Book of the Earth
Also known as: Earth Book, Erd buch, Book of the Earth (Egyptian)
A Ramesside underworld composition, the Book of the Earth depicts the nightly journey of Re through subterranean regions where he unites with Osiris, overcomes Apophis, and is reborn at dawn.
Description
The Book of the Earth is a New Kingdom funerary text arranged in panels that emphasize the sun god’s passage through caverns beneath the earth. It focuses on the union of Re and Osiris, the containment of chaos embodied by Apophis, and the regeneration of cosmic order. The work survives primarily as wall reliefs and paintings, with its most complete version in KV9 (Ramesses VI). Iconographically dense, it features Aker, the double-headed earth deity, enclosing the netherworld; celestial goddesses arching over registers; and serpents that bind, nourish, or punish the dead. Unlike the Amduat or Book of Gates, its structure is less hour-driven, privileging theological tableaux that dramatize death’s inversion into rebirth through solar-Osirian synthesis.
Historiography
Known chiefly from Ramesside royal tombs, especially KV9, the composition was identified and classified in modern scholarship only in the 20th century as distinct from the Amduat and Book of Caverns. Egyptologists have debated its internal order because scene sequences vary between attestations. The text is preserved mostly as captions and labels accompanying scenes rather than continuous narrative. Modern syntheses rely on comparative iconographic analysis and concordances from Theban tomb documentation.
Date Notes
Ramesside composition; fullest attestation in the tomb of Ramesses VI (KV9), with earlier fragmentary occurrences in late 19th–20th Dynasty contexts.
Themes
Major Characters
- Ra
- Osiris
- Apep
- Geb
- Nut
Myths
- Sun’s Nocturnal Journey through the Underworld
- Punishment of the Enemies of Ra
- Regeneration of the Sun and Osiris
Facts
- Attested most fully in the sarcophagus chamber of Ramesses VI (KV9).
- Distinct from, though related to, the Amduat and the Book of Caverns.
- Organized as theological tableaux rather than twelve hourly divisions.
- Centers on Re’s nocturnal journey and assimilation with Osiris for rebirth.
- Aker, the double-headed earth god, often frames or encloses the scenes.
- Iconography highlights the containment and dismemberment of Apophis.
- Preserved mainly as tomb wall texts with caption-like inscriptions.
- Reflects Ramesside emphasis on solar-Osirian synthesis in royal afterlife.
- Scene order varies across attestations, complicating strict reconstruction.
- Primary function is funerary: to secure regeneration and cosmic stability.