Description of the drawing of the court of Osiris. Higher courts

Burial, the path through the Duat and the judgment of Osiris. Judgment of Osiris and eternal life in the fields of Jaru. Egyptian mythology

Before crossing the threshold of the Hall, the deceased must turn to Ra:
- Glory to you, great god, Lord of the Two Truths! I have come to you, oh my lord! I was brought so that I could behold your perfection. I know you, I know your name, I know the names of the forty-two gods who are with you in the Hall of the Two Truths, who live as guardians of sinners, who drink the blood on this day of testing [of people] in the presence of Unnefer.
“He whose beloved twins are the Two Eyes, the Lord of the Two Truths” - this is your name. I came to see you, I brought you Two Truths, I removed my sins for your sake.
The deceased will be listened to by the Great Ennead - the gods who administer Judgment, and the Lesser Ennead - the gods of cities and nomes. The Great Ennead includes Ra, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Nephthys, Isis, Horus, Hathor, Hu and Sia. The heads of the judges are decorated with the feather of Maat.
In the face of the Great Ennead, the deceased must pronounce the “Confession of Denial” - list forty-two crimes and swear to the gods that he is not guilty of any of them:

I did not commit injustice against people.
I did not oppress my neighbors.<…>
I didn't rob the poor.
I did not do anything that was not pleasing to the gods.
I did not incite the servant against his master.
I didn't poison<…>

Having named all the crimes, the deceased must swear:
- I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean! My purity is the purity of the Great Benu, which is in Nenini-sut.<…>No harm will come to me in the Great Hall of the Two Truths, for I know the names of the gods who dwell there with you.
After the “Confession of Denial,” the deceased must appear before the Lesser Ennead and, in the same way, calling each of the forty-two gods by name, assure them of his non-involvement in the crimes.
It is noteworthy that in the New Kingdom the pharaoh also had to justify himself before the Afterlife Court and have ushabti (see below).
The gods will then proceed to weigh the heart on the Scales of Truth. The heart will be placed on one bowl of Libra, and the feather of the goddess Maat on the other. If the arrow of the scales deviates, it means that the deceased is sinful, and the Great Ennead will pronounce a guilty verdict on him. Then the sinful heart will be given to the terrible goddess Amt (Ammat) (Fig. 213) - “The Devourer,” a monster with the body of a hippopotamus, lion paws and mane, and the mouth of a crocodile. If the scales of Libra remain in balance, the deceased will be recognized as “right-hearted” (Fig. 214, 215).

Rice. 213. Amt.

Rice. 214. Judgment of Osiris.
Left: Anubis brought the deceased
to the Great Hall of Two Truths.
Center: Anubis weighs on the Scales of Truth,
depicted as the goddess Maat,
heart of the deceased; on the right side of Libra -
feather Ma'at, symbolic "truth";
God Thoth writes down the weighing result
and sentence; next to Libra - Amt.
Above: the deceased pronounces an acquittal
speech before the Great Ennead, headed by
god Ra. Right: The choir brought the deceased
after the acquittal
before the face of Osiris. At the foot of the throne -
sons of Horus in a lotus flower; upstairs -
winged Solar Eye with the feather of Maat;
behind the throne are Isis and Nephthys.
Drawing from the “Book of the Dead” (“Papyrus of Ani”);
XIX Dynasty; British Museum, London.

Rice. 215. Judgment of Osiris.
In the center of the top row is the deceased,
under his outstretched arms there are two eyes,
symbolizing the act of return
justified deceased vision.
Next in the top row is an ornament of uraei,
lamps and hieroglyphs “shu” (air) -
allegory of returning the deceased's ability
see the light and breathe; at the edges there are two baboons
with scales. Middle row: deceased
makes excuses in front of
Great and Lesser Enneads. In the bottom row
from right to left: the deceased surrounded by the “Two Truths”;
Anubis and Chorus, weighing the heart on the Scales of Truth,
crowned with an image of a baboon;
god of magic Heka, seated on the image of a rod -
symbol of power; That; Amt; sons of Horus in a lotus flower;
Osiris on the throne. Above Amt are two patron gods,
left - Shai. Between Amt and Thoth - the name Meskhent
and her image in the form of a maternity brick
with a woman's head. Drawing from the Book of the Dead
(“Papyrus of the scribe Nesmin”); IV century BC e.; Hermitage.

Why the sinful heart should have been lighter (or heavier) than the feather of Maat is unknown. A number of Egyptologists are of the opinion (shared by the author) that the Libra served as a kind of “lie detector” for the afterlife judges: the weighing of the heart was carried out not after the “Confession of Denial” and the second acquittal speech, but simultaneously with them - throughout the entire interrogation, the heart rested on the scales , and if the deceased turned out to be guilty of any of the crimes, then as soon as he began to swear to the contrary, the arrow was immediately deflected.

It seems to the author that the ancient Egyptian mythical action of weighing the heart symbolically expresses the spiritual meaning of confession as such - a meaning that is apparently the same in all religions, regardless of differences in the external attributes of the confessional rite.
It is known that a person, having committed an act contrary to morality, involuntarily (this process is unconscious) seeks, and therefore finds, an excuse, the essence of which usually boils down to the fact that the act was forced by circumstances, and not committed by free will. When talking about such an act or remembering it, a person feels the need to give reasons justifying it; if he does not have such an opportunity, he is immediately overcome by a certain internal anxiety, discomfort.
Fiction has described many times how in such a situation one wants to “look away”, “change the topic of conversation”, etc. The rite of confession does not allow any kind of justification - only “let your word be: “yes, yes” ", "no no"; and anything beyond this is from the evil one” (Matt. 5:37). Thus, a person who has convinced himself of his own sinlessness (or, in relation to Christianity, of the sincerity of his repentance for sin), declaring his sinlessness (repentance) out loud and being deprived of the opportunity to add anything, will immediately feel this very inner discomfort - “the heart will expose the lie,” and the Libra arrow will deviate.
After weighing the heart, the gods will begin interrogating the deceased:
- Who are you? Say your name.
- I am the lower shoot of papyrus. The one who is in his Olive. Here's my name.
-Where did you come from?<…>
- I came from a city that lies north of Oliva.
When the interrogation is over, Meschent, Shai, the goddess will appear before Ra-Horakhty and both Enneads good luck Renenutet and Ba of the deceased. They will testify to the character of the deceased and tell the gods what good and bad deeds he committed in life.
Isis, Nephthys, Serket and Neith will defend the deceased before the judges.
When the Great Ennead announces a verdict of not guilty, the god Thoth will write it down. After this the deceased will be told:
- So, come in. Cross the threshold of the Chamber of Two Truths, for you know us.
The deceased must kiss the threshold, call it (the threshold) by name and name all the guards - only after this can he finally enter the shadow of the Great Hall of Two Truths, where the Lord of the Dead Osiris himself sits on the throne, surrounded by Isis, Maat, Nephthys and the sons of Horus in the lotus flower.
The arrival of the deceased will be announced by the divine scribe Thoth:
“Come in,” he will say. - Why did you come?
“I came so that they would announce me,” the deceased must answer.
- What state are you in?
- I am cleansed of sins.<…>
-Who should I tell about you?
- Tell about me to the One Whose vault is made of fire. Whose walls are made of living snakes and Whose floor is a stream of water.
- Tell me, who is it? - will ask that last question that needs to be answered:
- This is Osiris.
“Truly, truly [to him] they will say [your name], - He will exclaim, rejoicing that the deceased is pure before the great ruler of the Duat Osiris and is worthy to reunite with him.
Initially, there was another idea - that the Afterlife Court was headed by Ra (Fig. 216). This idea lasted until the Ptolemaic period, but was much less popular.

Rice. 216. Ra-Horakhti, the leader
Afterlife Court.
Painting a canopic box; XX Dynasty;
Louvre, Paris.

The trial will end here, and the Egyptian will go to the place of eternal bliss - to the Fields of Reeds, Fields of Iara. The guardian god Shai takes him there. The path to the blessed monastery is blocked by a gate, the last obstacle on the path of the deceased. They will also have to be conjured:
- Give me the way. I know [you]. I know the name of [your] guardian god. Name of the gate: "Lords of fear, whose walls are high<…>Lords of destruction, uttering words that bridle the destroyers, who save from destruction the one who comes.” Your gatekeeper's name: "He who [instills] terror."
In the Fields of Iaru, the “right-minded” deceased will have the same life that he led on earth, only happier and richer. He will not lack anything, he will not experience need for anything. The servants depicted on the walls of the tomb will cultivate his fields (Fig. 217), graze livestock, and work in workshops. Seven Hathor, Nepri, Nepit, Serket and other deities will make his afterlife arable lands fertile (Fig. 218), and his cattle fat and fertile.

Rice. 217. Agricultural work in the Fields of Iaru.

Rice. 218. Worship of the gods and harvesting
in the Fields of Iaru.
Fragment of the painting of the tomb of Senedjem
in Deir el-Medina; XIX-XX dynasties.

The deceased will not have to work himself - he will only enjoy his vacation! He will not need to cultivate the fields and graze cattle, because figurines of servants and slaves and ushabti figurines will be placed in the tomb.
Ushabti - “defendant”. The sixth chapter of the “Book of the Dead” talks about “how to make a ushabti work”: when in the Fields of Iar the gods call the deceased to work, calling him by name, the ushabti must come forward and respond: “Here I am!”, after which he will unquestioningly go go where they order, and will do what they order.
Figures and figurines, the purpose of which was to serve in the Duat of the deceased - the owner of the tomb, can be divided into two groups (In popular publications on Egyptology, they are sometimes not distinguished and are called by the general term “ushabti”).
The first group, conventionally called “servant figurines,” includes figurines depicting people at various jobs: plowmen, porters, brewers (Fig. 219), scribes (Fig. 220), weavers, shipbuilders (Fig. 221), overseers, etc. . e. The presence of such figurines in tombs possibly dates back to ancient custom at the funeral of the leader, kill his slaves, servants and wives and bury them near the burial of the master.

Rice. 219. Maid preparing beer.
Limestone painted figurine;
Archaeological Museum, Florence.

Rice. 220. Scribes.
Wooden painted figurines;
Middle Kingdom; Pushkin Museum.

