The shift from polytheism to monotheism changed the world radically. Akhenaten and Moses-a figure of history and a figure of tradition-symbolize this shift in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that were brought into the closest connection as early as the Book of Exodus, where Egypt stands for the old world to be rejected and abandoned in order to enter the new one.The seven chapters of this seminal study shed light on the great transformation from different angles. Between Egypt in the first chapter and monotheism in the last, five chapters deal in various ways with the transition from one to the other, analyzing the Exodus myth, understanding the shift in terms of evolution and revolution, confronting Akhenaten and Moses in a new way, discussing Karl Jaspers' theory of the Axial Age, and dealing with the eighteenth-century view of the Egyptian mysteries as a cultural model.

In their wide-ranging interpretation of the religion of ancient Egypt, Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche explore how, over a period of roughly 3500 years, the Egyptians conceptualized their relations with the gods. Drawing on the insights of anthropology, the authors discuss such topics as the identities, images, and functions of the gods; rituals and liturgies; personal forms of piety expressing humanity's need to establish a direct relation with the divine; and the afterlife, a central feature of Egyptian religion. That religion, the authors assert, was characterized by the remarkable continuity of its ritual practices and the ideas of which they were an expression.Throughout, Dunand and Zivie-Coche take advantage of the most recent archaeological discoveries and scholarship. Gods and Men in Egypt is unique in its coverage of Egyptian religious expression in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Written with nonspecialist readers in mind, it is largely concerned with the continuation of Egypt's traditional religion in these periods, but it also includes fascinating accounts of Judaism in Egypt and the appearance and spread of Christianity there."

This is an introduction to the extraordinary religion of the ancient Egyptian civilization and the beliefs that shaped their everyday life. It is an authoritative text by a leading Egyptologist is complemented by beautiful maps, drawings, illustrations and photographs of places and objects. It includes an account of Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife, the Book of the Dead and ceremonies such as mummification and the Weighing of the Heart. The widespread practices of magic, ritual and rites of passage are clearly explained. It includes a study of burial sites such as tombs, pyramids and ben-ben and other sacred stones. It describes temple rites and offerings, the power of the high priests, and the role of women in religion. Religious belief was central to life in ancient Egypt and played a fundamental role in the development of their great society. In the first half of this book, the state religion is considered, with an examination of the preparation for the afterlife, including the procedures and ceremonies that followed death. The second half of the book considers the effects of popular religion on daily activities and social history. The religion of the people of the River Nile is documented here with maps and a wealth of over 200 beautiful photographs, reproductions and artworks, making this book an essential reference for anyone interested in this ancient civilization.

This is the study of an anonymous ancient work, usually called Joseph and Aseneth, which narrates the transformation of the daughter of an Egyptian priest into an acceptable spouse for the biblical Joseph, whose marriage to Aseneth is given brief notice in Genesis. Kraemer takes issue with the scholarly consensus that the tale is a Jewish conversion story composed no later than the early second century C.E. Instead, she dates it to the third or fourth century C.E., and argues that, although no definitive answer is presently possible, it may well be a Christian account. This critique also raises larger issues about the dating and identification of many similar writings, known as pseudepigrapha. Kraemer reads its account of Aseneth's interactions with an angelic double of Joseph in the context of ancient accounts of encounters with powerful divine beings, including the sun god Helios, and of Neoplatonic ideas about the fate of souls. When Aseneth Met Joseph demonstrates the centrality of ideas about gender in the representation of Aseneth and, by extension, offers implications for broader concerns about gender in Late Antiquity.

This vivid and authoritative reference book introduces us to the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. It describes their characters and identifying features, the myths surrounding them, and their role in the creation of society. In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was a human embodiment of a divine being, bridging the distance between the people and the gods. Elaborate funerary rituals for the pharaohs, offerings to the gods, festivals, taboos, superstitions, dreams and oracles reveal how far religion influenced and enriched the lives of the ordinary people. Maps, chronologies and artworks supplement hundreds of photographs in this masterly history.

