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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....
, Duat (or Tuat) (also called Akert, Amenthes, or Neter-khertet) is the underworld
Underworld

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly the dead souls go....
.

This was the region through which the sun god 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....
 traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep
Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep was an evil demon, the deification of darkness and chaos , and thus opponent of light and Ma'at , whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt onwards....
. It also was the place where people's souls went after death—for judgment. The structure of Duat, and the dangers faced there by the souls of the dead, are detailed in texts such as the Book of Gates
Book of Gates

The Book of Gates is an Ancient Egyptian sacred text dating from the New Kingdom. It narrates the passage of a newly deceased soul into the next world, corresponding to the journey of the sun though the Duat during the hours of the night....
 and the 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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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....
, Duat (or Tuat) (also called Akert, Amenthes, or Neter-khertet) is the underworld
Underworld

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly the dead souls go....
.

This was the region through which the sun god 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....
 traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep
Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep was an evil demon, the deification of darkness and chaos , and thus opponent of light and Ma'at , whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt onwards....
. It also was the place where people's souls went after death—for judgment. The structure of Duat, and the dangers faced there by the souls of the dead, are detailed in texts such as the Book of Gates
Book of Gates

The Book of Gates is an Ancient Egyptian sacred text dating from the New Kingdom. It narrates the passage of a newly deceased soul into the next world, corresponding to the journey of the sun though the Duat during the hours of the night....
 and the 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....
. The Duat was located beneath the earth where Osiris
Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
 presided over the dead. It was believed that the sun on its journey through the Duat, brought light and revitalization to the deceased, including Osiris, and with whom they were to arise in the morning.

The most famous scene from the discussions of Duat is the Weighing of the Heart
Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
, in which the dead were judged by Anubis
Anubis

Anubis is the Greek language name for a jackal-headed deity associated with mummy and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu, ....
, using a feather, representing Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice. She was responsible for maintaining order in the universe after having eliminated the emptiness of chaos at the beginning of creation.

The heart was thought to be the location of the soul by the ancient Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
ians. The hearts of souls which were out of balance because of sin, any hearts heavier or lighter than the feather of Ma'at, were rejected and eaten by the goddess Ammit
Ammit

In Egyptian mythology, Ammit was the personification of divine retribution for all the wrongs one had committed in life. She dwelt in the Hall of Ma'at, who was the personification of the concept of truth, balance, and order....
 (also known as the Devourer of Souls). Those souls that would be allowed to travel toward the paradise
Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
 of Aaru
Aaru

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the fields of Aaru or the Egyptian reed fields, are the heavenly paradise, where Osiris ruled after he became part of the Egyptian pantheon and displaced Anubis in the Ogdoad tradition....
 had to have hearts that weighed exactly the same as Ma'at's feather.
Egypt
Gods and goddesses
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 in Duat are:

  • Osiris
    Osiris

    Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....


  • Isis
    ISIS

    ISIS is an industry standard interface for technologies, developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 .ISIS is an open standard for scanner control and a complete image-processing framework....


  • Nephthys
    Nephthys

    In Egyptian mythology, Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet . Nephthys, therefore, is a member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis , a daughter of Nut and Geb....


  • Anubis
    Anubis

    Anubis is the Greek language name for a jackal-headed deity associated with mummy and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu, ....


  • Horus' sons
    Four sons of Horus

    The four sons of Horus were a group of four gods in Ancient Egyptian religion, who were essentially the personifications of the four canopic jars, which accompanied Mummy bodies....


  • Ammit
    Ammit

    In Egyptian mythology, Ammit was the personification of divine retribution for all the wrongs one had committed in life. She dwelt in the Hall of Ma'at, who was the personification of the concept of truth, balance, and order....


  • Hathor
    Hathor

    In Egyptian mythology, Hathor was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow....


  • Neith
    Neith

    In Ancient Egyptian religion, Neith was an early goddess in the Egyptian pantheon. She was the patron Deities#Egyptian mythology of Sais, Egypt, where her cult was centered in the Western Nile Delta of Egypt and attested as early as the First Dynasty.....


"How the upper side of this sky exists is in uniform darkness, the southern, northern, western and eastern limits of which are unknown, these having been fixed in the Waters, in inertness. There is no light of the Ram there: he does not appear there – (a place) whose south, north, west and east is unknown by the gods or akhs There is no brightness there."

And as for every place void of sky and void of land, that is the entire Duat.

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