ) and Amenthes (Ancient Greek: Ἀμένθης, romanizedAménthēs).

What is known of the Duat derives principally from funerary texts such as the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, the Coffin Texts, the Amduat, and the Book of the Dead, among many other sources.[2][3] It is generally is known best as a dark subterranean realm that not only houses the deceased, but a variety of deities.[4] Common deities depicted in these texts are Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Horus, and Maat in various forms.[1] While all of these documents involve the Duat, each of them fulfilled a different purpose and depict the Duat in a variety of unique ways.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b "Egyptian Book of the Dead". 2012-09-26. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Taylor-2010-BkotDd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Faulkner-2000-EBotD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Hornung, Erik (2013). The Egyptian Book of Gates. Living Human Heritage Publications. ISBN 978-3-9523880-5-1.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Taylor-2001-DthAftrlf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Zago, Silvia (2018). "Imagining the Beyond: The Conceptualization of Duat between the Old and the Middle Kingdoms". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 54: 203–218. ISSN 0065-9991. JSTOR 27325386.

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