Ani’s life after death – 1: Hymn to Ra and Osiris

The Book of the Dead (or the Book of Going Forth by Day as it should more properly be called) was designed to assist the spirit of the deceased in his or her progress to resurrection in the afterlife. In order to achieve this rebirth, the deceased had to overcome a number of obstacles through the use of spells, rituals, and invocations. The origin of the Book of the Dead can be traced to the Pyramid Texts, which appear on the walls of the pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, but which relate solely to the afterlife of the king and his family. Subsequently these texts were further developed for private use by wealthy individuals, and inscribed on the sarcophagus – hence their mod