The Egyptian Book of Gates (Complete)

The History of Egypt Podcast

Dominic Perry

History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 114 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The New Kingdom "Book of Gates" explores Ra's journey through the Duat (Underworld). Passing the western horizon at sunset, Ra sails through the land of the dead. His journey is beset by dangerous creatures, and Ra himself experiences a kind of death at the darkest time of night. Fortunately, Heis not alone. Guided and assisted by friends, the lord of light journeys deep into the night. Hour by hour, he traverses the realm of Osiris, moving towards his own rebirth... This is a compilation of previously released material (episodes 175 & 176). First known appearance: KV57 the royal tomb of Horemheb (c.1305 BCE). Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Source: KV57, the tomb of Horemheb; KV17, tomb of Sety I, and others. Music intro, interludes, and outro: Luke Chaos. Adapted from original compositions by Gorillaz, from the album "Demon Days." Modern Book of Gates Translations: J. C. Darnell and C. Manassa Darnell, The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books (2018). E. Hornung, The Egyptian Book of Gates, trans. T. Abt (2014). DON'T use Budge. His version is over 100 years out-of-date on language and scholarly understanding of Egyptian religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the History of Egypt podcast.
0:10.2	This is the ancient Egyptian Book of Gates.
0:13.5	Today we are going past the Western horizon, the land of sunset.
0:18.5	We are heading into the dead lands to confront the souls who live within the
0:23.3	afterlife. It is a journey that will take us through many curious places and we will witness
0:29.6	great and mysterious events. To everyone listening, thank you for joining me. Come, let us journey to the underworld.
0:39.3	Around 1,305 BCE, approximately, an Egyptian pharaoh went to his grave.
0:57.5	His name was Horem Hebb, Horus Investival, and he was a significant ruler in the political
1:04.6	history of the time.
1:06.2	Religiously, Hormeb's tomb is quite interesting.
1:10.0	On the walls of this monument, we find a new
1:12.8	underworld text. This is the Book of Gates. The Book of Gates is a text dealing with the
1:20.1	lands beyond life. It is similar to famous works like the Book of the Dead, or the Amduat. The Book of Gates Dead or the Amduat.
1:27.7	The Book of Gates is concerned with the Duat.
1:31.4	This is the Egyptian name for the netherworld, the afterlife, whatever you want to call it.
1:37.4	The Duat is a vast land with its own geography and divisions.
1:42.9	It exists somewhere outside our world, but connected to it,
1:47.9	and what happens in the duat affects life on earth. The duat is home to many beings,
1:54.4	including the souls of the dead, monsters and demons who threaten those souls, powerful deities, and of course, the greatest of great gods.
2:05.8	On this journey, there will be many strange and wondrous sights.
2:10.9	Where did the Book of Gates come from? That's actually unclear. It might have its origins in temple texts, the books that priests
2:19.8	would use in their rituals, prayers, and worship. But that is speculative, just a hypothesis.
	...

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