The Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is a series of magical spells that promised to transform any living person into an immortal divinity in the afterlife. This exhibit of more than 50 objects explores what the Book of the Dead was, what it was believed to do, how it worked, how was it was made, and what happened to it. 

The show features two spectacular Books of the Dead—one 41 feet long—which are shown in their entirely for the first time in nearly a century. A recreation of a burial with a rarely exhibited mummy shows how so many objects inscribed with the Book of the Dead literally surrounded the deceased, some spells being written on linen bandages, others on amulets that were placed on the mummy, yet others on bricks that were embedded in the walls of the burial chamber. The exhibit presents the newest research on the Book of the Dead, what it meant to the ancient Egyptians, and how through text and elaborate imagery, they sought to live forever as gods. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Image: The Judgement of Ireturu before Osiris, from Papyrus Milbank (E10486J), this illustration is associated with Book of the Dead spell 125.

Whether you go or not, the exhibition catalog, Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt, explores what the Book of the Dead was to the ancient Egyptians, what it means to us today, what it was believed to do, how it worked, how it was made, and ultimately what happened to it. Edited by Foy Scalf, PhD, this volume includes fourteen essays showcasing the latest research on the Book of the Dead written by thirteen internationally- known experts as well as a complete catalog of the forty-five objects on display in an associated exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum. 

Two famous Book of the Dead papyri, Papyrus Milbank and Papyrus Ryerson, are reproduced in their entirety with full-color photographs among nearly 400 illustrations for the first time. Discover how the ancient Egyptians controlled their immortal destiny and sought close association with the gods through the Book of the Dead

Select Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt to learn more or to place the publication in your Amazon shopping cart.