In Isis in a Global Empire, Lindsey Mazurek explores the growing popularity of Egyptian gods and its impact on Greek identity in the Roman Empire. Bringing together archaeological, art historical, and textual evidence, she demonstrates how the diverse devotees of gods such as Isis and Sarapis considered Greek ethnicity in ways that differed significantly from those of the Greek male elites whose opinions have long shaped our understanding of Roman Greece. These ideas were expressed in various ways - sculptures of Egyptian deities rendered in a Greek style, hymns to Isis that grounded her in Greek geography and mythology, funerary portraits that depicted devotees dressed as Isis, and sanctuaries that used natural and artistic features to evoke stereotypes of the Nile. Mazurek's volume offers a fresh, material history of ancient globalization, one that highlights the role that religion played in the self-identification of provincial Romans and their place in the Mediterranean world.

For the first time in 3,300 years, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Papyrus of Ani is showcased in its entirety in seventy four magnificent, large-format, color pages. Maybe the most stunning presentation of this book in 3300 years: Upon death, it was the practice for some Egyptians to produce a papyrus manuscript called the Book of Going Forth by Day or the Book of the Dead. A Book of the Dead included declarations and spells to help the deceased in the afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani is the manuscript compiled for Ani, the royal scribe of Thebes. Written and illustrated almost 3,300 years ago, The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript with cursive hieroglyphs and color illustrations. It is the most beautiful, best-preserved, and complete example of ancient Egyptian philosophical and religious thought known to exist. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an integral part of the world's spiritual heritage. It is an artistic rendering of the mysteries of life and death. For the first time since its creation, this ancient papyrus is now available in full color with an integrated English translation directly below each image. This twentieth-anniversary edition of The Egyptian Book of the Dead has been revised and expanded to include: * Significant improvements to the display of the images of the Papyrus. * A survey of the continuing importance of ancient Egypt in modern culture. * A detailed history of Egyptian translation and philology since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. * And, a state-of-the-art Annotated Bibliography and Study Guide for Ancient Egyptian studies. As the third revised edition, the entire corpus of this critical work is given its most accessible and lavish presentation ever. * Includes a detailed history of Egyptian scholarship, an annotated bibliography and study guide, and several improvements to the color plates. * Makes an excellent gift for people interested in world history and ancient religions.

John Van Auken combines the collection of Egyptian past lives found in the Cayce readings with Egyptian legends that appear in papyruses, on temple walls, and in pyramid texts for a complete picture that reveals the full story of priestesses, healers, female pharaohs, and gods among humans. This book includes more than 80 illustrations with Cayce's insights into the pyramids, ancient flight, the Hall of Records, the Great Initiate, and the seven stages of soul growth.

The texts and visual arts of ancient Egypt reveal a persistent and sophisticated engagement with problems of language, the body, and multiplicity. This innovative book shows how these issues were represented in ancient Egypt and how Egyptian approaches to them continue to influence the way we think about them today.
The story of Osiris is one of the central cultural myths of ancient Egypt, a story of dismemberment and religious passion that also exemplifies attitudes about personal identity, sexuality, and the transfer of royal power. It is, moreover, a story of death and the overcoming of death, and in this it lies at the center of our own means of engagement with ancient Egypt.
This book focuses on the story of Osiris as it is recorded in Egyptian texts and memorialized on the walls of temples and tombs. Since such a focus is attainable only through Egyptian representational systems, especially hieroglyphs, the book also engages broader questions of writing and visual representation: decipherment, controversies about the "ideograph," and the relation between visual images and writing.
This analysis of Egyptian representation leads to a consideration of the phallic body and the problem of multiplicity in Egyptian religion, two nets of Egyptian discourse that, though integrated into the writing system itself, reach toward broader Egyptian discourses of gender, subjectivity, piety, and cosmogenesis. The concluding chapter considers, in specific terms, the question of a persisting Egyptian legacy in the West, from the Greeks and Israelites to Augustine, Hegel, and Lacan.

