The Living Human Heritage Project Zurich
 
 
 
Knowledge for the Afterlife
The Egyptian Amduat - A Quest for Immortality
by Erik Hornung und Theodor Abt
 
WHY THE AMDUAT IS SIGNIFICANT
 
Every evening the sun becomes old and weak and finally sets behind the Western horizon. Yet, it rises again in the morning, rejuvenated. How is that possible? How could the sun for the Ancient Egyptians the Sungod become young and revitalized during the night, during his night journey? What happens during this time?
 
The Amduat is a description of the journey of the Sungod through the nightworld, that is also the world of the deceased. The knowledge contained in the Amduat is meant for the dead Pharaoh. But the text also recommends this knowledge for living beings. Thus, the journey of the Sungod can also be seen as a symbolic representation of an inner psychic process of transformation and renewal.
 
 
 
 
 
The Egyptian Amduat – The Book of the Hidden Chamber
Translated by David Warburton
Revised by Erik Hornung und Theodor Abt
 
Egyptian hieroglyphs, hieratic transcription and English.
 
200 color images of the Amduat found in the tomb of Thutmosis III in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor/Thebes.
 
In the Amduat, the night-journey of the Egyptian Sungod is divided into twelve hours, each of them containing an enormous amount of insight into the human psyche.
The entire Amduat could be called the first “scientific publication” of humankind describing or mapping the dangers, but also the regenerative capabilities of the night-world, providing answers to basic human questions.
The synopsis of the different scenes of the Amduat, all in color, together with its explaining text, is unique.
This book is a treasure for all those who want to explore the archetypal structure of the objective psyche, with its helpful but also with its dangerous forces.
 
Egyptology