The Weighing of the Heart

An Egyptian Book of the Dead is a collection of incantations, spells, and prayers designed to help the dead achieve an eternal afterlife. This video presents one of its spells, “The Weighing of the Heart.” It describes the ritual in which the deceased, Imhotep, appears before the god Osiris to prove he has lived according to the proper moral code.

Book of the Dead of the Priest of Horus, Imhotep (Imuthes). Early Ptolemaic Period, ca. 332–200 B.C. From Egypt; Probably from Middle Egypt, Meir (Mir). Papyrus, ink; L. 2189.5 x H. 35.2 cm (71 ft. 10 in. x 13 7/8 in.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1935 (35.9.20a–w)