The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts James P Allen

481 Pages·2009·9.76 MB·English

by  James P. Allen

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The Pyramid Texts are the oldest body of extant literature from ancient Egypt.
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First carved on the walls of the burial chambers in the pyramids of kings and a
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queens of the Old Kingdom, they provide the earliest comprehensive view of
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the way in which the ancient Egyptians understood the structure of the universe,
T The Ancient Egyptian
the role of the gods, and the fate of human beings after death. Their importance
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lies in their antiquity and in their endurance throughout the entire intellectual x
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history of ancient Egypt. This volume contains the complete translation of s Pyramid Texts
the Pyramid Texts, including new texts recently discovered and published. It
incorporates full restorations and readings indicated by post-Old Kingdom
copies of the texts and is the first translation that presents the texts in the order
in which they were meant to be read in each of the original sources.
James P. Allen is Curator of Egyptian Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
in NewYork and the author of The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt (Metropolitan James P. Allen
Museum of Art, Yale University Press), The Heqanakht Papyri (Metropolitan
Museum of Art), Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture
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of Hieroglyphs (Cambridge University Press), and other books on ancient Egypt.
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
PYRAMID TEXTS
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
James P. Allen
Edited by
Peter Der Manuelian
Society of Biblical Literature
Atlanta
The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts
Copyright © 2005
Society of Biblical Literature
All rights reserved.No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by
means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted
by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission
should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, Society of Biblical
Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pyramid texts. English.
The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts / [translated] by James P. Allen.
p. cm. — (Writings from the ancient world / Society of Biblical Literature ;
no. 23)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58983-182-7 (paper binding : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-58983-182-9 (paper binding : alk. paper)
1. Incantations, Egyptian—Translations into English. 2. Future life. I. Allen, James
P., 1945– II. Title. III. Series: Writings from the ancient world ; no. 23.
BL2430P9713 2005
299'.3138—dc22 2005016574
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled paper
conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994
standards for paper permanence.
CONTENTS
Series Editor’s Foreword .......................................................................ix

Introduction .........................................................................................1
Spell Numbers ................................................................................3
Editorial History .............................................................................4
Genres of Pyramid Texts .................................................................5
The Function of the Pyramid Texts .................................................7
The World of the Pyramid Texts ......................................................8
A Note on Translation ...................................................................12

I. The Pyramid Texts of Unis .............................................................15
Spells for Protection of the Mummy ..............................................17
The Offering Ritual ......................................................................19
Response to the Offering Ritual ....................................................29
The Resurrection Ritual ...............................................................31
Spells for Emerging from the Duat .................................................41
Spells for Passing through the Akhet ...............................................43
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .........................................................50
Spells for Leaving the Akhet ...........................................................55
Spells for Entering the Sky .............................................................60
Notes ............................................................................................61

II. The Pyramid Texts of Teti ..............................................................65
Spells for Entering the Womb of Nut .............................................67
The Offering Ritual ......................................................................70
The Insignia Ritual ........................................................................71
Response to the Offering Ritual ....................................................74
The Resurrection Ritual ...............................................................76
Spells for Leaving the Duat ............................................................76
vi CONTENTS
Spells for Entering the Akhet .........................................................79
Spells for Passing through the Akhet ...............................................84
The Morning Ritual ......................................................................85
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .........................................................88
Spells for Leaving the Akhet ...........................................................94
Fragments ......................................................................................94
Notes ............................................................................................94

III. The Pyramid Texts of Pepi I ...........................................................97
Spells for Entering the Womb of Nut ...........................................100
The Offering Ritual ....................................................................110
The Insignia Ritual ......................................................................113
The Resurrection Ritual .............................................................115
Spells for Leaving the Duat ..........................................................118
Spells for Proceeding to the Akhet ...............................................121
Spells for Entering the Akhet .......................................................122
Spells for Passing through the Akhet .............................................134
The Morning Ritual ....................................................................141
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .......................................................142
Spells for Proceeding to the End of the Akhet ..............................147
Spells for Passing from the Akhet to the Sky .................................151
Spells for Opening the Door of the Sky .......................................169
Spells for Entering and Leaving the Tomb ....................................173
Spells for Emerging into the Sky ..................................................196
Spells for Daily Life and Protection ..............................................198
Fragments ....................................................................................200
Notes ..........................................................................................201

IV. The Pyramid Texts of Merenre .....................................................209
Spells for Entering the Womb of Nut ...........................................211
The Burial Chamber Rituals ........................................................216
Response to the Offering Ritual ..................................................219
Spells for Opening the Door to the Akhet ....................................220
Spells for Entering and Proceeding through the Akhet ..................221
The Morning Ritual ....................................................................224
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .......................................................225
Spells for Proceeding to the End of the Akhet ..............................225
Spells for Leaving the Akhet .........................................................226
Spells for Proceeding toward the Sky ............................................226
Spells for Joining the Gods ...........................................................230
Spells for Appearing at Dawn .......................................................231
CONTENTS vii
Fragments ....................................................................................235
Notes ..........................................................................................236

V. The Pyramid Texts of Pepi II ........................................................239
Spells for Entering the Womb of Nut ...........................................241
The Offering and Insignia Rituals ................................................251
The Resurrection Ritual .............................................................265
Response to the Offering Ritual ..................................................269
The Morning Ritual ....................................................................271
Spells for Leaving the Duat ..........................................................273
Spells for Entering the Akhet .......................................................278
Spells for Crossing the Akhet .......................................................282
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .......................................................283
Spells for Approaching the Sky .....................................................289
Spells for Leaving the Akhet .........................................................297
Spells for Proceeding toward the Sky ............................................297
Spells for Joining the Gods ...........................................................299
Spells for Appearing at Dawn .......................................................299
Fragments ....................................................................................303
Notes ..........................................................................................304

