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The presence of myth in the Pyramid texts

"The Pyramid Texts, written on the walls of the entrance corridors, antechambers, and funerary chambers of the royal pyramids of the late Fifth and entire Sixth Dynasties, are filled with mythic statements and allusions, without using prose or poetic narrative. They functioned as a holistic group, each distinct from the other, yet each working within the group to create a situation paralleling the mythic, celestial world of the afterlife. By this means, the king (and later, queen) were caused to enter and assume their rightful place in the afterlife as deities. The language of the texts provides evidence for the process by which this takes place: aligning the royal with the deities by means of family terms, and using various literary methods of inserting the king into the world of the myth. The placement of the texts has proved to be of interest because, while certain spells of protection or offering were placed around entrances or around the stone sarcophagus, the majority of the spells show by their content that no specific placement was intended..."

Author(s):  Hellum, Jennifer Elisabeth, 1961-
Format:  Book
Publisher:  National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada
Publication City:  Ottawa
Date:  [2002]
Source:  Canadian theses = Thèses canadiennes
ISBN:  612590372
Subject(s):