Ancient Egypt in 101 Questions and Answers

Ancient Egypt in 101 Questions and Answers

Author: Thomas Schneider

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780801452543

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How well do we really know ancient Egypt? The world of the Egyptians seems strangely familiar to us: exhibitions of ancient art and archaeological discoveries in the desert sands continue to generate interest and amazement, while Egyptian motifs appear in architecture, literature, artworks, advertising, and film. Yet, this modern reception can sometimes preserve the myths and inaccuracies about ancient Egypt that derive from classical antiquity and the Renaissance. It is only in the past two hundred years that we have been able to read for ourselves ancient Egyptian texts and to reveal the true nature of its civilization through excavation. This modern discovery of ancient Egypt is now astonishing us with a culture of incomparable richness and remarkable diversity.In this book, the internationally acclaimed Egyptologist Thomas Schneider asks, "What are the 101 most important questions about ancient Egypt?" The questions he has chosen--and the answers he provides--challenge almost everything we thought we knew about the ancient civilization in the Nile valley. They range from the surprising ("Why did upper-class Egyptians never wear a beard?") to the profound ("Was ancient Egypt a culture of death?") and the provocative ("What do we not know about ancient Egypt?"). Schneider's answers will surprise, inspire, and challenge a wide range of readers. Ancient Egypt in 101 Questions and Answers provides a completely fresh way of looking at all aspects of ancient Egypt--from history, art, and everyday life to religion and ancient attitudes to death and the afterlife.


The Struggle for Egypt

The Struggle for Egypt

Author: Steven A. Cook

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-10-07

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 019992080X

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The recent revolution in Egypt has shaken the Arab world to its roots. The most populous Arab country and the historical center of Arab intellectual life, Egypt is a lynchpin of the US's Middle East strategy, receiving more aid than any nation except Israel. This is not the first time that the world and has turned its gaze to Egypt, however. A half century ago, Egypt under Nasser became the putative leader of the Arab world and a beacon for all developing nations. Yet in the decades prior to the 2011 revolution, it was ruled over by a sclerotic regime plagued by nepotism and corruption. During that time, its economy declined into near shambles, a severely overpopulated Cairo fell into disrepair, and it produced scores of violent Islamic extremists such as Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atta. In this new and updated paperback edition of The Struggle for Egypt, Steven Cook--a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations--explains how this parlous state of affairs came to be, why the revolution occurred, and where Egypt is headed now. A sweeping account of Egypt in the modern era, it incisively chronicles all of the nation's central historical episodes: the decline of British rule, the rise of Nasser and his quest to become a pan-Arab leader, Egypt's decision to make peace with Israel and ally with the United States, the assassination of Sadat, the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood, and--finally--the demonstrations that convulsed Tahrir Square and overthrew an entrenched regime. And for the paperback edition, Cook has updated the book to include coverage of the recent political events in Egypt, including the election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi as President. Throughout Egypt's history, there has been an intense debate to define what Egypt is, what it stands for, and its relation to the world. Egyptians now have an opportunity to finally answer these questions. Doing so in a way that appeals to the vast majority of Egyptians, Cook notes, will be difficult but ultimately necessary if Egypt is to become an economically dynamic and politically vibrant society.


Ordinary Egyptians

Ordinary Egyptians

Author: Ziad Fahmy

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2011-05-31

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0804772126

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Examines how popular media and culture provided ordinary Egyptians with a framework to construct and negotiate a modern national identity.


Gods and Men in Egypt

Gods and Men in Egypt

Author: Françoise Dunand

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780801488535

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In their wide-ranging interpretation of the religion of ancient Egypt, Françoise 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.