The Amduat
Also known as: Book of the Hidden Chamber, Book of the Netherworld, Imy-dwat, Am Tuat, Book of What Is in the Duat
A New Kingdom funerary composition detailing the Sun god’s twelve-hour journey through the Duat each night, The Amduat maps the underworld’s regions, beings, and gates, culminating in Ra’s regeneration and sunrise.
Description
The Amduat (“Book of the Hidden Chamber”) presents a canonical itinerary of the Sun god’s nightly voyage through twelve hours of the Duat. Combining captions and iconographic panels, it names and depicts thousands of beings, lakes, caverns, and protective deities who sustain, guard, or threaten the solar bark. Central episodes include passage through the realm of Sokar, the binding of the serpent Apophis, the union of Ra with Osiris, and rebirth as Khepri at dawn. Inscribed primarily in royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the text functioned as both ritual technology—ensuring the king’s participation in cosmic renewal—and theological cartography of the netherworld’s topography and powers.
Historiography
Composed and illustrated for early 18th Dynasty royal burials, the Amduat appears first in full in KV34 (Thutmose III) and was transmitted in Ramesside tombs with variant scene orders and captions. Its tradition interacts with parallel netherworld books (Book of Gates, Book of Caverns) and later syntheses. Copies range from full wall programs to abbreviated papyri or sarcophagi panels. Modern editions rely on comparative readings of tomb scenes, facsimiles, and concordances across Theban monuments.
Date Notes
Earliest complete attestation in the tomb of Thutmose III (KV34); subsequently copied and adapted in later New Kingdom royal tombs.
Themes
Major Characters
- Ra
- Osiris
- Apophis
- Horus
- Seth
- Thoth
- Isis
Myths
- Ra’s Journey through the Twelve Hours of Night
- The Defeat of Apophis
- Union with Osiris and Rebirth
Facts
- Title means “That Which Is in the Duat,” referring to the hidden netherworld.
- Structured as twelve hourly divisions mapping the Sun’s nocturnal journey.
- Earliest full program is painted and carved in Thutmose III’s tomb (KV34).
- Combines image and caption; the layout is integral to meaning and ritual efficacy.
- Key theological moment is the Hour 6 union of Ra and Osiris enabling renewal.
- Apophis is neutralized repeatedly, especially in mid-to-late hours (e.g., Hour 7).
- The text positions the king as co-sailor on the night bark for personal afterlife.
- Amduat imagery influenced later compositions like Book of Gates and Caverns.
- Often accompanied by the Litany of Ra and other netherworld texts in tombs.
- Known mainly from royal tomb walls but also abbreviated on papyri and coffins.