Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead (7 page)

The Dark Lands

Welcome to Duat, the Egyptian afterworld. It’s a little dark, yes, but what did you expect? This world only comes alive after the sun sets . . . and after you die, of course (not like I’m looking forward to that or anything).

The Egyptian Land of the Dead was sometimes

called the “Twelve Hours of Darkness” for the long hours of the night. You see, my people believed that the sun was born every morning in the east at sunrise
.
When it disappeared in the west at sunset, they worried that evil in the dark lands would keep the sun from rising again. Without the sun, everyone and everything would die! So it became really, really 11

important to make sure that the sun survived.

The sun’s survival and rebirth also became a powerful metaphor for the individual’s rebirth in the afterworld.

Lots of gods and monsters played a role in this battle between light and dark, death and eternal life.

You will meet some of them on this journey. Keep in mind, there are thousands of us gods. Not only that, but the same god could appear in many different forms! So you won’t get to know all of us, which is fine because really, I’m the only one that matters.

The People Who

Worshipped Us

The ancient Egyptians first settled near the fertile banks of the Nile River around five thousand years ago. Over time they banded together to form one kingdom under the rule of pharaohs that lasted for thousands of years. (Yeah, and how long has your nation been around? Mortal,
please
. It doesn’t even come close to matching our longevity!)

My people invented a type of writing called

hieroglyphics. They created the first paper from papyrus. They established a calendar that became the basis for the Western calendar. And they built great pyramids, statues, and temples that continue to awe humans around the world today. In other words, 12

while you folks in the West were just learning to walk without dragging your knuckles on the ground, my people created one of the richest and most advanced cultures of the ancient world.

You’re welcome.

Magic and Mayhem

For the Egyptians, the world was a magical place where destruction and chaos could only be

managed or avoided by a strict adherence to ritual, order, and worship. Praying to and honoring the gods were the glue that held Egyptian culture together.