Image Gallery
Tomb Relief of King Osorkon II
When complete, this scene showed Osorkon offering a clepsydra (water clock) to the snake goddess Wadjyt. The King wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Osorkon's wife, queen Karoma, stands by his side. She wears a plumed crown with sun-disc and holds a fly-whisk and an ankh, the hieroglyphic symbol of life. Her portly figure reflects the female ideal of the time. The block comes from a monumental gateway in Bubastis. Its relief depicts Osorkon's sed jubilee, at which a king's god-given powers were ritually renewed. The arrangement of the scenes mirrored Egypt's dual territory, which was formally reclaimed by the rejuvenated ruler. The scenes on the gate's north and south halves showed Osorkon, respectively, as a king of Lower and Upper Egypt (Nile Delta and Valley). Here, he wears the crowns of both regions combined, but as this block comes from the northern half, it showed him worshipping Wadjyt, patron goddess of dominion over Lower Egypt. A matching scene on the South half featured the vulture goddess Nekhbet, who represented dominion over Upper Egypt. 22nd Dynasty, reign of Osorkon II, circa 874-850 BCE. From Bubastis (Tell Basta), temple of Baset, Egypt. (The British Museum, London).
Questions & Answers
How did the ancient Egyptians view death and the afterlife?
- The ancient Egyptians viewed death as a transition of the soul from the earthly plane to the next realm. Life was understood as an eternal journey, only part of which was lived on earth.
What is the afterlife called in ancient Egypt?
- The afterlife in ancient Egypt was known as the Field of Reeds and was understood as a mirror image of one's life on earth where one would live in the presence of the gods.
Who was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt?
- The god Osiris was the Judge of the Dead in ancient Egypt.
What is the Egyptian Book of the Dead?
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an instruction manual for the soul after death to help it navigate the afterlife and find its way to the paradise of the Field of Reeds. It is not in any way the "Egyptian Bible."
