Amenti

AMENTI (Egypt. Jmn.tj.t «The Western District», Coptic Amenti, Greek Ἀγένδρα). - It is the name borne by the region of the dead in ancient Egypt (Plut., De Is., 29). A very ancient concept in Egypt is that the sun which rises at dawn in the east finds death in the west, and the life of man is identified with the rising and setting of the sun. He too, like the sun, will die, but only to rise again like it to a new life. Later the concept spreads that the sun does not die, but having traversed the sky during the day, descends into the boat of night along the subterranean river; beneath the earth no breath of wind blows to drive the boat, but the souls of the dead, swimming through the river, drag it as far as the east, from which the sun rises in the morning. The dead, as inhabitants of this region, are called the westerners; "first of the westerners" is Osiris. The appearance of the district is that of a towered fortress; at its gates watchmen keep guard. Within are found the judges of souls, who examine the soul and weigh the heart and, according to merits and faults, assign a reward or inflict a punishment. The soul, which at the death of the man will have been judged pure before the tribunal of Osiris, "will live in eternity and will not die a second time, but will live after death like the daily sun."

The deceased, before being admitted to the blessedness of the second life, must accomplish a long journey in the underworld, taking part in the incessantly renewed struggle of the two principles of good and evil. In this struggle he is aided by the prayers contained in the Book of the Dead, which have magical value.

In relation precisely to the belief that the district of the dead is placed in the west, corpses were arranged in the tombs with the face turned toward that direction; this custom is very ancient and is already noted at the beginning of the historical period.