Literature the Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead was written around 1150BCE to 50BCE in ancient Egypt. The Book of The Dead is not actually a book but a collection of various magical spells. The Book of The Dead can actually be translated to The chapters of coming forth by day. Egyptologists have discovered around 200 different spells. Most of the spells were written on papyrus or on Egyptian tombs. The Egyptian people were pretty much obsessed about the afterlife. The Egyptian peopled believed that magical spells, like the ones found in the book of the dead, would lead them to a desired afterlife. Wealthy Egyptians would be able to afford scribes to write down their desired spells on papyrus. Then the papyrus was stored until their death. If you were poor you could buy already made spells and take them to your death. The Book of the Dead was important to the Egyptian people because it built their faith and gave them hope for reaching a desired afterlife.

A spell written on a piece of Papyrus http://egypt.mrdonn.org/bookofthedead.html http://www.egyptartsite.com/book.html http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/mummy_chamber/book_of_the_dead .php