Ancient Egyptian book of the Dead is not a book about death. This is a book about life, defeated death. Paradoxically, such a unique name that has become almost as common symbol of Ancient Egypt as the pyramids, mummies and the papyrus, it is not in the content and idea of the work. Moreover, it is the opposite in meaning its true name. But business not only in the book of the Dead - the problem is much wider.


Long ago the Ancient Egypt was wrong represented by Europeans country's death, in which people lived, allegedly worshiped her whole life preparing to die. Partly, this is a natural consequence of the sources of our knowledge - probably more than 95% of the monuments of Ancient Egypt was found in tombs. Try to imagine, what impression will make our civilization, if a future historian to provide only the material of our cemeteries?

Conversely, not all ancient Egyptian monuments are not a specialist to be associated with the world of the dead. For example, on the walls of tombs officials age pyramid presents practically all aspects of life on the Nile: agriculture, crafts, hunting and fishing, etc., and as presents bright and Sunny! It is not surprising that among these are images even humorous. By the way, love to joke distinguishes modern Egyptians from other Arabs - are preserved not only anthropological type, but also national character. Unfortunately, this theme is laughter culture of the ancient Egyptians - remains almost closed zone for Egyptologists. The reason, of course, is not the lack of interest among the scientists, and in the complexity of the solution. Long heard laughter - as the smell is almost imperceptible. It is different at different times and in different Nations, different in different layers of the same society, as if in a culture dominated by individual start, he is somewhat different and everyone laughing. Even recorded texts humor (for example, a favorite method of Egyptian scribes is a pun) is captured sometimes with great difficulty, and probably often undetected. The study of the culture of laughter requires historian penetration in a rather amorphous and fragile region mentality.

It is noteworthy that in the era of the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC), the main period of existence of the Book of the Dead (however important, of course, and it later "Siska edition"), dramatically increases the number of humorous texts and pictures. By this time was amazing mythological story "the Lawsuit Choir with Sedom", which are subjected to ridicule the main gods of Egypt. And well if Seth, compromised by the murder of Osiris and exhibited here stupid juicer, publicly insulting the king of the gods Amun-RA! Even more fun erotic drawn - there is even a "sbornik comics" (Turin erotic papyrus: image notable for the fact that they humorous, not bawdry for the sake).

So, the title "book of the Dead" is strongly associated with funerary texts, although Egyptologists (yourself, by the way, "put" this name into the light) know well that it is more than conventional. Original title translated: "Sayings of output per day". It contains all the essence of this wonderful text - to help the dead to avoid all the dangers of the world beyond the grave, to go through a post-mortem court and together with sun barkai God RA to return to the earth, i.e., to life, to rise again - "updated"as said the Egyptians. To defeat the enemy is death to lead a spiritual and sensual existence rejuvenated, ageless body on eternally beautiful fertile land surrounded by their loved ones. This is a book about coping with the death, the victory over it and at the same time how to do it. It must be emphasized that in one of the Central value of the Chapters of the Book of the Dead has found expression one of the greatest ideas of human culture - the idea of an afterlife reward (her birth in Egypt refers to earlier periods. In the tombs of the Ancient Kingdom of late claims in his autobiography:" I gave the bread to the hungry, water for the thirsty, clothing the naked,... [did]to be good to me God's great". And as you like it: "because I hadn't spent the night without sleep" (i.e. I'm not upset, not offended, do not angered).

Book of the Dead had enormous significance for spiritual and religious life of the ancient Egyptians. She was not a funeral in pure form, nor a book, nor a collection of myths. It is difficult even to immediately choose a suitable name for this amazing and extremely important monument. Indeed, speaking about it, it is easier to list what she was not; or maybe it will be more correct to say that for the Egyptians, it was all in the religious literature of Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, i.e. the world's great religions, there is nothing that can compare with this amazing piece of theological thought highest ancient pagan culture. Apparently, we can say that the book of the Dead was the quintessence, the focus of spiritual, religious and ideological views of the millennial culture of the past is unique in world history (which is over 3 thousand years!), nobody preciousena way from ancient primitive foci of the consciousness to the higher civilization, which played a huge role in the world culture and never lost a close succession communication with its ancient past.

In Egypt until the Book of the Dead (and her oldest lists date back to XVII-XVI centuries BC) existed mighty tradition memorial literature is the pyramid Texts, recorded at the end of the old Kingdom (XXIV-XXII century BC), and Dating back more remote from us periods, and the Texts of sarcophagi (XXI XVIII century BC). For us this is probably a really strange work - multi-temporal origin conglomerate very "practical" sayings up to direct (we think) deception afterlife judges, vague conversations, magic spells and texts, amazing in its imaginative and artistic power, stunning his spiritual, philosophical and ethical insight.

For the Egyptians, go into the Kingdom of Osiris, fragile papyrus scroll was almost the only real tangible hope to pass unharmed through horrible, terrifying populated with monsters world - the world of snakes, Scorpions, ghosts, insurmountable obstacles, lakes flame and magic crystals. World, ascending to the infinitely distant times of primitive rites of initiation, dark foggy fragment preserved for millennia. Ancient Egyptians for their magic scroll was sacred book of divine revelation, given to people over - representation, a distant gleam sparkled in the emerald tablets of Moses.

Defining their own script as "honey of nicer" - "divine speech, the Egyptians built its invention to the great God of wisdom and knowledge Tautou, and the scrolls of the sacred books called "Bau RA" - "the Souls [of God] RA. The divine origin of the Book of the Dead was obvious and as all the divine, accompanied her secret: "Make the book so as not seen by human eyes - it extends the steps in heaven, on earth, in the underworld. It is more useful ceremonies from henceforth and forever" (Chapter 144).

These last words best reflect the attitude of the ancient Egyptians to this great work. No idea what was, for them, the Book of the Dead, apparently you cannot comprehend the essence and spirit of their amazing culture - too many ideas about being and world order got into it. So maybe not so wrong were those who called the Book of the Dead, the Bible of Ancient Egypt. That can be said with confidence is the first in the history illustrated book.