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The Book of Gates is an Ancient Egyptian sacred text dating from the New Kingdom
New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
. It narrates the passage of a newly deceased soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
 into the next world, corresponding to the journey of the sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
 though the underworld
Duat

In Egyptian mythology, Duat is the underworld.This was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep....
 during the hours of the night. The soul is required to pass though a series of 'gates' at different stages in the journey. Each gate is associated with a different goddess, and requires that the deceased recognise the particular character of that deity.






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The Book of Gates is an Ancient Egyptian sacred text dating from the New Kingdom
New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
. It narrates the passage of a newly deceased soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
 into the next world, corresponding to the journey of the sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
 though the underworld
Duat

In Egyptian mythology, Duat is the underworld.This was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep....
 during the hours of the night. The soul is required to pass though a series of 'gates' at different stages in the journey. Each gate is associated with a different goddess, and requires that the deceased recognise the particular character of that deity. The text implies that some people will pass through unharmed, but that others will suffer torment in a lake of fire
Lake of Fire

A lake of fire appears, in both Ancient Egyptian and Christian religion, as a place of after-death punishment of the wicked. The phrase is used in four verses of the Book of Revelation....
.

Seti1a
The most famous part of the Book of Gates today refers to the different races of humanity known to the Egyptians
Egyptians

Egyptians is the name of the nationality and Mediterranean North African ethnic group native to Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to the Geography of Egypt, dominated by the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the Cataracts of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by desert both to the Easte...
, dividing them up into four categories that are now conventionally labelled "Egyptians", "Asiatics", "Libyans
Ancient Libya

Ancient Libya was the region west of the Nile Valley. It corresponds to what is now generally called Northwest Africa. Its people were the ancestors of the modern Berber people....
", and "Nubians
Nubians

The Nubians are an ethnic group originally from northern Sudan, now inhabiting East Africa and some parts of Northeast Africa, such as southern Egypt....
". These are depicted in procession entering the next world.

The text and images associated with the Book of Gates appear in many tombs of the New Kingdom, including all the pharaonic tombs between Horemheb
Horemheb

Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC, although he was not related to the preceding royal family and is believed to have been of common birth....
 and Ramesses VII
Ramesses VII

Usermaatre Meryamun Setepenre Ramesses VII was the sixth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt of Ancient Egypt. He reigned from 1137 BC to at least 1130 BC and was the son of Ramesses VI....
. They also appear in the tomb
TT1

The Thebes, Egypt Tomb TT1 is located in Deir el-Medina, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the Ancient Egyptian official, Sennedjem and his family....
 of Sennedjem
Sennedjem

The Ancient Egyptian artisan Sennedjem lived in Deir el-Medina on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, Egypt, during the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II....
, a worker in the village of Deir el-Medina, the ancient village of artists and craftsmen who built pharonic tombs in the New Kingdom
New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
.

The goddesses listed in the Book of Gates each have different titles, and wear different coloured clothes, but are identical in all other respects, wearing a five pointed star above their heads. Most of the goddesses are specific to the Book of Gates, and do not appear elsewhere in Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
, and so it has been suggested that the Book of Gates originated merely as a system for determining the time at night, with the goddess at each gate being a representation of the main star appearing during the hour.

The titles of the goddesses are:
Hour Title Explanation of the title
1 Splitter of the heads of the enemies of Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
 		 
2 Wise guard of the lord  
3 The one who cuts through Ba
Egyptian soul

The Ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body ....
 		 
4 The one of great power  
5 She who is on her boat  
6 Successful leader  
7 The one who repels the serpent  
8 Lady of the night  
9 She who is in adoration  
10 The one who beheads rebels  
11 The star who repels rebels  
12 The witness to Ra's magnificence Ra is the sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, and this is the dawn
Dawn

Dawn is the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon. Dawn should not be confused with sunrise, which is the moment when the leading edge of the sun itself appears above the horizon....


See also

  • Book of the Dead
    Book of the Dead

    "The Book of Dead" is the common name for the ancient Egyptian funerary text known as "Spells of Coming" "Forth By Day". The book of dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian conception of the Duat and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife....


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