Answer:
A dead noble stands trembling in the Hall of
Truth.1
Behind the noble, Horus, the half-falcon,
half-man ruler of Earth, unleashes a piercing
stare at the quivering2 man. Thoth, the sharpbeaked, ibis-headed3
deity4
of scribes, sharpens
his quill — poised to record a verdict of divine
judgment.
Seated before the noble on a golden throne is
Osiris, the king of the dead. Upon his head rests a
glittering crown with a gorgeous white feather
plume on either side. Behind Osiris stands Isis,
the revered
goddess of nature, who is
responsible for bringing the dead earth back to
life each year. She holds an ankh, a cross with a
loop above the bar. An ankh guarantees that a dead person will live forever.
The noble wonders if he will live forever. Or will he be fed to the hideous crocodile-like god called the
Eater of the Dead and forever cease to exist. (How can the noble wonder about all this if he's already
dead? The noble is actually in limbo, a place where the souls of dead people go while being judged.)
Osiris begins the process of judging the noble's life. On one side of a scale, Osiris places the heart of
the noble, which bares the secrets of the soul. Had the soul lied, cheated, or lived an evil life?
Explanation:
