THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

This color illustration shows a section of an ancient Egyptian funerary papyrus. The fragment has worn, jagged edges at the top and bottom. The central scene shows the god Horus leading a woman to the right. Horus has the head of a hawk and wears the Double Crown of Egypt. He wears a colorful collar and an ornate tunic over a white kilt. The woman follows him in a long, sheer white dress and a black wig. She holds her hand up in a sign of respect. To the far right, a figure kneels on a mat before a table filled with offerings. These offerings include loaves of bread and a large lotus flower. Hieroglyphic text columns fill the spaces around the figures. Modern numbers at the bottom identify these columns.

Book of the Dead: A collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells. These texts helped the deceased travel through the underworld.

Horus: A powerful god of the sky and kingship. He is usually shown as a falcon or a man with a falcon's head.

Pschent: The Double Crown of Egypt. It combines the white crown of the south and the red crown of the north to signify a unified kingdom.

Papyrus: A writing surface made from the stalks of the papyrus plant. It was common in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Hieroglyphs: The formal writing system of ancient Egypt. It uses pictures to represent sounds and ideas.

Funerary offerings: Items such as food, incense, and flowers. These were provided to sustain the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife.

Vignette: An illustration found within a manuscript. These images often acted as visual versions of the accompanying spells.

Ancient Egypt: The civilization that flourished along the Nile River for over 3,000 years.