THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

The Book of the Dead was a collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure for the deceased safe passage to and
sojourn in the other world. The sections of papyrus on display to the left and right are from one of these long scrolls, which was
cut into fifteen sections in modern times.

The illustration to the left shows the judgement of the soul before Osiris, the god of the dead, who determines the deceased's
worthiness to enter the next life by assessing his earthly deeds. The heart of Yartiuerow (the deceased) is being weighed in the
balance against the feather of the goddess Maat, representing truth and justice. The jackal-god Anubis tips the balance in
Yartiuerow's favor while the falcon-headed god Horus looks on and the ibis-headed Thoth, the secretary of the gods, records
the favorable verdict. Yartiuerow himself stands on the right, his hands raised in jubilation, accompanied by the goddess Maat.
Before him is a monster-part hippopotamus, part crocodile, and part lion- which would have annihilated him had the judgement
been unfavorable.

The title of the Book of the Dead and its method of use are stated in the horizontal line at the top of the section exhibited to the
right: "Beginning of the spells for going forth by day which raise the glorious ones (i.e., the dead) in the cemetery. To be said on
the day of burial of entering in after going forth, by Osiris Yartiuerow, deceased." The vignette below shows part of the funeral
procession. The sledge bearing the coffin is drawn by oxen. Two smaller sledges, each drawn by a man, follow. The one
behind the coffcin bears the canopic box containing the four jars in which the viscera were preserved. On its lid lies a figure of
the mortuary god Anubis in jackal form.