After the The Judgment of the Dead, where did the dead go? Egyptians pictured a realm called the Duat (dwꜣt), beyond the western horizon. The sun itself passed through it every night.
Key idea
The Duat was the realm of the dead, through which the sun god sailed each night to be reborn at dawn.
The sun’s night journey
- At sunset the sun god entered the Duat in the west, often shown with a ram’s head, standing in his night boat.
- He traveled through twelve regions, one for each hour of the night, with gates, guardians and crowds of the dead.
- The serpent Apep (Apophis), enemy of order, tried to stop the boat; gods and spells overcame him.
- In the deepest hour the sun united with Osiris, and both were renewed.
- At dawn the sun was reborn in the east as Khepri, the scarab.
Why it works
The idea joins two hopes. Every evening the sun seemed to die and every morning to be born again; Egyptians hoped the dead could share that cycle. Osiris gave the dead their new life; the sun gave light and movement. By meeting in the Duat, they made renewal complete. In another picture, the sky goddess Nut swallows the sun at evening and gives birth to it at dawn.
Worked example: Counting the hours
The Duat was divided by the hours of the night. How many regions did the sun pass?
- The night had twelve hours.
- One region per hour.
- So twelve regions.
Answer: 12.
Worked example: From night to day
In what forms did the sun god appear at evening, at midnight and at dawn on this journey?
- At evening he enters the Duat, often ram-headed, in his night boat.
- At midnight he unites with Osiris.
- At dawn he is reborn as Khepri.
Answer: Ram-headed at night, joined with Osiris at midnight, Khepri at dawn.
Common mistake
Picturing the Duat as an underground hell. It was a realm of passage and renewal, as well as danger; the blessed dead hoped to travel through it with the sun. Quick check: the journey ends in rebirth at dawn.