The new life of Beliefs About the Afterlife was not automatic. The dead had to pass a judgment that looked at whether they had lived by maat. The best-known version is in spell 125 of the Book of the Dead. Of all the parts of a person, it is the heart that is tested.
Key idea
The heart was weighed against the feather of Maat before Osiris. The dead declared that they had not done a list of wrongs; a monster, Ammit, waited for those who failed.
The scene
- The dead person enters the Hall of the Two Truths.
- Before 42 judges, he or she declares innocence of 42 wrongs: "I have not stolen", "I have not killed", "I have not told lies", and so on. Scholars call this the declaration of innocence, or "negative confession".
- Anubis places the heart on one pan of a scale and the feather of Maat on the other.
- Thoth, the scribe of the gods, writes down the result.
- Ammit, "the Devourer", with a crocodile’s head, a lion’s front and a hippopotamus’s back, waits to eat a heart that fails.
- If the scale balances, Horus leads the justified person to Osiris on his throne.
Why it works
For Egyptians the heart was the seat of thought, memory and character, so it held a record of a whole life. A heart free of wrongdoing would weigh the same as truth itself. Spell 30B, often carved on the heart scarab placed on the mummy, asks the heart not to speak against its owner at the weighing.
Worked example: Which way should the scale tip?
A painting shows the scale perfectly level. Did the dead person pass?
- The heart is weighed against the feather of Maat.
- Passing means the two balance.
- A level scale is balance.
Answer: Yes: balance means the heart was true.
Worked example: Who does what?
Name the gods at the scale and their jobs.
- Anubis, the jackal-headed god, works the scale.
- Thoth, the ibis-headed scribe, records the verdict.
- Osiris, on his throne, receives the justified dead.
Answer: Anubis weighs, Thoth records, Osiris rules.
Common mistake
Thinking the heart had to be heavy, or light. It had to balance the feather: free of wrongdoing. Quick check: the image is a balance, so the goal is equal weight.