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"Totenpass" is a German term used for inscribed metal leaves like this, found in Greek burials and which served as a "passport for the dead". This Orphic example, a lamella or gold sheet measuring just an inch by an inch and a half across, dates from the 4th-century BC. 1/4 
It is one of around 40 known so-called Orphic tablets. They were - quite literally - golden tickets to a happier afterlife. Most date between the fourth and first centuries BC, and examples have been found across the Mediterranean. This one is in the J. Paul Getty Museum. 2/3
This example gives a condensed version of the standard text. The dead soul is thirsty. It is guided to the proper spring. The soul is asked about its origin and replies with the formula of salvation, stressing its half-terrestrial, half-celestial origin. 3/4
(Initiate): I am parched with thirst and perishing!
(Spring): Then come drink of me, the Ever-Flowing Spring. On the right there is a bright cypress. Who are you? Where are you from?
(Initiate): I am the son of Earth and Starry Heaven. But my race is heavenly. 4/4
(Spring): Then come drink of me, the Ever-Flowing Spring. On the right there is a bright cypress. Who are you? Where are you from?
(Initiate): I am the son of Earth and Starry Heaven. But my race is heavenly. 4/4