VI. The Pyramid Texts of Queen Neith .............................................309
Spells for Entering the Womb of Nut ...........................................311
The Offering and Insignia Rituals ................................................314
The Resurrection Ritual .............................................................321
Spells for Passing through the Akhet .............................................327
Spells for the Spirit’s Rebirth .......................................................327
Spells for Ascending to the Sky ....................................................331
Spells for Entering the Sky ...........................................................332
Notes ..........................................................................................334

Variants ..............................................................................................337
The Pyramid Texts of Unis ...........................................................337
The Pyramid Texts of Teti ............................................................337
The Pyramid Texts of Pepi I .........................................................339
The Pyramid Texts of Merenre .....................................................346
The Pyramid Texts of Pepi II ........................................................353
The Pyramid Texts of Queen Neith .............................................368

Concordance of Text Numbers ...........................................................375
A. Spells by Pyramid ..................................................................375
viii CONTENTS
B. Spells by Location .................................................................396
C. Spells by PT or Other Numbers .............................................399
D. Spell Numbers and Spells not in Sethe’s Edition .....................413
E. Utterance Numbers of Faulkner’s Translation .........................417
F. MAFS Numbers ....................................................................418

Bibliography ......................................................................................419
Glossary .............................................................................................425
Index .................................................................................................445
S E ’ F
ERIES DITOR S OREWORD
Writings from the Ancient World is designed to provide up-to-
date, readable English translations of writings recovered from the
ancient Near East.
The series is intended to serve the interests of general readers, students,
and educators who wish to explore the ancient Near Eastern roots of
Western civilization or to compare these earliest written expressions of
human thought and activity with writings from other parts of the world.
It should also be useful to scholars in the humanities or social sciences who
need clear, reliable translations of ancient Near Eastern materials for com-
parative purposes. Specialists in particular areas of the ancient Near East
who need access to texts in the scripts and languages of other areas will
also find these translations helpful. Given the wide range of materials trans-
lated in the series, different volumes will appeal to different interests.
However, these translations make available to all readers of English the
world’s earliest traditions as well as valuable sources of information on
daily life, history, religion, and the like in the preclassical world.
The translators of the various volumes in this series are specialists in
the particular languages and have based their work on the original sources
and the most recent research. In their translations they attempt to convey
as much as possible of the original texts in fluent, current English. In the
introductions, notes, glossaries, maps, and chronological tables, they aim
to provide the essential information for an appreciation of these ancient
d o c u m e n t s .
The ancient Near East reached from Egypt to Iran and, for the pur-
poses of our volumes, ranged in time from the invention of writing (by
3000 B.C.E.) to the conquests of Alexander the Great (ca. 330 B.C.E.) .
x Introduction
The cultures represented within these limits include especially Egyptian,
Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Aramean, Phoenician,
and Israelite. It is hoped that Writings from the Ancient World will even-
tually produce translations from most of the many different genres attested
in these cultures:letters (official and private), myths, diplomatic documents,
hymns, law collections, monumental inscriptions, tales, and administrative
records, to mention but a few.
Significant funding was made available by the Society of Biblical
Literature for the preparation of this volume. In addition, those involved
in preparing this volume have received financial and clerical assistance
from their respective institutions. Were it not for these expressions of con-
fidence in our work, the arduous tasks of preparation, translation, editing,
and publication could not have been accomplished or even undertaken. It
is the hope of all who have worked with the Writings from the Ancient
World series that our translations will open up new horizons and deepen
the humanity of all who read these volumes.
Theodore J. Lewis
The Johns Hopkins University
INTRODUCTION
AT THE END OF THE OLD KINGDOM, the walls of the inner chambers and
corridors of ancient Egyptian pyramids were inscribed with a series of ritual
and magical spells, known to modern scholarship as the Pyramid Texts.
These inscriptions constitute the oldest body of Egyptian religious writings;
usually literary in form and language, they are also the oldest representatives
of Egyptian literature. In both respects, the Pyramid Texts are primary
sources for the history of ancient Egyptian thought and its relationship to
that of the biblical world.
To date, Pyramid Texts have been found in the tombs of ten kings and
queens at Saqqara, the necropolis of the Old Kingdom capital, Memphis:
Unis (Dynasty V, ca. 2353–2323 B.C.)
Teti (Dynasty VI, ca. 2323–2291 B.C.)
Pepi I (Dynasty VI, ca. 2289–2255 B.C.)
Ankhesenpepi II, wife of Pepi I
Merenre (Dynasty VI, ca. 2255–2246 B.C.)
Pepi II (Dynasty VI, ca. 2246–2152 B.C.)
Neith, wife of Pepi II
Iput II, wife of Pepi II
Wedjebetni, wife of Pepi II
Ibi (Dynasty VIII, ca. 2109–2107 B.C.).
After the end of the Old Kingdom, if not earlier, copies of Pyramid Texts
were also inscribed on tombs, sarcophagi, coffins, canopic chests, papyri,
stelae, and other funerary monuments of nonroyal Egyptians, along with
new or revised texts known as the Coffin Texts.1 In the New Kingdom and
later, some Pyramid Texts were incorporated into newer funerary compo-
sitions such as the Mouth-Opening Ritual and the Book of the Dead, and
the texts continued to be used until the end of pharaonic civilization.