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Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a collection of spells which enable the soul of the deceased to navigate the afterlife. The famous title was given the work by western scholars; the actual title would translate as The Book of Coming Forth...
Definition
Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is the English translation of the Tibetan texts known as bar-do thos-grol (Bardo Thodol) – “Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State” – and serves as a guide for the soul of the deceased after...
Definition
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells (c. 800) is an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament, currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The work is the most famous of the medieval illuminated manuscripts for the...
Article
Letters to the Dead in Ancient Egypt
The question of what happens after death has been addressed by religious beliefs and philosophies of every world culture throughout recorded history and ancient Egypt is famous for its own response to the mysteries of the afterlife. Their...
Article
The Book of Jonah
The book of Jonah is the fifth book in the Christian canons and the Jewish Tanakh. It is one of 'Trei Asar' (The Twelve) prophets in the tanakh, and in Christian tradition as 'oi dodeka prophetai' or 'ton dodekapropheton' , Greek for "The...
Definition
Book of Amos
The Book of Amos is a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible largely dating to the 8th century BCE and considered to be scripture by modern-day Jews and Christians. The work chronicles the visions that the ancient author of this book believed...
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as the spirits of the departed who, for one reason or another, either returned from the realm...
Definition
Domesday Book
Domesday Book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval Norman England. It was compiled in 1086-7 under the orders of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-87). The record is unique in European...
Definition
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) are a collection of scrolls found in the desert east of Jerusalem on the shore of the Dead Sea. They represent the largest manuscript collections of texts from the Second Temple Period found in the area of Judah...
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Book of the Dead (detail)
A detail from a Book of the Dead, on papyrus showing hieratic writing of Hornefer, Ptolemaic Period, provenance unknown. (Museo Castello Sforzesco, Milan)