This book explores the pivotal place of the fiery serpent-eye goddess, Hathor-Sekmet, in the mysteries of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead. Weaving together myths, rituals and temple art, it recreates the craft world of ancient Memphis, with its heart-centred religion and vitalising feminine divinities. The author reveals the rich and complex temple life of New Kingdom Egypt in a compelling account of the soul's return to primal origins in the Ancestor Ritual, a little known royal death and rebirth ceremony."My Heart My Mother" breaks new ground with its analysis of Egyptian sacred architecture. Seti I's temple at Abydos is shown to be an image of heaven, built to correspond with the cosmic 'maps' of living and dying depicted on the remarkable Nut ceilings in Theban royal tombs. Each part of the Abydos temple is a focus for transformation in the ancestral rites. Despite great social changes this heart wisdom continued long after the rule of Pharaohs ended. The book traces its profound influence in alchemy, presenting fresh evidence to support the alchemists' own belief in the Egyptian roots of their tradition.

The unique relationship between word and image in ancient Egypt is a defining feature of that ancient culture's records. All hieroglyphic texts are composed of images, and large-scale figural imagery in temples and tombs is often accompanied by texts. Epigraphy and palaeography are two distinct, but closely related, ways of recording, analyzing, and interpreting texts and images. This Handbook stresses technical issues about recording text and art and interpretive questions about what we do with those records and why we do it. It offers readers three key things: a diachronic perspective, covering all ancient Egyptian scripts from prehistoric Egypt through the Coptic era (fourth millennium BCE-first half of first millennium CE), a look at recording techniques that considers the past, present, and future, and a focus on the experiences of colleagues. The diachronic perspective illustrates the range of techniques used to record different phases of writing in different media. The consideration of past, present, and future techniques allows readers to understand and assess why epigraphy and palaeography is or was done in a particular manner by linking the aims of a particular effort with the technique chosen to reach those aims. The choice of techniques is a matter of goals and the records' work circumstances, an inevitable consequence of epigraphy being a double projection: geometrical, transcribing in two dimensions an object that exists physically in three; and mental, an interpretation, with an inevitable selection among the object's defining characteristics. The experiences of colleagues provide a range of perspectives and opinions about issues such as techniques of recording, challenges faced in the field, and ways of reading and interpreting text and image. These accounts are interesting and instructive stories of innovation in the face of scientific conundrum.

This is the second of three volumes, first published in 1906, which explore the Egyptian theology of the afterlife. It contains the complete hieroglyphic text of the short form of the Am-Tuat and of the Book of Gates, with translations and reproductions of all the illustrations. In the Book of Gates the doctrines of the sophisticated cult of Osiris are prominent: they affirm that the beatified live for ever in the kingdom of Osiris, and feed daily upon his eternal body. The object of all the Books of the Other World was to provide the dead with a 'guide' or 'handbook,' containing a description of the regions through which their souls would have to pass on their way to the Kingdom of Osiris, and which would supply them with the words of power and magical names necessary for an unimpeded journey from this world to the next.

The ancient Egyptians were firmly convinced of the importance of magic, which was both a source of supernatural wisdom and a means of affecting one's own fate. The gods themselves used it for creating the world, granting mankind magical powers as an aid to the struggle for existence. Magic formed a link between human beings, gods, and the dead. Magicians were the indispensable guardians of the god-given cosmic order, learned scholars who were always searching for the Magic Book of Thoth, which could explain the wonders of nature. Egyptian Magic, illustrated with wonderful and mysterious objects from European museum collections, describes how Egyptian sorcerers used their craft to protect the weakest members of society, to support the gods in their fight against evil, and to imbue the dead with immortality, and explores the arcane systems and traditions of the occult that governed this well-organized universe of ancient Egypt.

