These scriptures were reserved by his scribe and priest for the soul of the late king. They are a series of spells and charms, aiming at liberating the king's soul from his body and helping him ascend to heaven. These texts are regarded as the main source of the king's life they wrote, providing Egyptian scholars with information such as the role played by the king in Egyptian civilized life, the specific achievements of the ruler, and even the details of his personal character. The inscription also tells myths and allusions, the name of God, and instructions to the deceased, about the afterlife of the deceased and the journey of Ka (soul) from body to eternal life, and the "immortal star" with whom he will live.
From the most famous gods (such as Ra, Thoth, Osiris and Isis) to the little-known gods, more than 200 gods and goddesses are mentioned in the pyramid text. These allusions, like all inscriptions, are designed to help the Pharaoh's soul transition from the earth to the afterlife (called the land of reeds), where he will live forever.
Reed land is a mirror image of a person's life on the earth, but there is no disease, no disappointment and of course no death. A man will always live the life he enjoys on the earth, but first, he must avoid the dark soul, which may lead people astray and pass the trial of Osiris and 42 judges in the hall of truth.
The gods were obviously on the king's side, and he tried to liberate himself from the hometown of his body and find the way to eternal happiness. They are called his allies, fighting against the forces of darkness and chaos (evil spirits or demons) and serving as guides to strange areas that follow life on earth.
speak
These inscriptions are not completely related to Egyptian mythology, but only imply mythical events or symbolic moments, symbolizing concepts such as harmony, recovery, stability and order. Powerful gods, such as Thoth (the god of wisdom and writing) or Horus (the restorer of order), are used to help the king, and mythological allusions (such as the argument between Horus and Seth) will remind his soul of the existence of gods and their goodwill. The sun god is repeatedly mentioned to ensure that the soul continues to shine, warm and comfortable. The pyramid text also provides the written reference of Osiris, the king of death, and the concept of soul trial in the hall of truth for the first time, and tries to assure the king that he will pass this trial safely when doing so.
The pyramid text provides a written reference for Osiris, the king of death, for the first time.
The so-called "word" is an inscription (hence its name) intended to be read aloud. According to the writing method, it is very likely to be chanting. Geraldine Pinch, a scholar, believes that "many of them are written in the first person, and it will be very dramatic to say them out loud or sing them out loud" (10).
For example, in the words describing the late Pharaoh's journey to heaven in detail, verbs such as "flying", "running", "kissing" and "leaping" were written to emphasize: "flying, flying! He flew away, you people. He's gone. He is in the sky. He soared into the sky like a heron. He kissed the sky like an eagle. He flew into the sky like a grasshopper "(Nardo, 1 13). Each discourse corresponds to a chapter of a book; A book read aloud to the souls of the dead. However, this kind of "book" was undoubtedly an oral tradition at first, and then it was written on the wall of the grave.
Creation and use of text
The priests in the ancient kingdom are considered as the creators of these works, and the intertextual evidence strongly shows that they did it to let the king's soul know more about the afterlife and how to get there safely. Some words calling for the help and guidance of the gods also comforted the soul and ensured that this passage from the body was natural and not terrible.
Other words seem to assure the living (and recite these words) that the soul has arrived safely: "He has risen to the sky and found Dora. When he approached him, he stood up." He sat next to him because Ra allowed him not to sit on the ground, because he knew he was greater than Ra. He has stood with Ra "(Nardo, 1 15). Geraldine pinched the note:
The main purpose of collecting these words and carving them in the pyramids is to help the late king get rid of his fear of decay and help his spirit sublimate to heaven, where he will occupy a place among the gods. Some scriptures may be recited at the king's funeral, or as part of his funeral worship after his death. Others may intend to say it when the late king enters the afterlife. ( 1 1)
The soul of the deceased can fly, run, walk, walk, and even row into the reeds, as this passage says: "A ramp leading to the sky was built for him, where he could climb to the sky. He stood up in the exhaled smoke. He flies like a bird, sits on an empty seat on the boat like a beetle ... He flies across the sky on your boat, oh, Ra! He landed in your boat, oh, pull! "
Of course, the flight of the soul can only happen after the deceased passed the trial of Osiris, the temple of truth, and weighed the white feather of truth (the feather of the goddess Matt) in the golden balance. Harmony and balance). Although the pyramid inscription is the first time to mention the Osiris trial, this concept will be fully developed, and in the future, books will be written in large quantities according to the date, which is better called the pyramid text of the Egyptian book of the dead.
Soul journey
Pulling a boat is closely related to the sun. The text shows that after the trial, the soul will cross the dark underworld by pulling the boat, but it will always go to the land of reeds in the early morning and continue, where people will enjoy eternal life in a land very similar to what the soul on earth knows, and will always face the pity of Osiris, Lara, Isis, Matt and other great gods and goddesses.
This ship, known as the ship of millions of souls, is a solar barge, and the righteous dead will help Ra resist the snake Apep (also known as Apophis) that tries to destroy it every night. This is just one version of the afterlife scene presented in the article, and the other version is the more widely known truth hall trial, followed by the boatman Hraf-haf ("look at the people behind him") rowing across the water. Bring the soul of justice to the reeds.
Egyptians believed that their journey on earth was only part of eternal life before the gods. The gods give meaning to their daily life and promise that death is not the end. The whole of Egypt is full of vitality because of the existence of these gods. People cherish this land very much. They don't like extensive travel or military action that takes them out of the border, because they believe that if they die outside Egypt, they will have a reed field that is more difficult to reach-or may never reach it.
However, even for those who die in the countryside, people realize that the transition to the afterlife will be a terrible change different from the habit. The pyramid text guarantees that everything will be all right in the end, because the gods will safely guide the soul back to the eternal home after death as before.