Litany of Re
Also known as: Litany of Ra, Book of the Litany of Re, Book of the Litany of Ra
A New Kingdom funerary litany invoking Re in dozens of forms to protect and revivify the deceased king, uniting him with the solar god on his nightly journey and dawn rebirth.
Description
The Litany of Re is a royal funerary composition from the New Kingdom that praises and invokes the sun god Re in a sequence of named forms, often enumerated as seventy-five epithets. Inscribed on walls, sarcophagi, and papyri, it functioned as a protective and transformative ritual intended to align the deceased—especially the king—with the cyclical power of the solar barque and its nightly traversal of the netherworld. Closely associated with underworld books like the Amduat and Book of Gates, the litany integrates hymnic praise with magically potent names, reinforcing cosmic order (maat) and the defeat of chaos. Its iconography frequently shows solar manifestations (Re-Horakhty, Khepri, Atum) and attendants, situating the text within temple and tomb liturgies of renewal.
Historiography
The text is best preserved in royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, notably Seti I (KV17), and appears in later Ramesside contexts as well as on sarcophagi. Transmission occurs through monumental inscriptions and select papyri, with variations in order and representation of Re’s forms. Egyptological study has focused on its relationship to the solar-underworld corpus and its function as an operative liturgy rather than narrative myth. Modern editions collate tomb copies to reconstruct sequences and iconography.
Date Notes
New Kingdom composition, attested prominently in the tomb of Seti I (KV17) and other 19th–20th Dynasty royal burials; likely developed in the late 18th Dynasty with subsequent copies and adaptations.
Major Characters
- Re
- Osiris
- Isis
- Horus
Myths
- Re’s Nightly Solar Voyage
- Union of Re and Osiris
- Overthrowing Apophis
Facts
- New Kingdom funerary composition centered on invocations of Re’s multiple forms.
- Earliest prominent attestation is in Seti I’s tomb (KV17) in the Valley of the Kings.
- Often enumerates seventy-five manifestations of Re with names and epithets.
- Inscribed on tomb walls, sarcophagi, and sometimes papyri in Ramesside contexts.
- Closely associated with other underworld books such as the Amduat and Book of Gates.
- Ritual purpose is to protect and transform the deceased, aligning him with the solar cycle.
- Combines text and iconography; images frequently accompany sequences of names.
- Circulated primarily in royal funerary contexts of the 19th–20th Dynasties.
- Emphasizes maat and the defeat of the chaos serpent Apophis.
- Influenced later funerary compilations through its hymnic and onomastic structure.