Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165993
- eISBN:
- 9781617976520
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165993.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, ...
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The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the first of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, follows the fascination with ancient Egypt from antiquity until 1881, tracing the recovery of ancient Egypt and its impact on the human imagination in a saga filled with intriguing mysteries, great discoveries, and scholarly creativity. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand the Egyptian past.Less
The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later. This, the first of a three-volume survey of the history of Egyptology, follows the fascination with ancient Egypt from antiquity until 1881, tracing the recovery of ancient Egypt and its impact on the human imagination in a saga filled with intriguing mysteries, great discoveries, and scholarly creativity. Wonderful Things affirms that the history of ancient Egypt has proved continually fascinating, but it also demonstrates that the history of Egyptology is no less so. Only by understanding how Egyptology has developed can we truly understand the Egyptian past.
Koenraad Donker van Heel
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774166341
- eISBN:
- 9781617975875
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774166341.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Reconstruction of the actual life of the ancient Egyptian female entrepreneur Tsenhor daughter of Nesmin (6th-5th century BCE). Her papers—papyri written in Demotic—are now kept in museums in London, ...
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Reconstruction of the actual life of the ancient Egyptian female entrepreneur Tsenhor daughter of Nesmin (6th-5th century BCE). Her papers—papyri written in Demotic—are now kept in museums in London, Paris, Turin, and Vienna. The story is embedded in a general framework describing the age she lived in (which saw the conquest of Egypt by the Persians), as well as the extraordinary legal position of women in Ancient Egypt. The papers left by Tsenhor strongly suggest that she was a liberated woman, almost 2,500 years before the concept was invented. This book aims to change the general view on women in ancient Egypt, which is far too often based on the lives of Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra.Less
Reconstruction of the actual life of the ancient Egyptian female entrepreneur Tsenhor daughter of Nesmin (6th-5th century BCE). Her papers—papyri written in Demotic—are now kept in museums in London, Paris, Turin, and Vienna. The story is embedded in a general framework describing the age she lived in (which saw the conquest of Egypt by the Persians), as well as the extraordinary legal position of women in Ancient Egypt. The papers left by Tsenhor strongly suggest that she was a liberated woman, almost 2,500 years before the concept was invented. This book aims to change the general view on women in ancient Egypt, which is far too often based on the lives of Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra.
Miroslav Verner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9789774165634
- eISBN:
- 9781617975431
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165634.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Despite the prominence of ancient temples in the landscape of Egypt, books about them are surprisingly rare. This new and essential publication from a prominent Czech scholar answers the need for a ...
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Despite the prominence of ancient temples in the landscape of Egypt, books about them are surprisingly rare. This new and essential publication from a prominent Czech scholar answers the need for a study that goes beyond temple architecture to examine the spiritual, economic, and political aspects of these institutions and the dominant roles they played. Miroslav Verner presents a deeper and more complex study of major ancient Egyptian religious centers, their principal temples, their rise and decline, their religious doctrines, cults, rituals, feasts, and mysteries. Also discussed are the various categories of priests, the organization of the priesthood, and its daily services and customs. Each chapter offers the reader essential and up-to-date information about temple complexes and the history of their archaeological exploration, in the context of the spiritual dimension and cultural legacy of ancient Egypt.Less
Despite the prominence of ancient temples in the landscape of Egypt, books about them are surprisingly rare. This new and essential publication from a prominent Czech scholar answers the need for a study that goes beyond temple architecture to examine the spiritual, economic, and political aspects of these institutions and the dominant roles they played. Miroslav Verner presents a deeper and more complex study of major ancient Egyptian religious centers, their principal temples, their rise and decline, their religious doctrines, cults, rituals, feasts, and mysteries. Also discussed are the various categories of priests, the organization of the priesthood, and its daily services and customs. Each chapter offers the reader essential and up-to-date information about temple complexes and the history of their archaeological exploration, in the context of the spiritual dimension and cultural legacy of ancient Egypt.
Miroslav Verner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9789774165634
- eISBN:
- 9781617975431
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165634.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Although Karnak was the biggest, dozens and even hundreds of similar?mainly smaller but sometimes very large?temples were built in ancient Egypt. The institution of the temple, in ancient Egypt most ...
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Although Karnak was the biggest, dozens and even hundreds of similar?mainly smaller but sometimes very large?temples were built in ancient Egypt. The institution of the temple, in ancient Egypt most often termed ‘abode of the god,’ was not the embodiment of just one idea; it was the place where many beliefs and conceptions came together and became mutually entwined, while its deeper meaning was known only to those with special knowledge?those who had been initiated into the mysteries of the transformations and purposes of the gods. In different places in Egypt the actual worship of gods in the temples was?for the most part?conducted according to the same pattern, and differing only in details. Rituals connected with often overlapping and intersecting myths, religious festivals, hunting magic, agricultural tasks, or the founding of buildings were numerous. The growing number of temples and the practical demands on the king led quite early on to the delegation of the royal cult duties to priests who substituted for the king, having been also initiated into the mysteries of the rituals. So many festivals were celebrated in Egypt over the year. Not all were equally important and not all were celebrated everywhere in the country.Less
Although Karnak was the biggest, dozens and even hundreds of similar?mainly smaller but sometimes very large?temples were built in ancient Egypt. The institution of the temple, in ancient Egypt most often termed ‘abode of the god,’ was not the embodiment of just one idea; it was the place where many beliefs and conceptions came together and became mutually entwined, while its deeper meaning was known only to those with special knowledge?those who had been initiated into the mysteries of the transformations and purposes of the gods. In different places in Egypt the actual worship of gods in the temples was?for the most part?conducted according to the same pattern, and differing only in details. Rituals connected with often overlapping and intersecting myths, religious festivals, hunting magic, agricultural tasks, or the founding of buildings were numerous. The growing number of temples and the practical demands on the king led quite early on to the delegation of the royal cult duties to priests who substituted for the king, having been also initiated into the mysteries of the rituals. So many festivals were celebrated in Egypt over the year. Not all were equally important and not all were celebrated everywhere in the country.
