8. Crossing the Sky
The tomb of Ra-aa-Kheperu Amenhotep-neter-heq-an, Amenhotep II.
In the first row of the picture, from left to right, is the mummy of the King dragged to his last home, in the protection of the divine guards represented with various heads of animals and birds. The right hand end shows the divine guards sitting, and before them the sign of domination with the crowns of kingship. The second row is part of the procession of the sacred boat of the Sun God. The Sacred Boat is seen travelling in the sky to represent the journey of the sun. The guard sitting is the God of Darkness to show that the sun has arrived at the darkness, while Isis is holding two vases of perfume as an offering to the sun. The mummies of the king, crowned, are represented to show that the king, too, must make the same journey of the sun. In the third section, the sarcophagus arrives safely at his last abode, conducted by the cobra. In front of the four statues of the sitting Gods is the crown of Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt, the mask of the ram (which is the sacred animal of the sun), and the ostrich feathers which are the sign of Truth. These four Gods are watching to drive away the bad spirits that might disturb the spirit of the king. On the right there are several dead men passing before the guards of the underworld.