death-afterlifeWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
The Four Sons of Horus & the Canopic Equipment
Four gods, four jars, four directions — each guarding a piece of the body the embalmers removed.
When Egyptians mummified a body, they removed certain internal organs and placed them in four containers — the 'canopic jars' — each under the protection of one of the Four Sons of Horus: Imsety, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef. Each son was paired with a guardian goddess (Isis, Nephthys, Neith, and Serqet) and with one of the four cardinal directions, so that the dismantled body was watched over on every side. From the later New Kingdom the jar lids took the now-familiar human, baboon, jackal, and falcon heads of the four sons.
Key passages(1)
The Pyramid Texts · 2350 BCE
High