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Egypt and Hermes · Book of the Dead, chapter 175

Atum will return everything to the waters

EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
ReferenceBook of the Dead, chapter 175
Writtenc. 1550–50 BCE
SetEnd of time
Atum tells Osiris that one day he will destroy everything he made, and the earth will return to the primeval waters, Nun, as it was in the beginning. Only Atum and Osiris will remain, as serpents.

Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary (Budge 1895 is the public-domain translation) · About the translator

Read it literally

A planned reset, known in advance by the gods.

What scholars say

Funerary spells copied on papyri.

Strange time Council of gods

Quick answers about Book of the Dead, chapter 175

Where is Book of the Dead, chapter 175 found?

Book of the Dead, chapter 175 (Egypt and Hermes). Translation quoted: E. A. Wallis Budge, The Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani (1895).

When was Book of the Dead, chapter 175 written?

c. 1550–50 BCE.

What do scholars say about Book of the Dead, chapter 175?

Funerary spells copied on papyri.

Rabbit holes in this passage

GodAtumIn the Book of the Dead, Egypt's creator god calmly tells Osiris that he will one day destroy everything he made and survive it as a serpent, while the earth returns to the waters. He had risen self-made from those waters; some texts say he sneezed out the first gods. What does he mean by an ending?

Sources

  1. E. A. Wallis Budge, The Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani (1895)Primary text
  2. Book of the Dead, trans. E. A. Wallis Budge (1895)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated