Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Authors: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Tags: History, Spirituality
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Anubis
Speaks!
Secrets of the Ancient Gods
Anubis
Speaks!
Vicky Alvear Shecter
Illustrated by Antoine Revoy
B O Y D S M I L L S P R E S S
A N I M P R I N T O F H I G H L I G H T S
Honesdale, Pennsylvania
The author wishes to thank Kasia Szpakowska, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Egyptology, Department of History & Classics, Centre for Egyptology & Mediterranean Archaeology (CEMA), Swansea University, Wales, and Janice Kamrin, PhD, Assistant Curator, Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this book. In addition, she would like to thank her wonderful editor, Larry Rosler, for believing in Anubis and refusing to let him go quietly into the dark night.
Text copyright © 2013 by Vicky Alvear Shecter Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Antoine Revoy All rights reserved.
Boyds Mills Press, Inc.
815 Church Street
Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431
Printed in xxxxxx
ISBN: 978-1-59078-995-7
Library of Congress Control number: 2013938853
First edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The text for this book is set in Century Schoolbook and Gill Sans STD.
The illustrations are done in pen and ink and ink wash.
To my family, for putting up with my endless stories
—V.AS
To Michelle Aimée Revoy Morel, who read the myths of ancient Egypt to her sons
—AR
CONTENTS
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Greetings, Mortal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Dark Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
The Journey Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Osiris Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Mound of Sokar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Monster Attacks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Provisions for the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Lake of Fire and the Blood-Red Sun . . . 93
Anubis’s Guide to Gods and Demons . . . . . . 105
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Caution
ANUBIS WOULD LIKE TO advise you that his
retelling of Ra’s journey through the Land of the Dead combines stories from various papyri and tomb paintings that make up the Books of the Afterlife, such as the Book of Caverns, Book of Hours, Book of Hidden Chambers, Book of Gates, and others. He knows that ancient Egyptian stories and beliefs often changed by district or dynasty and that they often contradicted one another. He selected the stories that he thought best captured the gist of ancient Egyptian beliefs, and also the ones that had the highest chance of scaring you and grossing you out.
7
gREETINGS, mORTAL
Allow me to introduce myself. I am
Anubis—the Egyptian god of the “Mysteries of Embalming,” the “Guardian of the Veil of Death,”
“Opener of the Ways of the Dead,” and if you are
“bad” . . . Your. Worst. Nightmare .
But do not fear. I will not snatch your beating heart from your chest and toss it to my good friend, crocodile-headed Amut the Destroyer, for a squishy snack . . . not today anyway. Instead, I will guide you through my world of deep magic, strange gods, and gruesome monsters. I will show you how my people, the ancient Egyptians, prepared the dead for eternal life, and how we gods fought the forces of darkness 8
and evil—every night—to keep you safe.
Oh dear, were you perhaps hoping for a less scary-looking guide to lead you through the Egyptian dark lands, one without so many razor-sharp fangs? Too bad. You’re in my realm now. And I’m in charge. So pay attention.
We will, soon enough, come face-to-face with the evil one—Apophis, the snake of doom that threatens to devour and destroy the world. In my day, only our dead pharaohs—kings who turned into immortal gods upon their deaths—were strong enough to join the rest of us gods in facing the beast.
You, my little human, are no
Speaks!
Secrets of the Ancient Gods
Anubis
Speaks!
Vicky Alvear Shecter
Illustrated by Antoine Revoy
B O Y D S M I L L S P R E S S
A N I M P R I N T O F H I G H L I G H T S
Honesdale, Pennsylvania
The author wishes to thank Kasia Szpakowska, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Egyptology, Department of History & Classics, Centre for Egyptology & Mediterranean Archaeology (CEMA), Swansea University, Wales, and Janice Kamrin, PhD, Assistant Curator, Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this book. In addition, she would like to thank her wonderful editor, Larry Rosler, for believing in Anubis and refusing to let him go quietly into the dark night.
Text copyright © 2013 by Vicky Alvear Shecter Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Antoine Revoy All rights reserved.
Boyds Mills Press, Inc.
815 Church Street
Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431
Printed in xxxxxx
ISBN: 978-1-59078-995-7
Library of Congress Control number: 2013938853
First edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The text for this book is set in Century Schoolbook and Gill Sans STD.
The illustrations are done in pen and ink and ink wash.
To my family, for putting up with my endless stories
—V.AS
To Michelle Aimée Revoy Morel, who read the myths of ancient Egypt to her sons
—AR
CONTENTS
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Greetings, Mortal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Dark Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
The Journey Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Osiris Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Mound of Sokar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Monster Attacks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Provisions for the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Lake of Fire and the Blood-Red Sun . . . 93
Anubis’s Guide to Gods and Demons . . . . . . 105
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Caution
ANUBIS WOULD LIKE TO advise you that his
retelling of Ra’s journey through the Land of the Dead combines stories from various papyri and tomb paintings that make up the Books of the Afterlife, such as the Book of Caverns, Book of Hours, Book of Hidden Chambers, Book of Gates, and others. He knows that ancient Egyptian stories and beliefs often changed by district or dynasty and that they often contradicted one another. He selected the stories that he thought best captured the gist of ancient Egyptian beliefs, and also the ones that had the highest chance of scaring you and grossing you out.
7
gREETINGS, mORTAL
Allow me to introduce myself. I am
Anubis—the Egyptian god of the “Mysteries of Embalming,” the “Guardian of the Veil of Death,”
“Opener of the Ways of the Dead,” and if you are
“bad” . . . Your. Worst. Nightmare .
But do not fear. I will not snatch your beating heart from your chest and toss it to my good friend, crocodile-headed Amut the Destroyer, for a squishy snack . . . not today anyway. Instead, I will guide you through my world of deep magic, strange gods, and gruesome monsters. I will show you how my people, the ancient Egyptians, prepared the dead for eternal life, and how we gods fought the forces of darkness 8
and evil—every night—to keep you safe.
Oh dear, were you perhaps hoping for a less scary-looking guide to lead you through the Egyptian dark lands, one without so many razor-sharp fangs? Too bad. You’re in my realm now. And I’m in charge. So pay attention.
We will, soon enough, come face-to-face with the evil one—Apophis, the snake of doom that threatens to devour and destroy the world. In my day, only our dead pharaohs—kings who turned into immortal gods upon their deaths—were strong enough to join the rest of us gods in facing the beast.
You, my little human, are no
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