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The views of the Egyptians about the position of heaven, and the Other World changed in different periods.

In the earliest times heaven was believed to be situated above the large, flat rectangular slab of iron (or alabaster?) which formed the sky. This slab was supported on four pillars, which were kept in position and presided over by the four sons of Horus, Mestha, Hapi, Tuamutef, and Qebḥsennuf. These four gods sat on pillars, which, subsequently, were regarded as the four cardinal points. The stars were believed to be hung from the slab by hooks through holes,

, like lamps from a ceiling. The righteous ascended to this heaven by means of a ladder. Osiris himself was obliged to use a ladder, and Horus and Set held each one side of the ladder, and assisted him to mount with their fingers. The models of ladders and of the two forefingers which are found in tombs commemorate this event.

The name given to the Other World was Ţuat ★

This region was not under the earth, or deep in it, but ran parallel with Egypt, which formed one side of it. A river flowed through the whole length of it. On the other side of the river was a range of mountains, and outside this was the great celestial ocean which surrounded the world. The Tuat was a valley which in the XIXth dynasty was believed to begin near Thebes, at Manu, the Mountain of Sunset, and, stretching northwards as far as Saïs, bent round towards the east until it reached the region of Annu (On), when it turned to the south and continued until it ended at Bakhet, the Mountain of Sunrise. The Tuat was divided into ten sections, and had a vestibule at each end of it, and in the XIXth dynasty it included the local kingdoms of the dead of Thebes, Abydos, Herakleopolis, Memphis, Saïs, Bubastis, and Annu. Each section was guarded by a massive gate, with battlements, but its door flew open before the Sun-god as he traversed the Tuat nightly in his boat. According to one legend there was a small passage at Abydos called "Peka," ie., the Gap, which connected this world with the Tuat; and according to another there was a similar passage at Thebes. Be this as it may, the souls of all those who had died during the day assembled in the passage each evening and endeavoured to obtain a seat in the solar bark as the god passed by. In its passage the boat passed the kingdom of Osiris; those who preferred a

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material heaven disembarked at that spot, and those who desired to become like Rā and to be with him remained in their places in the boat. For all souls, however, there was an examination of their credentials, and those who were not provided with amulets, and with formulas and words of power, were ejected.

Recognition of Friends.-From the statements made in papyri and on coffins there is no doubt that the Egyptians believed that they would know and recognize each other in the Other World, and would enjoy intercourse with their relatives and friends. In the Papyrus of Anhai (B.C. 1040), we see this lady meeting her father and mother in the Sekhethetep, or Elysian Fields, and sailing with her husband in a boat on one of the canals; in the Papyrus of Ani (B.C. 1500) we see the deceased seated with his wife Thuthu playing draughts; and the scribe Nebseni (B.C. 1550) says: "I have "seen the Osiris (ie., his father), and I have recognized my "mother." In the Book of the Dead (Chapter LII) the deceased prays:" May my ancestors, and my father and mother be given. "unto me as guardians of my door, and for the ordering of "my territory," and in Chapter LXVIII he declares that he shall have authority over his workmen and work women just as he had upon earth. On a coffin of the XIth dynasty (B.C. 2600) at Cairo the gods Ra, Tem, Seb, and Nut are implored to grant the "gathering together of the ancestors "and kinsfolk of Sepȧ in the Other World," in the following words: "Let him traverse heaven, and earth, and the waters, "let him meet his ancestors, and his father, and his mother, "and his sons and daughters, and his brethren and his sisters, "and his friends both male and female, and those who have "been as parents to him (ie., uncles and aunts), and his "kinsfolk (ie., cousins or connexions), and those who have "worked for him on earth, both male and female, and the woman whom he hath loved and known.”1

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1 The text of this extract reads:

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Grant ye this Sepȧ,

he may traverse heaven,

In the second

portion of the text it is declared that all these shall come forth to meet Sepȧ on his arrival in the Other World, and that they shall bear in their hands their staves, and their mattocks, and their ploughshares, and their clubs, so that in the event of any attack being made upon him by any hostile god, they may deliver their kinsman forthwith.

The use of amulets played a very large part in the Egyptian religion. They were generally made of stones and other materials believed to possess magical properties, which their wearers were supposed to acquire. A fine collection of Egyptian amulets is exhibited in the Fourth Egyptian Room (Table-case F), where examples of every authorized shape and kind will be found. In connexion with these the unrivalled collection of scarabs should be examined (Tablecases D, E, G, I).

The following are the principal amulets mentioned in funerary texts or found in tombs with, or on, the bodies of the dead: The scarab, or beetle, kheprer

was the symbol of the god Kheperȧ, and represented generation, new life, virility, and resurrection. The Heart, ab, symbol of the seat of life in the bodies of gods,

he may meet his children

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his friends,

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his connexions,

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and his brothers and sisters, he may meet

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he may meet his uncles and aunts,

he may meet

animals, and men, and emblem of the conscience; it brought to the wearer the protection of both Osiris and Rā. The heart was associated with the scarab, and the same hekau, or words of power, were written on both. The importance of this amulet is shown by the fact that in the Book of the Dead six chapters are devoted to formulas for the protection of the heart. The Girdle of Isis, thet, assured the wearer of the divine protection of the holy blood of the goddess. The Tet In

a fetish, the original significance of which is unknown. later times it symbolized the tree trunk in which the body of Osiris was hidden by Isis, and also the upright, consolidated back-bone of the god. Its general meaning is stability. The Pillowtypified the raising up and preservation of the head. The Vulture

brought with it the protection of

the great "Mother" Isis. The Collar gave strength and power to the breast, heart, and lungs, and symbolized the dominion of the wearer over all Egypt. The Papyrus Sceptre represented the strength, vigour, and virility of youth, and abundance of every kind.

ensured to the deceased

The human-headed Hawk the power of uniting his body, soul and spirit at will. The Ladder symbolized the ladder by which Osiris ascended from the earth to heaven. Models of this were buried with the dead in the tombs, and when the deceased needed a ladder he uttered the Chapter of the Ladder, and the model ladder became as long as he wanted. The Two Fingers, index and medius, represent the fingers which Horus used when he helped his father Osiris up the ladder which reached from earth to heaven.

The Utchat typified the strength and power of the Eye of Horus, or Rã, i.e., the Sun-god, the two eyes

gave to the wearer the strength and protection both of the

Sun and Moon. The Änkh †, or symbol of "life.” What object this amulet represented is unknown. The Nefer †,

or lute, signified "happiness, good luck," etc. The Serpent's