Rice. 221. Rooks with ship squads.
Painted tree; Middle Kingdom.

In the Old Kingdom, “servant figurines” were made of wood and stone, starting from the Middle Kingdom - almost exclusively of wood. All types of figurines have a fairly strict canon of depiction: for example, brewers are always depicted kneading dough for barley loaves (from which beer was made) in a mortar, weavers are squatting at the looms, etc. In rich burials with a large number of “servant figurines” » the figures were usually combined into groups and mounted on a board; each group gradually depicted the entire process of preparing a particular product - like compositions in tomb paintings depicting one or another workshop of a noble household (see, for example, Fig. 184).
The second group consists of ushabti - figurines made of faience, wood or clay in the form of swaddled mummies with hoes in their hands (Fig. 222, left) or in ordinary clothes (the so-called “ushebti in the clothes of the living”) (Fig. 222, right). Ushabti sometimes depicted the owner of the tomb himself (Fig. 223), but more often they were purely conventional images, without individual portrait features (made in workshops using the “in-line method”). An inscription was made on the ushabti-mummy - the so-called. “Ushabti formula” (quote from the 6th chapter of the “Book of the Dead”), full or abbreviated. Sometimes ushabti mummies were placed in a coffin (Fig. 224).

Rice. 222. Ushebti of the New Kingdom.
Left: ushebti in the form of a mummified man;
in the vertical column - “ushabti formula”.
On the right is the so-called "to be killed in the clothes of the living"
with the inscription "Osiris Khonsu" (that is, "deceased
[an Egyptian named] Khonsu."
Clay painted figurines;
XIX Dynasty; Pushkin Museum.

Rice. 223. Ushabti of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
with the attributes of royal power -
a scepter-staff and a triple whip in his hands.
XVIII Dynasty; Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Rice. 224. Ushabti in the sarcophagus.
XIX Dynasty; Pushkin Museum.

The purpose of the ushabti, in contrast to the “servant figurine,” is not to work in the Duat for the owner of the tomb, but to replace him when the owner himself is called upon, as the “formula” says, “to transport sand from East to West.” What is meant by "carrying sand" is unclear; perhaps this is just a metaphor, denoting either simply hard work, or the “afterlife analogue” of state labor service for free citizens of Egypt (which in different times there were, for example, work on the construction of pyramids, in the nobles’ or temple households, transportation of statues to tombs, etc.).
Ushabti appear in the New Kingdom, and from the same time “servant figurines” disappear from tombs.
“Ushabti in the clothes of the living” were made only during the 19th dynasty. Explaining such iconography is difficult; some researchers associate it with echoes of the beliefs of the period of the sun-worshipping revolution, when it was believed that the “soul” of the deceased spent the day among the living (see p. 183).
In the tomb, the ushabti were placed in special boxes (Fig. 225).

Rice. 225. Ushabti box
with the image of the deceased and his wife.
XVIII Dynasty; Pushkin Museum.

The nobles usually took 360 ushabti with them to the Duat - one for each day of the year; for the poor, the ushabti was replaced by a papyrus scroll with a list of 360 such workers. In the Fields of Iaru with the help magic spells the little men named in the list were embodied in ushabti and worked for their master (Fig. 226).

Rice. 226. Fields of Jaru.
To the left and above are scenes of worship.
deceased to the gods of the Underworld;
in the center - agricultural work in the Fields of Iaru;
below - day and night Boats of the Sun,
on which the deceased(?) travels along with Ra’s retinue.
Drawing from the “Book of the Dead” (“Papyrus of the scribe Nesmin”);
IV century BC e.; Hermitage.

The oldest religious texts tell us that the Egyptians were preparing for Last Judgment. This is described on the Book of the Dead papyri. Their heart was the center of all feelings, desires and passions, where good and evil fought. Life came from it. Two personalities associated with inner world, called "ka", were in constant struggle. Chapters XXVI-XXXB describe spells that helped them cope with evil spirits.

Chapter CXXV of the Book of the Dead is devoted to a description of the judgment of Osiris. It is divided into three parts, beginning with the hymn of Osiris. The first part tells what is said to the deceased when he enters the Kingdom of the Dead:

"Oh, Great Mister kingdom of the dead, I have come to you, my lord! Will you be kind to me? I know you, I know your name and the names of the forty-two who live with you in other world protecting sinners. I came to you and brought maat (truth, honesty) to you. I struggled with sin for you. I have not sinned against people. Didn't oppress my relatives. I haven't done anything wrong in my life. I did not offend the oppressed. I didn't do anything you didn't want. I didn't hurt anyone. Didn't leave anyone hungry. I did not destroy the temples where sacrifices were made. I have not committed adultery, I have not desecrated any sacred place my city. I didn't steal the offerings. I did not encroach on (others') fields. I did not weigh or take milk from the children. He did not drive the cattle away from his pastures. I didn't make a dam for the canal. And did not extinguish the fire when it should be burning. I did not eat prohibited meat. I followed God's orders. I'm clean. I'm clean. I'm clean..."

