What is the main concern of the Pyramid Texts?
The spells, or utterances, of the Pyramid Texts were primarily concerned with enabling the transformation of the deceased into an Akh (where those judged worthy could mix with the gods). The spells of the Pyramid Texts are divided into two broad categories: Sacerdotal texts and Personal texts.
Are there writings in the pyramids?
The Pyramid Texts are the oldest religious writings in the world and make up the principal funerary literature of ancient Egypt. They comprise the texts which were inscribed on the sarcophogi and walls of the pyramids at Saqqara in the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BCE).
What is the writing on pyramids called?
The earliest funerary texts inscribed on a pharaoh’s pyramid are found at Saqqara. These sacred texts, known as the Pyramid Texts, were written on the inner passages and the walls of the burial chamber.
What was the purpose of the pyramid?
Pyramids were built for religious purposes. The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to believe in an afterlife. They believed that a second self called the ka lived within every human being. When the physical body expired, the ka enjoyed eternal life.
What are the Pyramid Texts?
James P. Allen The Pyramid Texts are the oldest body of extant literature from ancient Egypt.
How old are the texts in the Saqqara pyramid?
Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom. The oldest of the texts have been dated to between ca. 2400–2300 BC.
What were the spells used for in the Egyptian pyramids?
The spells could also be used to call the gods to help, even threatening them if they did not comply. It was common for the pyramid texts to be written in the first person, but not uncommon for texts to be later changed to the third person. Often this depended on who was reciting the texts and who they were recited for.
Are there any inscriptions on the walls of the sarcophagus?
The burial chamber of Unas’ pyramid, with lines of protective spells on the west gable. These were the only inscriptions on the walls surrounding the sarcophagus. The texts first appeared in the pyramid of the last pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty, that belonging to Unas.