Editing Nehebkau (section)

== Roles ==

=== Funerary God ===
[[File:Nehebkau - Spell-87 -Book of the Dead.jpg|thumb|Nehebkau depicted in Spell 87 of the [[Papyrus of Ani|Book of the Dead of Ani]]]]
As a funerary god and one of the forty-two judges in the [[Assessors of Maat|Court of Maat]], Nehebkau played a significant role in the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|Ancient Egyptian perception of the afterlife]].<ref name="shorter" /> As well as guarding the underworld, he was occasionally represented as a personal guard of [[Osiris]].<ref name="bane">{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bane, Theresa|title=encyclopedia of beasts and monsters in myth, legend and folklore|date=25 April 2016|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9505-4|oclc=930364175}}</ref>

When a deceased spirit enters the afterlife in Ancient Egyptian mythology, the most important stage is their trial in the Court of Maat,<ref name=wilkinson/> also known as the Law-Court of [[Osiris]]<ref name=wilkinson/> or the Dead Court.<ref name=shorter/> This tribunal consisted of forty-two fearsome deities who represented all possible types of evil,<ref name=wilkinson/> and to whom the deceased had to declare their innocence.<ref name=wilkinson/>

Nehebkau had a specific role in examining the individual's purity and sinlessness, and he was specifically responsible for protecting the neck and throat of the deceased.<ref name=nageh/>

Once the deceased is justified and found innocent by the Court, Nehebkau is believed to have absolved the soul of sin<ref name=nageh/> and provided the deceased with food and drink.<ref name=nageh/> He additionally nourishes the deceased with [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ka (vital essence)|ka – the 'life force']] of the individual - allowing their spirit to endure in the afterlife.<ref name=massiera>{{Cite journal|last=Massiera|first=Magali|date=2015|title=The So Called Statue of Nehebkau, A Comparative Study|journal=Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Arcaheology|pages=25–33|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiia/article/download/29447/23116/87200}}</ref>

=== Attendant of Re ===
After he was subdued by [[Atum]], Nehebkau was characterised as benevolent, beautiful and peaceful.<ref name=nageh/> It is in this state that he became the servant and partner of the sun god [[Ra|Re]]. In later myths, he assists Re in his moving of the [[Solar deity|morning boat]] through the sky to the east<ref name=nageh/> and throughout the flight of the day.<ref name=nageh/> In the [[Book of the Dead|Book of The Dead]], this passage is described as making all people happy, filling hearts with "joy and justice".<ref name=nageh/>

Additionally, Nehebkau is said to have served the dead Kings in this period: providing food,<ref name=pinch/> transmitting messages<ref name=pinch/> and intervening with other deities on their behalf.<ref name=wilkinson/>

=== Successor of Re ===
Nehebkau eventually assumed [[Ra#In the underworld|Re's role in the afterlife]]:<ref name=nageh/> becoming "the King of Heaven and ruler of [[the Two Lands]]"<ref name=faulkner>{{cite book |last=Faulkner |first=Raymond O. |author-link=Raymond O. Faulkner |title=The ancient Egyptian coffin texts: spells 1-1185 & indexes (8th rev. ed.) |publisher=Aris & Phillips |publication-place=Oxford |date=8 June 2004 |orig-date=1st ed. 1978 |isbn=0-85668-754-5 |oclc=56875890}}</ref> and bestowing crowns, ka and other desirable qualities upon the spirits of the deceased.<ref name=faulkner/> He acted as a mediator between the deceased and the gods,<ref name=nageh/> and was additionally responsible for assigning the dead their positions in the afterlife.<ref name=shorter/>