Dreaming is an important part of ancient Egyptian spirituality. Dreams and dream interpretation play a role in almost all cultures. In ancient Egypt c. 2000 BC, the Egyptians write down their dreams or explain them to oneiromancers or dream interpreters.
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In c. 1350 BCE, Egyptian scribes create the "Chester Beatty Papyrus", the oldest known dream book in the world, named after the person who acquired it. Dream books contain images to describe the meaning of dreams.
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People who receive vivid, prophetic or meaningful dreams are considered blessed. Ancient Egyptians view dreams as oracles. Dreams can convey messages from the gods, insight into problems, advice, warnings or visions of the future.
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The Egyptian god of dreams is Bes, a popular household protector god. He's thought to come to Egypt from the mythical Land of Punt. The Egyptian God Tutu also relates to dreaming. He protects against nightmares and evil dreams.
Nightmares can also be warnings or foreshadows sent by a deity. Dreaming brings the Egyptians closer to the Gods. People try to stimulate creative and significant dreams, and to cultivate a rich dream life.
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According to dream books, the most common Egyptian dreams feature images of smashing stones, losing teeth or drowning in the Nile. The Egyptians know better than to take dreams at face value. Negative-seeming dreams are not necessarily bad.
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Like the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians are fond of interpreting dreams through puns or wordplay. For instance a dream of eating donkey is considered good luck. Words for “donkey” and “great” can have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings.
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At special retreats, the hopeful dreamers can sleep on sanctified dream beds. These are specially treated and perfumed to increase chances of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the deities.
Some divinities even have 'dream temples' where supplicants can sleep to receive deific messages. Sleeping in temples becomes so popular in ancient Egypt, priests have to put a stop to the practice entirely.
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Instead of sleeping in temples, ancient Egyptians describe their dreams to oracles, who are priests specialized in dream interpretation. They translate information from the gods to the dreamer, or explain other aspects of the dream(s).
The oldest oneirocritic Egyptian manuscript known is the "Ramesside Dream Book" created in the time of Ramesses II in the 13th century BCE. The remaining fragments are now in the British Museum.
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Between the paws of the Great Sphinx of Giza, a stele describes how Thutmose IV restored the massive statue due a dream. In the dream he's told he'll become pharaoh if he restores the Sphinx. So he does, and reigns for about 10 years c. 1400 BCE.
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