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The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) · 105 of 357 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 10 (part 20)

Next, he was delivered over to merciless tormentors, who tortured him in a place where there were multitudes of savage beasts; and, when he had been cast into the place of outer darkness, he saw a ditch more than two hundred feet deep filled with reptiles, each of which had seven heads, and all their bodies were covered as it were with scorpions. Here also were serpents, the very sight of which terrified the beholder, and to one of them which had teeth like iron stakes was the wretched man given to be devoured; for five days in each week the serpent crushed him with his teeth, but on the Saturday and Sunday there was respite. Another picture of the torments of Hades is given in the Martyrdom of Macarius of Antioch, wherein the saint, having restored to life a man who had been dead six hours, learned that when he was about to die he was surrounded by fiends, some of whom had the faces of dragons, others of lions, others of crocodiles, and others of bears. They tore his soul from his body with great violence, and they fled with it over a mighty river of fire, in which they plunged it to a depth of four hundred cubits; then they took it out and set it before the judge of Truth. After hearing the sentence of the judge the fiends took it to a place of outer darkness where no [1. See Amélineau, Monuments pour servir à l'Histoire de Égypte Chrétienne , p. 167. 2 ###. 3 See Amélineau, Étude sur le Christianisme en Égypte au Septième Siècle , Paris, 1887, p. 147.] light came, and they cast it into the cold where there was gnashing of teeth. There it beheld a snake which never slept, with a head like that of a crocodile, and which was surrounded by reptiles which cast souls before it to be devoured, when the snake's mouth was full it allowed the other reptiles to eat, and though they rent the soul in pieces it did not die. After this the soul was carried into Amenta for ever. The martyr Macarius suffered in the reign of Diocletian, and the MS. from which the above extract is taken was copied in the year of the Martyrs 634 = A.D. 918. Thus, the old heathen ideas of the Egyptian Tuat were applied to the construction of the Coptic Hell. [1. See Hyvernat, les Actes des Martyrs de Égypte , Paris, 1886, pp. 56, 57.]
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Themes
Archonscosmology

Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent.

[auto] Merciless tormentors and fiends with animal faces govern the realm of Hades and obstruct the soul by tearing it from the body and subjecting it to torture.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The text contrasts the place of outer darkness and tormentors with the Judge of Truth, establishing an opposition between darkness/evil and truth/judgment.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

[auto] The passage centrally features the 'judge of Truth,' the hearing of a sentence, and the subsequent sentencing to torments or darkness.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The description of the place of torment as 'outer darkness' where 'no light came' frames evil or punishment as an absence of divine light.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

[auto] The passage explicitly details the journey of the soul through Hades, including torments, beasts, and the final judgment, serving as a guide for the afterlife.

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Maat Cosmic Ordercosmology

The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike.

The text references the Egyptian Tuat and a 'judge of Truth,' aligning with the Egyptian principle of Maat as truth and order underlying judgment.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

[auto] The soul is forcibly guided by fiends over a river of fire to be presented before the judge, depicting a guided passage through afterlife realms.

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Ritual Firepraxis

Fire as medium of divine presence.

[auto] A mighty river of fire is a central element of the journey where the soul is plunged to a depth of four hundred cubits before judgment.

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Related passages · 9 parallels
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Shared concept: Evil As Privation — Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness. (derived)
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Shared concept: Maat Cosmic Order — The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike. (derived)
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Shared concept: Ritual Fire — Fire as medium of divine presence. (derived)
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Shared concept: Psychopomp Journey — Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms. (derived)
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Shared concept: Eschatological Judgment — Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration. (derived)
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Shared concept: Archons — Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent. (derived)
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Shared concept: Eschatological Judgment — Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration. (derived)