The second part of Chapter CXXV of the Book of the Dead describes how Osiris is seated in the center of the Judgment Hall, accompanied by Law and Truth and forty-two angels who assist him. Each of them represents one of the nomes of Ancient Egypt and has a symbolic name. When the deceased enters the courtroom, he sees two rows of angels, 21 on each side of the hall. At the end of it, next to Osiris are the Great Libra Anpu (Anubis) and Amemit, who devours those who turned out to be wicked and were condemned by Osiris. The deceased is walking along the hall and addressing each of the 42 angels by name, he says that he has not committed sins:

“O Usekh-nemmit, who came from Anu, I have committed no sin.”
“O Fenti, who came from Hemenu, I did not rob.”
“O Neha-hua, who came from Re-Gnau, I did not kill people.”
“O Heaven, I did not take from the altars.”
“O Set-kesu, who came from Hensu, I did not lie.”
“O Uammti, who came from Hebi, I did not defile the wife of any of the men.”
“O Maa-anuf, who came from Per, I did not defile.”
“O Tm-Sen, who came from Tetu, I did not curse the king.”
“O Nefer-Tem, who came forward from Het-ka-Ptah, I did not act by deception and did not commit evil.”
“O Nekhen, who came from Hekate, I am not deaf to the words of the Law (Truth).”

Theme of religious and mystical views has been of interest to humanity for a long time, even before jurisprudence came into my sphere of interests. However, previously I somehow did not pay attention to the fact that people’s ideas on the most important issues for each individual person: the correctness of his actions, their assessment after his death and the appropriate retribution for cases, have a close connection with legal proceedings.

In fact, the judicial topic was generally very important for people almost always, even in times when there was no court in the form we are familiar with. Because, in fact, there have always been various disputes (as well as quarrels and conflicts) between people that needed to be resolved somehow. After all, even under the primitive system, disputes that arose were resolved by a general meeting of all adult members of the clan, which actually performed a judicial function.

Taking into account the above, attributing the most important issues for each person to the jurisdiction of higher (unearthly) judicial authorities is a completely logical reflection of the most important human need for the protection of his rights and interests, as well as the fair resolution of cases.

One of these instances, information about which has reached us, is the Court of Osiris, described in the ancient Egyptian book known to us as the “Book of the Dead,” although the translation, according to scientists, is not entirely correct. Despite the fact that in various chapters of the book you can find lines related to the topic of the trial, chapter 125 is of greatest interest, which, in fact, describes trial. I will try without being too distracted by the description Egyptian gods And various parts, give the essence of the process itself. And how it turns out, of course, is not for me to judge.

The judgment itself takes place, as can be understood from what I said earlier, after the death of a person. Chapter 125 of the book describes the trial of a dead person. The action takes place in the Hall of Both Maat (Two Truths).

The review is carried out collegiately. In this regard, at one time there was some confusion regarding the exact number of Egyptian gods performing the functions of judges, since some sources indicate the participation of 42 gods in the process, besides Osiris, while others indicate 54. Reading the “Book of the Dead” in the original, for me, at least, it is equivalent to a “walking walk” from Moscow to Egypt.

However, later I came to the conclusion that, most likely, there is no particular discrepancy, since the process itself is quite interesting and original.

The main board includes 43 deities, one of which, Osiris, endowed with the epithets “King and Judge”, is essentially the presiding deity. It is to these gods that one will turnthe second (in essence, main) exculpatory speech of the deceased. The number of members on the board is certainly impressive. However, they are not present for the purpose of mass participation, as I will explain later. N called board Also known as the Little Ennead.

But there are 12 more deities who t O also take a direct part in the process (Great Ennead). Therefore, the total number of participating deities is exactly 54, not counting Osiris.

Conventionally, the process can be divided into 3 significant parts: the speech to the Great Ennead and the study of evidence (or rather, the main evidence); speech of the deceased to the Lesser Ennead; And,in fact, the third part can be attributedexecution: punishment that occurred almost immediately, or - with a favorable outcome - a decision to accept Kingdom of Osiris.

Of interest is the procedure for studying the main evidence in the form of weighing the heart on scales. On one pan of the scales lay the heart of the person being judged, on the other was the feather of the goddess Maat - a symbol of truth, justice and law. 12 deities belonging to the so-called Great Ennead take part in the weighing. No one, regardless of origin, can avoid this procedure - it is strictly mandatory.

As you can see, the research procedure takes place directly in the courtroom, and 12 divine beings take part in this, which is also impressive. Looking ahead a little, I will say that the results of the study are necessarily reflected in written document e. The god Thoth, who is not part of the Great Ennead, is responsible for this. The weighing process itself is controlled directly by Anubis, as well as by Thoth, who is not related to the Great Ennead. Am-mit is also present here. In fact, the last two are interested in an unfavorable result for the “defendant”.

At the same time, such an order with the participation of at least 15 divine beings excludes any manipulation of facts or influence on the process that could change its course. Although, as I pointed out, those interested in an unfavorable outcome still exist.

Before the weighing procedure begins, the “defendant” addresses the Great Ennead with his first acquittal speech:« I didn't harm people. I did not harm the livestock. I have committed no sin in the place of Truth. I didn't do anything bad... ».

