Skip to main content Skip to Search Box

Definition: Book of the Dead from Philip's Encyclopedia

Collection of Old Egyptian texts probably dating from the 16th century bc. The papyrus texts, which exist in many different versions and incorporate mortuary texts from as early as 2350 bc were placed in the tombs of the dead in order to help them combat the dangers of the afterlife.


Book of the Dead

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
One of several collections of texts in various cultures which are intended to prepare and guide the recently deceased in their passage through the afterlife; the best known of these are the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Tibetan Book of the Dead . The concept that the dead require specific incantations, spells and rituals to prepare and guide them through the afterlife has been shared by a number of belief systems throughout the centuries, and collections of texts detailing these rituals and spells are known to have existed in Aztec and Mayan cultures, and in early Christianity. But the best-known bodies of such material, generally known as ‘Books of the Dead’, are the two which set out the Egyptian and Tibetan rituals for those who have recently died. The ancient Egyptian funerary texts which detailed the hymns and rituals to be performed for the dead, and instructions for the spirit’s behaviour in the afterlife, are thought to have been written by many different scribes between…
4,670 results

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
An illustration of everyday life, from the...
A loose collection of magical spells and incantations that were normally written on papyrus and sometimes illustrated, and which were popular in Egypt as early as the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.). The original writings were on the walls of the TOMBS in Saqqara. Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.) …
| 908 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Tibetan Book of the Dead

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Buddhism
This text, also known as the Bardo thosgrol chenmo, or Great liberation by hearing in the intermediate states, is a great work of Nyingma literature. It was first partially translated into English by Lama Kazi Dawa Samdup and W. Y. Evans-Wentz in 1927, after which it became widely known in the West…
| 352 words
Key concepts:
Also known as: Reu Nu Pert Em Hru, Chapters of Coming Forth by Day; The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day ca. 1400 BCE –ca. 200 CE The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a collection of texts that were used to accompany the souls of corpses into the afterlife and assist them in finding a satisfactory…
| 693 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature
Also known as: The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day ca. 1400 BCE –ca. 200 CE Apparently already ancient as a traditional body of oral funerary material even before hieroglyphs had been invented, at least some of the texts collected in the Book of the Dead seem to have originated outside Egypt, …
| 1,243 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
One of several collections of texts in various cultures which are intended to prepare and guide the recently deceased in their passage through the afterlife; the best known of these are the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Tibetan Book of the Dead . The concept that the dead require specific…
| 684 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Ancient Egyptian book of magic spells, known as the Book of Coming Forth by Day , buried with the dead as a guide to reaching the kingdom of Osiris , the god of the underworld. Similar practices were observed by Orphic communities (6th–1st century BC ) in southern Italy and Crete, who deposited gold…
| 172 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
term used to describe Egyptian funerary literature. The texts consist of charms, spells, and formulas for use by the deceased in the afterworld and contain many of the basic ideas of Egyptian religion . At first inscribed on the stone sarcophagi, the texts were later written on papyrus and placed…
| 175 words
Key concepts:
“He for whom this scroll is recited will propser, and his children will propser.” Overview The compilation of texts and figures that the world knows as the Book of the Dead was known to the ancient Egyptians as the “Spells for Going Forth by Day.” The original title is descriptive of its purpose. …
| 5,865 words
Key concepts:
Manuscript of the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of...
“Fear that not. Know them to be the thought-forms of thine own intellectual faculties.” Overview Bardo Thodol (“Liberation through Hearing”), often known in the West as the Tibetan Book of the Dead , is a funerary text, a guide for the dead and dying, and a source of inspiration and support to many…
| 5,002 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Book of the Dead

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Book of the Dead
| 77 words , 1 image
Key concepts:
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources