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Pyramid texts from Teti I's pyramid.
Pyramid texts from Teti I's pyramid.

The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom. Old Egyptian is the stage of the Egyptian language spoken from 2600 BC to 2000 BC during the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone A pyramid is a Building where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point Saqqara or Sakkara, Saqqarah ( Arabic: سقارة is a vast ancient burial ground in Egypt, featuring the world's oldest standing Step The Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Old Kingdom. The Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the title " Old Kingdom " The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement Unlike the Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead into which parts of the pyramid texts later evolved, the pyramid texts were reserved only for the pharaoh and were not illustrated. The Coffin Texts are a collection of Ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day' [1] The pyramid texts mark the first written mention of the god Osiris, who would become the most important deity associated with afterlife. Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir [2]

The spells, or "utterances", of the pyramid texts are primarily concerned with protecting the pharaoh's remains, reanimating his body after death, and helping him ascend to the heavens, which are the emphasis of the afterlife during the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement The spells delineate all of the ways the pharaoh could travel, including the use of ramps, stairs, ladders, and most importantly flying. The spells could also be used to call the gods to help, even threatening them if they did not comply. [3]

Contents

Versions

The texts were first discovered in 1881 by Gaston Maspero, and translations were made by Kurth Sethe (in German), Louis Speelers (in French), Raymond O. Faulkner, and Samuel Alfred Browne Mercer. Gaston Camille Charles Maspero ( June 23, 1846 &ndash June 30, 1916) was a French Egyptologist. Kurt Heinrich Sethe ( 30 June 1869 &ndash 6 July 1934) was a noted German Egyptologist and Philologist from The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Dr Raymond Oliver Faulkner, FSA, ( 26 December 1894 —- 3 March 1982) was an English Egyptologist

The oldest version consists of 228 spells and comes from the Pyramid of Unas, the last king of the 5th Dynasty. The Pyramid Complex of Unas is located in the Pyramid field at Saqqara, near Cairo in Egypt. Unas (also Wenis, Oenas, Unis, or Ounas) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and one of the rulers of the Old Kingdom Other texts were discovered in the pyramids of the 6th Dynasty kings Pepi I, Pepi II and three of his queens, and Teti. Pepi I Meryre (reigned 2332 &ndash 2283 BC was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. Pepi II (reigned c 2278 BC–c 2184 BC was a Pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. Kurt Sethe's first edition of the pyramid texts contained 714 distinct spells; after this publication additional spells were discovered bringing the total to 759. Kurt Heinrich Sethe ( 30 June 1869 &ndash 6 July 1934) was a noted German Egyptologist and Philologist from No single collection uses all recorded spells.

Examples

After death, the king must first rise from his tomb. Utterance 373 describes:[1]

Oho! Oho! Rise up, O Teti!
Take your head, collect your bones,
Gather your limbs, shake the earth from your flesh!
Take your bread that rots not, your beer that sours not,
Stand at the gates that bar the common people!
The gatekeeper comes out to you, he grasps your hand,
Takes you into heaven, to you father Geb.
He rejoices at your coming, gives you his hands,
Kisses you, caresses you,
Sets you before the spirits, the imperishable stars. . .
The hidden ones worship you,
The great ones surround you,
The watchers wait on you,
Barley is threshed for you,
Emmer is reaped for you,
Your monthly feasts are made with it,
Your half-month feasts are made with it,
As ordered done for you by Geb, your father,
Rise up, O Teti, you shall not die!

The texts then describe several ways for the pharaoh to reach the heavens, and one of these is by climbing a ladder. In utterance 304 the king says:[1]

Hail, daughter of Anubis, above the hatches of heaven,
Comrade of Thoth, above the ladder's rails,
Open Unas's path, let Unas pass!

Another way is by ferry. If the boatman refuses to take him, the king has other plans:

If you fail to ferry Unas,
He will leap and sit on the wing of Thoth,
Then he will ferry Unas to that side!

The cannibal hymn

Utterances 273 and 274 are sometimes known as the "cannibal hymn", because it describes the king hunting and eating parts of the gods:[1]

A god who lives on his fathers,
who feeds on his mothers. . .
Unas is the bull of heaven
Who rages in his heart,
Who lives on the being of every god,
Who eats their entrails
When they come, their bodies full of magic
From the Isle of Flame. . .

The cannibal hymn later reappeared in the Coffin Texts as Spell 573. The Coffin Texts are a collection of Ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. It was dropped by the time the Book of the Dead was being copied. ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day'

In popular culture

In the first scene of Philip Glass's opera Akhnaten, the phrase "Open are the double doors of the horizon" is a quotation from the Pyramid Texts. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Philip Glass (born January 31 Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Akhnaten is an Opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV written by the American More specifically, it seems to come from Utterance 220.

The American death metal band Nile made a song, "Unas Slayer of the Gods" which contains many references to the Pyramid Texts, including the Cannibal Hymn. The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lichtheim, Miriam (1975). The Coffin Texts are a collection of Ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day' The Opening of the mouth ceremony (or ritual) was an ancient Egyptian ritual described in Funerary texts such as the Pyramid Texts. Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol 1. London, England: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-02899-6.  
  2. ^ Goelet, Dr. Ogden, et al (1994). The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.  
  3. ^ Allen, James P. (2000). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77483-7.  

External links

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