THE JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE

During the time of the New Kingdom (c.1550-1069 BCE) there was a resurgence of religious activity that resulted in the development of numerous funerary texts designed to assist the deceased in attaining immortality. The Amduat, a text that was reserved for royalty, describes the deceased king’s union with Re, the sun god who descends on a solar boat into the dangerous realm of the underworld where he brings eternal life to the dead. Guided by magical knowledge and assisted by numerous gods, the king travels through the underworld on a twelve-hour journey at the end of which he is reborn as the sun god and meets the day. In some cases the Amduat was written on papyrus scrolls, but in the case of Thutmose III, the entire book is painted on the walls of his tomb.

In each hour, the text and illustrations form a unit starting with an introduction in vertical columns. Then each hour is divided into three horizontal bars, called registers. Generally, the middle register shows the solar boat, a key component in the Amduat. The text that tells the story of the Amduat is read from top to bottom. In addition to the illustrated long version of the text, there is also a short version included that represents a summary of the book.

The following is a synopsis of the twelve-hour journey described in the images and text on the tomb walls of Thutmose III. This tomb with its Amduat text is recreated in its entirety as part of the exhibition. When you walk through the tomb and study the walls you will notice that the hours are not illustrated in consecutive order. That’s because the story begins in the west where the sun sets and ends in the east with the sunrise. Ideally, hours 1-4 are on the west wall, 5 and 6 on the south, 7 and 8 on the north, and 9-12 on the east wall. However, because of the orientation of Thutmose’s tomb, some of the registers had to be arranged so that the prescribed order was not followed exactly.

Hour 1		The life of Thutmose III has ended. The day ends and he is greeted by the sun god Re who appears in his nocturnal form with the head of a ram. Re invites the pharaoh to join him on his boat along with other gods and goddesses. There is another boat containing a scarab beetle representing the sun god’s form in the morning and pointing to the ultimate purpose of this journey, the renewed life of the king after death.
Hour 2		The boat is guided along a zigzag pattern that probably represents an underworld Nile River. The guide is the sun god’s daughter, Hathor. Thutmose III and Re see the abundant and well-watered wheat fields of Osiris along the riverbanks.
Hour 3		Thutmose, Re and Hathor meet Osiris, the god who rules the underworld. Surrounding Osiris are several bird-headed gods with knives in their hands, ready to protect Thutmose and Re from all enemies.
Hour 4		Suddenly the journey becomes dangerous. The travelers have reached the land of Sokar, a falcon-headed god of the underworld and an aspect of Osiris. The land is populated by monster snakes, some with several heads or with legs and wings. Complete darkness surrounds them, a zigzag path blocks their way, and the river dries up. Four figures tow the boat across the desert, but magically the boat turns itself into a double-headed serpent whose fiery breath pierces the darkness and they are transported safely across the sands.
Hour 5		The travelers continue through the land of Sokar with several figures joining in the effort of pulling the solar boat safely through a dangerous narrow pass. Eventually they reach the secret cave of Sokar which is guarded by a two-headed sphinx. Sokar grasps the wings of a multi-headed serpent representing the sun god Re and the two are united in the underworld.
Hour 6		As midnight approaches, the journey continues into the darkest parts of the underworld. The travelers find themselves in a place dominated by the presence of Sobek, the crocodile god and Nun, the god who represents the world before creation, out of which the sun god emerged at the beginning of time and is now renewed again. Also, in this place a five-headed snake protects the corpse of Re’s earth body.
Hour 7		At this point, the sun god Re meets his archenemy, a magical snake called Apophis. It was Apophis who swallowed the river that had carried the sun boat. But the goddess Isis comes to rescue them. She stands in front of the boat, raises her arms and hurls strong spells, destroying the snake’s power while other gods decapitate more of Re’s enemies.
Hour 8		The worst is now over, but the solar boat continues to be towed, this time by eight gods (according to the number of the hour). Almost all the figures represented in this hour are enthroned on the hieroglyph for “cloth”. New clothes are part of the general renewal of well being, another feature of rebirth.
Hour 9		Three idols appear who are in charge of providing bread and beer and other essential foods for the pharaoh so that he is fully prepared for his life in the netherworld.
Hour 10		A large body of regenerating water appears in front of the solar boat. In it are those who died by drowning. In ancient Egypt, the drowned were of special concern because they couldn’t have a proper burial and therefore, no chance for immortality. But Thutmose sees Horus, the falcon-headed god, gesturing toward the drowned, assuring them eternal life.
Hour 11		The new day will begin soon. Re’s boat now has a solar disk at the front. Thutmose can see the snake of time about to eat ten stars in the dark sky, one star for each hour that the pharaoh has been on his journey through the underworld.
Hour 12		The last hour of the night has arrived. Thutmose has been transformed and will be reborn as the sun god Re. There is a long snake, followed by the triumphant Re in his boat. The boat is being pulled by a towline that passes through the snake’s head indicating that the sun god will be pulled through the snake’s body, emerging from its mouth, reborn and triumphant at sunrise. Re will first appear in his daytime form as a scarab beetle and will rise to begin the new day. As he rises into the sky the gods rejoice that the sun, a brilliant disk of gold will travel across the sky to sink below the horizon at dusk and continue its journey through the underworld once again. The mummiform figure of Osiris also appears in the twelfth hour. He will remain in the underworld as its king.