The Coffin Texts, Afterlife Gateways

From the shadows of Egypt's Middle Kingdom emerges one of humanity's most profound spiritual testaments: the Coffin Texts. Once inscribed on the wooden coffins of governors, priests, and nobles, these thousands of spells mapped the perilous journey through the Duat, guarded the soul against serpents and demons, and promised resurrection with Osiris and rebirth with the rising sun. This volume, The Coffin Texts: Afterlife Gateways, is the newest installment in the long-running Egyptian Sacred Texts series, first launched in 2008 and now in its acclaimed Fourth Edition. Enriched by the astounding modernization of Egyptology in recent years—new excavations, multispectral imaging, digital reconstructions—this edition breathes fresh life into the ancient words. It reveals a society in transformation: from the exclusivity of the Pyramid Age to the democratization of eternity, where immortality became a hope not only for kings but for all who could inscribe their coffins with spells of power. Across twelve richly detailed chapters, the book guides readers through the categorization of over a thousand spells, the solar bark journeys of Re, the perils of underworld portals, the illustrated "Book of Two Ways," the rise of Theban theology, and the enduring legacy that flowed into the Book of the Dead. Both scholarly and accessible, this edition offers an unparalleled gateway into the Egyptian vision of death, resurrection, and cosmic order. The Coffin Texts: Afterlife Gateways is more than a translation—it is a journey into the heart of an ancient world where words themselves became vessels of salvation.