1-156-216 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Ancient Egyptian cosmos, c1025 BC. Nut (heaven), stretches over the Earth, represented by her brother Geb, who lies below her. The toes of the goddess are at the eastern horizon, and her fingertips at the western horizon. Her father Shu (air), holds her up with both hands, separating her from Geb. Despite this Geb and Nut had four children: Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. The myths surrounding these four deities relate to the emergence of human society; the separation of earth and sky constitutes the creation of the world. This scene is part of the Greenfield papyrus, the Book of the Dead of the priestess Nesitanebtashru. It is one of the best surviving examples of a funerary papyrus; the original document was over thirty-seven metres long and is from the burial of Nesitanebtashru at Deir el-Bahari, Thebes, Egypt.