This book explores ancient Egypt's feminine anointing mysteries and how these are reflected in both royal art and ritual life. It also traces their subsequent influence in early Christianity. This means there are five broad audiences for the book in addition to those interested in Egyptology, ancient history and archaeology. Religion -- the book provides new insights in religion and mythology. It includes a detailed study of the New Year ritual of anointing the pharaoh , so it will appeal to readers interested in ritual and ancient mysteries. As a discussion of the oldest known African religion it is also relevant to black history. Women's Studies -- the book carefully elucidates the place of feminine divinity and the Egyptian queen in these anointing mysteries. Emphasising the crucial role of the feminine in Egyptian ritual life, it gives a new perspective on women's theology and women's history. Early Christianity -- the book traces the influence of the Egyptian New Year rites in the Christian anointing mysteries, as recorded both in the canonical gospels and the alchemically inspired Gospel of Philip from the Nag Hammadi Library. It is therefore relevant to readers interested in early Christianity, Christian sacramentalism and the Nag Hammadi writings. Alchemy and Hermeticism -- the book's study of the relationship between early Christianity, Graeco-Egyptian alchemy and Hermeticism will interest those drawn to early esoteric traditions. Fine Arts -- the book will also appeal to readers interested in a history, since it gives a high priority to visual images for understanding Egyptian religion. It includes many striking colour illustrations, which are closely Integrated within the text.

Discover all the foul facts about the Awful Egyptians with history's most horrible headlines. All the Awful Egyptians' most horrible facts ready for readers to uncover, including: why the Egyptian people worshipped a dung beetle which pharaoh married her grandfather and what the 'Shepherd of the Royal Backside' had to do! * fully illustrated throughout and packed with horrible stories - with all the horribly hilarious bits included * with a fresh take on the classic Horrible Histories style, perfect for fans old and new * the perfect series for anyone looking for a fun and informative read * Horrible Histories has been entertaining children and families for generations with books, TV, stage show, magazines, games and 2019's brilliantly funny Horrible Histories: the Movie - Rotten Romans. Get your history right here and collect the whole horrible lot. Read all about it!

Take a journey through Ancient Egypt and see how the pharaohs once lived! An enticing and insightful guide that covers 3000 years of life under the pharaoh's rule (c.3200-30 BCE), from the early kings of Egypt to the reign of Cleopatra and the Roman conquest, this book explains it all! Written by a team of respected Egyptologists, this Egyptian history book includes: - Themed spreads which explore developments in areas such as religion, writing, painting, ceramics, and medicine - Biography spreads which feature the lives of the most influential pharaohs and queens - Detailed maps which set the main sites in context, and show the growth of the civilisation and its trade network - An 80-page reference section which provides a directory of the pharaohs, gods, and goddesses Unlock every aspect of Ancient Egypt, from pharaohs such as Tutankhamen, discover the Pyramids and the Sphinx of Giza and even ordinary people's everyday lives and beliefs. From 31 Egyptian dynasties and 3000 years of history to the time of Narmer, and to that of Cleopatra and so much more, this is the perfect comprehensive guide to Egypt's ancient civilisation. This up-to-date biography of Ancient Egypt is filled with so much to learn and experience. Filled with more than 850 photos, illustrations, and maps, this is the perfect book for adventurous thinkers, life-long learners, or anyone with an interest in ancient civilisations and Egyptology.

James H. Breasted (1865-1935) was the foremost influence in introducing Americans to the culture of ancient Egypt. He founded the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago and was the author of History of Egypt and Ancient Times: A History of the Early World, among other works.

The concept of pharaonic Egypt as a unified, homogeneous, and isolated cultural entity is misleading. Ancient Egypt was a rich tapestry of social, religious, technological, and economic interconnections among numerous cultures from disparate lands. In fifteen chapters divided into five thematic groups, Pharaoh's Land and Beyond uniquely examines Egypt's relationship with its wider world. The first section details the geographical contexts of interconnections by examining ancient Egyptian exploration, maritime routes, and overland passages. In the next section, chapters address the human principals of association: peoples, with the attendant difficulties of differentiating ethnic identities from the record; diplomatic actors, with their complex balances and presentations of power; and the military, with its evolving role in pharaonic expansion. Natural events, from droughts and floods to illness and epidemics, also played significant roles in this ancient world, as examined in the third section. The final two sections explore the physical manifestations of interconnections between pharaonic Egypt and its neighbors, first in the form of material objects and second, in the powerful exchange of ideas. Whether through diffusion and borrowing of knowledge and technology, through the flow of words by script and literature, or through exchanges in the religious sphere, the pharaonic Egypt that we know today was constantly changing-and changing the cultures around it. This illustrious work represents the first synthesis of these cultural relationships, unbounded by time, geography, or mode.

Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned for seventeen years in the fourteenth century B.C.E, is one of the most intriguing rulers of ancient Egypt. His odd appearance and his preoccupation with worshiping the sun disc Aten have stimulated academic discussion and controversy for more than a century. Despite the numerous books and articles about this enigmatic figure, many questions about Akhenaten and the Atenism religion remain unanswered. In Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism, James K. Hoffmeier argues that Akhenaten was not, as is often said, a radical advocating a new religion but rather a primitivist: that is, one who reaches back to a golden age and emulates it. Akhenaten's inspiration was the Old Kingdom (2650-2400 B.C.E.), when the sun-god Re/Atum ruled as the unrivaled head of the Egyptian pantheon. Hoffmeier finds that Akhenaten was a genuine convert to the worship of Aten, the sole creator God, based on the Pharoah's own testimony of a theophany, a divine encounter that launched his monotheistic religious odyssey. The book also explores the Atenist religion's possible relationship to Israel's religion, offering a close comparison of the hymn to the Aten to Psalm 104, which has been identified by scholars as influenced by the Egyptian hymn. Through a careful reading of key texts, artworks, and archaeological studies, Hoffmeier provides compelling new insights on a religion that predated Moses and Hebrew monotheism, the impact of Atenism on Egyptian religion and politics, and the aftermath of Akhenaten's reign.

Sex: how should we do it, when should we do it, and with whom? How should we talk about and represent sex, what social institutions should regulate it, and what are other people doing? Throughout history human beings have searched for answers to such questions by turning to the past, whether through archaeological studies of prehistoric sexual behaviour, by reading Casanova's memoirs, or as modern visitors on the British Museum LGBT trail. In this ground-breaking collection, leading scholars show that claims about the past have been crucial in articulating sexual morals, driving political, legal, and social change, shaping individual identities, and constructing and grounding knowledge about sex. With its interdisciplinary perspective and its focus on the construction of knowledge, the volume explores key methodological problems in the history of sexuality, and is also an inspiration and a provocation to scholars working in related fields - historians, classicists, Egyptologists, and scholars of the Renaissance and of LGBT and gender studies - inviting them to join a much-needed interdisciplinary conversation.

'This readable anthology is a good introduction to a civilization that fascinates like few others ... in this book there are animals who talk, princesses who are locked up at the top of towers, wicked stepmothers and many other themes ... An enjoyable book by a skilled author' Financial Times The civilization we know as Ancient Egypt stretched over three thousand years. What was life like for ancient Egyptians? What were their beliefs - and how different were they from ours? Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt uses Egypt's vivid narratives to create a panorama of its history, from the earliest settlers to the time of Cleopatra. Gathered from pyramid texts, archaeological finds and contemporary documents, these stories cover everything from why the Nile flooded annually to Egyptian beliefs about childbirth and what happened after death. They show us what life was really like for rich and poor, man and woman, farmer and pharaoh. Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt brings a long-dead culture back to life.

This authoritative English translation of the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts is an essential resource for all Egyptologists. The new edition reprints Faulkner's whole work in one volume. Filling the gap between the Pyramid Texts and the New Kingdom Book of the Dead, these writings were intended to supply the deceased with the speeches he would need to achieve a secure and important position in the next world. As such they supply valuable insights into Egyptian beliefs and mortuary practices. Concise textual notes are kept to a minimum, allowing the character of the texts to be experienced as a whole. Indexes cover divinities, localities, celestial bodies, selected Egyptian words in translation and also the parts of boats and sailing gear that figure prominently in some spells.