Subsequently, the deceased also addresses the second board - the Lesser Ennead - the presiding Osiris and other 42 deities (gods of the nomes) with a speech in which he testifies that during his lifetime he was not a sinner and did not do bad deeds:«... So I came to you. I brought you the truth, I drove away the lies for you. I have not dealt unjustly with anyone; I didn't kill people.."

An interesting fact is that each of the 42 deities is responsible for a strictly defined sin or offense. Therefore, the “defendant” is forced to address each member of the court, and not just the presiding judge:« O Eater of entrails, who came out of the court of thirty, I did not usury”; “O serpent Uamemti, who came out of the place of execution, I did not commit adultery.” etc.

These taboos are also known as42 negative confessions or principles of Maat.

With this procedure, each member of the board, in essence, makes a decisionas to whether there was or was not a violation by the deceased of a taboo attributed to the relevant deity.

The curious thing is and the fact that the deceased is not entitled to any other defenders except himself.

If there are fewer good deeds done during life than sins and misdeeds, the scales with the heart tip the scales. In this unfortunate case for the deceased, punishment immediately follows - his souleats tflabby monster Am-mit. In other words, punishment immediately follows the discovery of unrighteousness. P re-weighing procedure,as well as any appeal or review are not provided, since the peculiarity of the process itself excludes the possibility of error.

If the scales are in balance, or if the heart turns out to be lighter (and this is an extremely rare case), one of those who took part in the weighing of the heart, the god Horus, together with the deceased, approaches Osiris, reports to the presiding officer that the weighing confirmed the righteousness of the “defendant” and petitions for the need to admit the latter into the Kingdom of Osiris and the rest write in it: « I came to you, O Onuphry, and I brought the deceased to you. His heart is righteous, and it has come off the scales... Grant that cakes and beer may be given to him, and grant him to appear in the presence of the god Osiris, and grant him to be like the followers of Horus forever and ever.”

What is interesting: The Book of the Dead also gives tricks used to incline justice in favor of the deceased, but they are so frivolous that they were not given any worthy attention or significance. But still: the ideas of trying to influence the court, to mislead it, apparently, were also relevant and popular at all times...

In general, the Judgment of Osiris is characterized as absolutelyimpartial, and his actions and decisions in no way depend on the origin of those subject to trial.

However, I must note that such signs were not always noted in the courts of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, which have some similarities (not the procedure of weighing the heart!) with the Judgment of Osiris...

1. Gods and priests. The ancient Egyptians believed that people and nature were controlled powerful gods. If people do not please the gods, they will become angry and bring disaster to the entire country. Therefore, they tried to appease them with gifts, begging for mercy and mercy.

People built houses for the gods - temples. They carved large statues of gods from stone and made figurines from bronze or clay. The Egyptians believed that God inhabited the image and heard everything that people said and accepted their gifts.

At the temples there were priests - servants of the gods. It was believed that it was the priest who knew best how to talk to God - he knew special prayers that were kept secret from other people. The chief priest entered the temple where the god lived. He rubbed the statue with fragrant oils, dressed it, offered a tasty treat, and then walked away, backing away so as not to turn his back on God. The pharaohs gave the temples gardens and arable land, gold and silver, and numerous slaves. Gifts were made to the gods who supposedly lived in the temples. The priests disposed of them.

The priests were rich and powerful because the Egyptians believed that they spoke for the gods themselves.

2. What did the Egyptians say about their gods? The Egyptians considered the Sun to be the most important and beautiful god. The Sun God was called Ra, Amon or Amon-Ra. Every morning Amon-Ra appears in the east. While the day lasts, he slowly sails across the sky in his magnificent boat. On the head of the god a round solar disk sparkles dazzlingly. Plants come to life, people and animals rejoice, birds sing, glorifying Amun-Ra. But now the day is approaching evening, because the boat of Amon-Ra descends from the heavens. At the western edge of the sky she floats through the gate underground kingdom. Here, the god of light Amon-Ra enters into mortal combat with the god of darkness, a fierce serpent whose name is Apbp. The battle continues all night. When the serpent is defeated, the crown of the sun god shines again, heralding the coming of a new day.

People live on earth, and above them lies a huge tent of heaven. The Egyptians depicted the god of the earth named Geb as a man with the head of a snake: after all, a snake is the most “earthly” animal. The sky goddess Nut was represented as a cow with a body strewn with stars.

The Sun God Amon-Ra in a heavenly boat.

Amun-Ra in the guise of a cat defeats the god of darkness Apep. Based on ancient Egyptian images.

The sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb.

In the beginning, Earth and Heaven were inseparable: Nut was the wife, and Geb was the husband.

Every evening Nut gave birth to stars. And all night they floated along her body, to the edge of the sky.

And early in the morning, when Amon-Ra appeared, Nut swallowed all her children. Geb was angry with his wife, saying: “You are like a pig devouring its own piglets.” It ended with Geb and Nut beginning to live separately: the sky rose high above the earth.

The god of wisdom, Thoth, was especially respected - he has the head of an ibis bird with a long beak. It was he who taught people to read and write. Goddess Bastet - a flexible cat - is the patroness of women and their beauty.

