ant of Amon, desirous
of keeping in constant touch with his god both here and in the other
would, could not imagine a happier future for his soul than in its going
forth in the fulness of light by day, and taking refuge by night on
the very bark which carried the object of his worship through the thick
darkness of, Hades. To this end he endeavoured to collect the formulae
which would enable him to attain to this supreme happiness, and also
inform him concerning the hidden mysteries of that obscure half of the
world in which the sun dwelt between daylight and daylight, teaching him
also how to make friends and supporters of the benevolent genii, and how
to avoid or defeat the monsters whom he would encounter. The best
known of the books relating to these mysteries contained a geographical
description of the future world as it was described by the Theban
priests towards the end of the Ramesside period; it was, in fact, an
itinerary in which was depicted each separate region of the underworld,
with its gates, buildings, and inhabitants.*

* The monumental text of this book is found sculptured on a
certain number of the tombs of the Theban kings. It was
first translated into English by Birch, then into French by
Deveria, and by Maspero.

The account of it given by the Egyptian theologians did not exhibit much
inventive genius. They had started with the theory that the sun, after
setting exactly west of Thebes, rose again due east of the city, and
they therefore placed in the dark hemisphere all the regions of the
universe which lay to the north of those two points of the compass. The
first stage of the sun's journey, after disappearing below the horizon,
coincided with the period of twilight; the orb travelled along the open
sky, diminishing the brightness of his fires as he climbed northward,
and did not actually enter the underworld till he reached Abydos,
close to the spot where, at the "Mouth of the Cleft," the souls of the
faithful awaited him. As soon as he had received them into his boat,
he plunged into the tunnel which there pierces the mountains, and the
cities through which he first passed between Abydos and the Fayum were
known as the Osirian fiefs. He continued his journey through them for
the space of two hours, receiving the homage of the inhabitants, and
putting such of the shades on shore as were predestined by their special
devotion for the Osiris of Abydos and his associates, Horus an