DÉET. - An archaic Egyptian form (d.t.; Coptic tē) designating the underworld. In the primitive age the Egyptians, seeing the stars rise and set at such distant points of the earth, thought that beneath it there was a narrow round gallery for their transit.

This idea was modified when a boat was attributed to the sun and it was thought that at night it crossed that gallery. The river is also called d. But since the d. was also considered as a place of dwelling of the dead, from the XVIII dynasty there is in the Book of What Is in the d. (improperly called Am-Duat) an illustrated guide of the twelve regions that the solar boat traversed during the night. Their names, their measurements, the inhabitants, the various crews, had to be known by the dead for his spiritual benefit.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: G. Maspero, Études de mythologie et d'archéologie égyptiennes, II, Paris 1893, pp. 27-163; G. Jéquier, Le livre de ce qu'il y a dans l'Hadiz, ibid. 1894; W. Budge, The egyptian Heaven and Hell, I, London 1925.

Ernesta Bacchi

@incollection{ec4_deet_deet, author = {Bacchi, Ernesta}, title = {Déet (Déet)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IV}, pages = {1299}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/deet-deet} }

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