The Egyptians worshiped animals - birds, snakes, fish, insects. At one of the temples in Memphis they kept a large black bull with a white mark on its forehead. His name was Apis. The whole country was plunged into sadness when this bull died. The priests were then looking for a new Apis. Archaeologists find in the sands of Egypt entire cemeteries of sacred bulls, cats, crocodiles, buried according to special rules.

3. Myth 1 about Osiris and Isis. Once upon a time the god Osiris was the king of Egypt. Large dark eyes sparkled on his dark face, and his hair was shiny and black, like the land itself on the banks of the Nile. Good Osiris taught the Egyptians to grow grain and grapes and bake bread. younger brother Osiris - Set was the god of the desert and sandstorms. He had small, angry eyes and sandy hair.

Set was jealous of Osiris and hated him. One day Seth came to a feast in the royal palace. Servants carried behind him a luxurious coffin, decorated with images and inscriptions. “Whoever fits this precious coffin,” said Seth, “will get it!” The guests were not surprised by the gift: the Egyptians from a young age prepared for life in the “land of the dead.” One by one the guests lay down in the coffin, but it was too big for them. It was Osiris' turn. As soon as he lay down on the bottom of the wooden box, Seth's servants slammed the lid. They picked up the coffin and threw it into the waters of the Nile. Osiris died.

1 Myth - a legend about gods and legendary heroes.

Isis with the baby Horus. Ancient Egyptian sculpture.

I cried bitterly faithful wife Osiris is the goddess Isis. She was hiding from Seth in dense thickets on the banks of the Nile. Babysat there little son- the god Horus. When Horus matured, he decided to take revenge on Set for the death of his father. Horus entered into single combat with him and defeated the enemy in a fierce battle. Isis searched for a long time in the swamps of the delta for the coffin with her husband’s body. Having found it, she miraculously revived Osiris. God resurrected, but did not want to stay on earth. He became a king and judge in the “land of the dead,” and Horus became the patron saint of earthly pharaohs. Isis became the protector of all wives and mothers.

In Egypt, the most difficult time of the year is the drought in May - early June. The Egyptians believed that Osiris died then. But then the waters of the Nile overflowed, the fields and trees turned green - Osiris came to life again.

4. What did the Egyptians say about the “land of the dead”. There is light and warmth, blue water flows in the canals, grain ripens in the fields and sweet dates grow on the palm trees. But not everyone will be allowed to live in that kingdom after death.

The god Anubis, who is depicted with the body of a man and the black head of a jackal, is in charge there. Taking the deceased by the hand, he leads him to the court of Osiris, who sits on the throne with a rod and a whip in his hands. The deceased, standing in white robes, swears:

“I did no harm. I didn't kill. I didn't order the killing. I didn't steal. I didn't lie. I wasn't the reason for the tears. I did not raise my hand to the weak. I wasn't jealous.

Horus with the head of a falcon defeats Set with the head of a donkey.

Goddess of truth Maat. Ancient Egyptian image.

I didn't curse. I did not say anything bad about the king. I did not neglect the gods. I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean!

The testimony of the deceased is recorded by the god Thoth. The veracity of the oath is checked: a person’s heart is placed on one scale, and on the other - a figurine of the goddess of truth - Maat. Balance means that the deceased did not lie: he was a kind and righteous person. Next to the scales, a ferocious monster with the body of a lion and the toothy mouth of a crocodile rests on its front paws. It is ready to swallow the one who did evil during his life. And the righteous will be allowed into the wonderful fields of the dead.

But to exist in the “land of the dead,” a person needs a body into which his soul could inhabit again. Therefore, the Egyptians were very concerned about preserving the body of the deceased. It was dried, soaked in resin and wrapped in thin bandages - it turned into a mummy. Then the mummy was placed in a coffin decorated with drawings and inscriptions - a sarcophagus on which spells were written and gods were depicted. The tomb where the sarcophagus stood was considered the home of the deceased.

Judgment of Osiris. Ancient Egyptian drawing on papyrus.

5. The Egyptians deified the pharaoh and called him the son of the Sun. They believed that Amon-Ra was a king among the gods, and his son, Pharaoh, was a king among the people inhabiting Egypt. Without a pharaoh, just like without the Sun, life on earth is impossible. The Egyptians prayed to the pharaoh to make sure that the fields had a good harvest, and livestock would produce offspring: cows - calves, sheep - lambs. The Nile flooded regularly at certain times of the year, but the Egyptians said that there would be no flood unless the Pharaoh ordered the river to flood. Everything must obey the will of the pharaoh - not only people, but also nature itself.

Explain the meaning of the words: temple, priest, statue, sarcophagus, mummy. Test yourself. 1. Who owns the names Amon-Ra, Apep, Geb and Nut, Bastet, Apis, Osiris and Isis, Set, Thoth, Horus, Anubis, Maat? What did the Egyptians say about each of them? 2. What natural phenomena are reflected in the myths about Osiris and Set, about Hebe and Nut? 3. For what purpose was the body of the deceased turned into a mummy? 4. Why were the priests rich and powerful?

Describe the ancient Egyptian drawing on papyrus “The Judgment of Osiris” (see p. 55) according to the plan - from left to right: 1) the jackal god and the deceased: 2) recording the testimony of the deceased and weighing the heart; 3) the god Horus with an acquitted man at trial: 4) the appearance of Osiris - the ruler of the “land of the dead.”

