The Falcon in the Book of the Dead

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Abstract

The Falcon was a sacred bird in ancient Egyptian religion. The species of falcon which was depicted in Egypt and Book of the dead is Falcon Horus that was called Biarmicus and also the Lanner Falcon. There are very few remaining papyri dating back to 30th dynasty, such as papyrus of Ns-bA-nb-Ddt, in Cairo Egyptian Museum (J.E. 97249), Papyrus 10, from Thebes. The falcon is depicted twice in this papyrus; in chapter 18, God Ra was part of the compound divine of NArf, who comes to them the Deceased and wished to join them, and in Chapter 101, God Ra was part of sun boat and the Deceased wishes to take his place in the solar boat in preparation for crossing the sky, to travel in a compound with god Ra, ensuring the Deceased is restored to life and youth forever.
The Falcon was depicted in a linear manner with ill-defined features, the head depicted from the side, the eyes as a small black dot and the edge of the beak is sharp and straight without mustache, and it was depicted in two positions, both standing and sitting. It was wearing a short skirt and strap belt with two shoulders straps, and also wearing bandages wrapping the body in the form of a mummy.  One figure has a triple wig with vertical striations, with one part forward and then the rest of the hair to the back, and another is shown with a straight wig on its back, without decoration or folds. Above these wigs the disk of the sun which is wrapped around by the tail of a cobra and ignores the details of the head. The Deceased is shown sitting in boat above the lake, without decoration and without the form of front and rear, and the falcon was holding anx and wAs.