The Amduat Essay

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The Amduat The Amduat also called the ‘The Book of the Secret Chamber’ is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that was used in the tombs of pharaohs or favored nobility. The Amduat’s literal meaning is “that which is in the afterworld”. The Amduat is an illustrated funerary text that was intended as a guidebook of sorts to the afterlife for pharaohs and was a long tradition in Egyptian burials. It was not until the 21st Dynasty that the text was used in tombs other than pharaohs or nobility. The Amduat’s textual, iconographic, and symbolic content are an intrinsic part of Egyptian art history. The Amduat dates back to the time of the 18th Dynasty, the 19th Dynasty, and the 20th Dynasty, 1550 – 1080 BC, which is called the New Kingdom time period. The kings of the 18th Dynasty were called Tuthmosis. All of the kings of the New Kingdom were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The first known appearance of the Amduat was in the Valley of the Kings, in the tomb of Tuthmosis I. The Amduat was initially intended for royal tombs but it also seen in tombs, such as one belonging to the vizier, who was not of royal descent, but appointed office by the king and was held accountable only to the king. Although the Amduat was a guide for the Pharaoh, it also gave assurance to all Egyptians that the life they knew would continue and the sun would rise again. Egyptians took very seriously as well as literally the cycle of life and pleasing the Gods. The Amduat was a literal guide to assure a safe passage from this world into the next. The description was painted on the walls of the chamber or tomb like a roadmap. This roadmap goes through the twelve hours of the night, with each hour drawn showing the god Re, the Egyptian sun god, joining the deceased pharaoh on his journey to the netherworld. In “The Sungod’s Journey through the Netherworld”, Schweizer and Lorton

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