Our understanding of the mythological Benben Stone originates in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a cheat sheet of spells, rituals, and rites for the dead to use to navigate the afterlife. As World History says, the Book of the Dead was based on tomb paintings as far back as Egypt's Third Dynasty (2670 – 2613 BCE), but weren't written down until 700 to 800 years later during the 12th Dynasty (1991 – 1802 BCE). Papyri were buried with the dead, no two exactly alike, and by 1570 – 1069 BCE, families had custom-made books written that were tailored to the specific afterlife needs of deceased family members.
All in all, such beliefs show how important (and real) the afterlife was to the ancient Egyptians. In many ways, life after death was more significant than life. Consider this line from the Book of the Dead, per Vintage News, "O Atum-Khoprer, you became high on the height, you rose up as the Benben-Stone in the Mansion of the Phoenix at On." Atum, as Ancient Egypt Online summarizes, was the first being of the cosmos who rose from Nun, the primordial emptiness, and from him came life (Shu) and death (Tefnut). The Benben Stone was described as some artifact from the origin of the universe, enshrined in the sanctuary of Atum in Heliopolis, as Symbol Sage explains. Some think the Benben Stone is the origin for all of ancient Egypt's pyramidal designs.
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