This is an in-depth study of a vital and fascinating aspect of ancient Egyptian religion as preserved in the Pyramid Texts of the Fifth Dynasty. The creative and life-giving powers of the waters that sustain this world are also present in the Egyptian underworld and enable the dead king who has lived in Truth (Maat) to live again in the endless cycles of nature: the journeys of the sun and the stars and the birth and growth of vegetation. Concepts such as the Winding Waterway, the Great Lake, the serpent and the abyss were used to describe both the dangers of the underworld and the process of regeneration.

This is an in-depth study of a vital and fascinating aspect of ancient Egyptian religion as preserved in the Pyramid Texts of the Fifth Dynasty. The creative and life-giving powers of the waters that sustain this world are also present in the Egyptian underworld and enable the dead king who has lived in Truth (Maat) to live again in the endless cycles of nature: the journeys of the sun and the stars and the birth and growth of vegetation. Concepts such as the Winding Waterway, the Great Lake, the serpent and the abyss were used to describe both the dangers of the underworld and the process of regeneration. The examination of water imagery in the Pyramid Texts is set within the context of a description of the essential nature of ancient Egyptian religion and its key concepts. The ultimate value was not the gods but Maat, which may be translated as Truth, Justice, Righteousness and Natural Law. Although other ancient cultures such as Greece and Mesopotamia had concepts of the underworld that included various bodies of water, the Egyptians differed from these in that they believed these waters provided revitalization to become part of the natural cycles of this world.

Greg Jones was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. After attending Indooroopilly High School he studied at the University of Queensland where he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Ancient History. He subsequently moved to Toowoomba to work at the University of Southern Queensland. A further Master of Arts degree in Religion Studies was completed through the University of South Australia. He retired in 2007 and still lives in Toowoomba with his wife, Jill. They enjoy international travel, looking after their grandchildren and photography.