Think about why the Egyptians revered Amon-Ra as their main god. To answer, remember how the worship of the Sun is connected with the main occupation of the Egyptians. What role do sunlight and heat play in plant growth?

Before crossing the threshold of the Great Hall, the deceased addressed solar god Ra:

- Glory to you, great god, Lord of the Two Truths! I have come to you, oh my lord! I was brought so that I could behold your perfection. I know you, I know your name, I know the names of the forty-two gods who are with you in the Hall of the Two Truths, who live as guardians of sinners, who drink the blood on this day of testing [of people] in the presence of Ushefer.

“He whose beloved twins are the Two Eyes, the Lord of the Two Truths” is your name. I came to see you, I brought you Two Truths, I removed my sins for your sake.

The Great Ennead, the gods who headed the Afterlife Judgment under the leadership of Ra, and the Lesser Ennead, the gods of cities and nomes, listened to the deceased. The Great Ennead, in addition to Ra, included Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Nephthys, Isis, Horus, Hathor, Hu (Will) and Sia (Intelligence). The heads of all judges were decorated with the feather of Truth - the feather of Maat.

Having made his speech, the deceased began the “Confession of Denial”:

- I did not commit injustice against people. I did not oppress my neighbors.<-..>I didn't rob the poor. I did not do anything that was not pleasing to the gods. I did not incite the servant against his master. I didn't poison<...>.

Having listed forty-two crimes and sworn to the gods that he was not guilty of any of them, the deceased exclaimed:

- I am pure, I am pure, I am pure, I am pure, my purity is the purity of the Great Benu, who is in Neninnesut.<...>No harm will come to me in the Great Hall of the Two Truths, for I know the names of the gods who reside there with you.

After the “Confession of Denial,” the deceased addressed the Little Ennead, calling each of the forty-two gods by name and again assuring them of his innocence in the crimes. Then the gods began interrogating the deceased: “Who are you?” Say your name. - I am the lower shoot of papyrus. The one who is in his Olive. - That's my name. -Where did you come from?<...>“I come from a city that lies north of Oliva.

When the interrogation ended, Meshent, the “guardian angel” of Shai, the goddess of good fate Renenut and the soul of Ba of the late Egyptian appeared before the face of Ra-Horakhte and the Ennead. They testified to the character of the deceased and told the gods what good and bad deeds he had committed in life.

Isis, Nephthys, Selket and Nut defended the deceased before the judges. After this, the gods began to weigh the heart on the Scales of Truth: they placed the heart on one bowl, and the feather of the goddess Maat on the other. If the arrow of the scales deviated, the deceased was considered a sinner, and the Great Ennead pronounced a guilty verdict on him, after which the heart was given to be devoured by the terrible goddess Am(ma)t - “The Devourer,” a monster with the body of a hippopotamus, lion paws and the mane and mouth of a crocodile. If the scales remained in balance, the deceased was recognized as acquitted.

Why the sinful heart should have been lighter (or heavier) than the feather of Maat is, strictly speaking, unknown, there are only hypotheses. For example, a number of Egyptologists are of the opinion (shared by the author) that the Libra served as a kind of “lie detector” for the afterlife judges: the weighing of the heart was carried out not after the “Confession of Denial” and the second acquittal, but simultaneously with them - throughout the entire interrogation of the heart rested on the scales, and if the deceased was guilty of any of the crimes, then, as soon as he began to swear to the contrary, the arrow immediately deviated.

It seems to the author that the ancient Egyptian mythical act of weighing the heart symbolically expresses the spiritual meaning of confession as such, a meaning that is apparently the same in all religions, regardless of differences in the external attributes of the confessional rite.

It has long been noted that a person, having committed an act contrary to morality, involuntarily (this process is unconscious) seeks, and therefore finds, an excuse, the essence of which usually boils down to the fact that the act was forced by circumstances and not committed by free will. When talking about such an act or remembering it, a person feels the need to provide justifications. his reasons; if he does not have such an opportunity, he is immediately overcome by a certain internal anxiety, discomfort. Fiction has described many times how in such a situation one wants to “look away”, “change the topic of conversation”, etc. The rite of confession does not allow any kind of justification - only “let your word be: “yes, yes” ", "no, no"; and anything beyond this is from the evil one." Thus, a person who has convinced himself of his own sinlessness (or, in relation to Christianity, of the sincerity of his repentance for sin), declaring his sinlessness (repentance) out loud and being deprived of the opportunity to add anything, will immediately feel this very inner discomfort - “the heart will expose the lie,” and the Libra arrow will deviate.

The Ennead announced the acquittal, and the god Thoth wrote it down. After this the deceased was told:

- So, come in. Cross the threshold of the Chamber of Two Truths, for you know us.

The deceased kissed the threshold, called it (the threshold) by name, pronounced aloud the names of the guards and finally entered the Great Hall, where the lord of the dead Osiris sat on the path, surrounded by other gods and goddesses: Isis, Maat, Nephthys and the sons of Horus.

The arrival of the deceased was announced by the divine scribe Thoth:

“Come in,” he said. - Why did you come?

“I came so that they would announce about me,” answered the deceased. - What state are you in? - I am cleansed of sins.<...>-Who should I tell about you? - Tell about me to the One whose arch is made of fire, whose walls are made of living snakes and whose floor is a stream of water. - Tell me, who is it? - asked Thoth. - This is Osiris.

“Truly, truly [to him] they will say [your name],” He exclaimed.

Since the era of the Old Kingdom, there has been another idea - that the Afterlife Court is headed by Ra. This idea lasted until the Ptolemaic period, but was much less popular.

At this point, the Judgment ended, and the Egyptian went to the place of eternal bliss - to the Fields of Iala, where he was accompanied by the “guardian angel” Shai. The path to the afterlife “paradise” was blocked by a gate, the last obstacle on the path of the deceased. They also had to be conjured:

- Give me the way. I know [you]. I know the name of [your] guardian god. Name of the gate: "Lord of fear, whose walls are high<...>. Lords of destruction, uttering words that curb the destroyers, who save from destruction the one who comes." The name of your gatekeeper: "He who [instills] terror."

In the Fields of Ialu, “Fields of Reeds,” the same life awaited the deceased as he led on earth, only it was happier and better. The deceased knew no shortage of anything. Seven Hathor, Neperi, Nepit, Selket and other deities provided him with food, made his afterlife fields fertile, bearing a rich harvest, and his cattle fat and fertile. So that the deceased could enjoy his rest and would not have to work the fields and graze the cattle himself, ushabti were placed in the tomb - wooden or clay figurines of people: scribes, porters, reapers, etc. Ushabti - “respondent”. The sixth chapter of the “Book of the Dead” talks about “how to make an ushabti work”: when in the Fields of Ialu the gods call the deceased to work, calling him by name, the ushabti man must come forward and respond: “Here I am!”, after which he will unquestioningly go where the gods command, and will do what they order. Rich Egyptians usually had a ushabti placed in their coffins - one for each day of the year; for the poor, the ushabti was replaced by a papyrus scroll with a list of 360 such workers. In the Fields of Ialu, with the help of magic spells, the little men named in the list were embodied in ushabti and worked for their master.

M. A. Korostovtsev writes about the funeral cult in Ancient Egypt: “The cult was based on the idea that the deceased after burial continues a life similar to the earthly one, that is, he needs housing, food, drinks, etc., therefore The funeral cult primarily consisted of providing the deceased with the necessary benefits of life. During the time of the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh granted his nobles a tomb during his lifetime. Those who did not receive such a reward built a tomb for themselves at their own expense. In the initial period of the Old Kingdom, the deceased who lived in the tomb. , presented with offerings either at his own expense or at the expense of the crown. Special funds were allocated for the material support of the cult of the dead. land plots, intended for “feeding” the deceased, and the persons performing the functions of “feeding” were called “hem-Ka” - “slaves of Ka”. But very soon this practice turned out to be very unprofitable, and in fact, gifts in favor of the deceased were replaced by magical fiction. In the mastabas of dignitaries from the Middle Kingdom, texts were found inviting visitors to the necropolis to refrain from violating ritual purity and to actively help the deceased with spells and prayers. In general, the content of these “appeals to the living,” which have come down to us from the time of the V and VI dynasties, comes down to the following:<...>points: 1) a visitor to the necropolis has no right to approach the tomb if he is not ritually clean - if he ate, for example, forbidden food; 2) the visitor should not ritually desecrate the tomb - otherwise, the threats of the deceased were addressed to him; 3) the visitor should not cause damage to the tomb building, so as not to incur the wrath of the deceased; 4) the visitor was exhorted to read the text of the sacrificial prayer in favor of the deceased; This magic act replaced a material offering.

Appeals are addressed either to the relatives of the deceased, or to persons who more or less accidentally ended up in the necropolis, or, finally, to special-purpose persons called upon to observe the cult of the dead. The admonition addressed to “the living who are [still] on earth” was accompanied by encouragement or threats from the deceased: the deceased promised the living intercession before the divine powers in case of a favorable attitude towards him and a threat to “sue” him before the “great god” or even “ "break his neck" otherwise, as well as the threat of bringing misfortune on him on earth. Thus, the deceased in relation to the living was perceived not as a passive, neutral being, but as a being capable of causing harm to the living or, conversely, being useful to them.

Particular attention is paid in these texts to sacrificial prayer in favor of the deceased, which replaced material offerings: the so-called formula “hetep di nesu” - “a gift given by the king.” The prayer was addressed to the gods so that the gods would provide the deceased with what was listed in it. There was even something like a more or less standard “menu” for the dead - a list of food and other offerings: bread, beer, oxen, poultry, different types robes, etc. Most often, the prayer was addressed to the god of the Kingdom of the Dead Osiris and the god Anubis. The funeral sacrificial prayer in the interests of the deceased was pronounced on behalf of the king - a demigod and unlimited ruler of the material resources of all temples. The pharaoh's offerings, as a being close to the gods, were pleasing to the gods and therefore effective. Thus, magical fiction saved the Egyptians for many centuries from the unbearable material costs of the cult of the dead."