Voices from Ancient Egypt is an anthology presenting translations of sixty documents from a golden age of ancient Egyptian culture (c. 2081 - 1600 BC). The documents illustrate all aspects of life and the place of literacy in an early civilisation. The 'voices' range from the high formal literature of religious rituals and royal monuments to the hurried requests of the bureaucrats and the jokes of harrassed workmen. They tell a tale not only of the intellectual beliefs of the elite, but of family feuds, love and murder, as well as the pastoral dreams of a society trying to attain its vision of absolute order in a chaotic universe. This volume is a reissue of the valuable introduction to ancient Egyptian literature, first published in 1991.
Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz reaches back millennia to his homeland’s majestic past in this enchanting collection of early tales that brings the world of ancient Egypt face to face with our own times. From the Predynastic Period, where a cabal of entrenched rulers banish virtue in jealous defense of their status, to the Fifth Dynasty, where a Pharaoh returns from an extended leave to find that only his dog has remained loyal, to the twentieth century, where a mummy from the Eighteenth Dynasty awakens in fury to reproach a modern Egyptian nobleman for his arrogance, these five stories conduct timeless truths over the course of thousands of years. Summoning the power and mystery of a legendary civilization, they examplify the artistry that has made Mahfouz among the most revered writers in world literature. Translated by Raymond Stock
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1972.
This book provides an innovative analysis of the conditions of ancient Egyptian craftsmanship in the light of the archaeology of production, linguistic analysis, visual representation and ethnographic research. During the past decades, the "imaginative" figure of ancient Egyptian material producers has moved from "workers" to "artisans" and, most recently, to "artists". In a search for a fuller understanding of the pragmatics of material production in past societies, and moving away from a series of modern preconceptions, this volume aims to analyse the mechanisms of material production in Egypt during the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1550 BC), to approach the profile of ancient Egyptian craftsmen through their own words, images and artefacts, and to trace possible modes of circulation of ideas among craftsmen in material production. The studies in the volume address the mechanisms of ancient production in Middle Bronze Age Egypt, the circulation of ideas among craftsmen, and the profiles of the people involved, based on the material traces, including depictions and writings, the ancient craftsmen themselves left and produced.
Voices from Ancient Greece: Sources for Greek History, Society, and Culture provides students with an engaging exploration of one of the most influential ancient civilizations of the world. Through translated ancient text discussing historical events and social and cultural practices, readers learn about aspects of ancient Greece that are often overlooked, including traveling practices, the interaction between different social groups, and the perception of foreigners, and also gain insight into the ancient Greeks' hopes, dreams, fears, and prejudices. The sources within this book are organized thematically, allowing readers to easily explore Greek authors' responses to important cultural and social issues, many of which remain top of mind today, including gender equality, sexual discrimination, the value of education, and the role religion plays in our daily lives. Introductory paragraphs to each ancient source add rich context to the readings and also offer a number of clues that students may use to assess the ancient source's historical reliability. Presenting the ancient Greeks in a highly relatable and humanistic light, Voices from Ancient Greece is ideal for courses on the history, culture, and writings of ancient Greece. Nikolaos Lazaridis is an associate professor in the Department of History at California State University, Sacramento, where he teaches courses in ancient Mediterranean history. He earned his doctorate in Egyptology and Classics from Oxford University, with expertise in ancient Egyptian and Greek languages and literatures. Currently, Dr. Lazaridis is working on ancient storytelling styles and ancient ethics, and is the head epigrapher of the North Kharga Oasis Survey team, examining ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman graffiti left behind by travelers who crossed Egypt's Western Desert.
From Herodotus to The Mummy, Western civilization has long been fascinated with the exotic myths and legends of Ancient Egypt but they have often been misunderstood. Here acclaimed Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley guides us through 3000 years of changing stories and, in retelling them, shows us what they mean. Gathered from pyramid friezes, archaological finds and contemporary documents, these vivid and strange stories explain everything from why the Nile flooded every year to their beliefs about what exactly happened after death and shed fascinating light on what life was like for both rich and poor. Lavishly illustrated with colour pictures, maps and family trees, helpful glossaries explaining all the major gods and timelines of the Pharoahs and most importantly packed with unforgettable stories, this book offers the perfect introduction to Egyptian history and civilization.
By offering some insights into a key area of West Africa, this book attempts to take the wonders of Ancient Egypt out of the realm of myths and folklore. The credit for the longevity of Ancient Egyptian traditions belongs to their erstwhile scribes,who managed to keep extensive records of Egypts history and achievements over an exceptionally long period. The Anang, Efik, and Ibibio people also deserve recognition for maintaining a spoken language that has notchanged very much from that spoken by the Ancient Egyptians at the various stages of their development, and for perpetuating a very unique culture that allows for the uncomplicated linkage of these two worlds. Bystudying this ancient language and culture, we can pose some formidable questions about our presentquestions that shape our understanding ofthe genesis of the three main Middle Eastern religious movements, and that help explain the evolution of modern science.The fact that other venerated civilizations, including the Semites, Persians, and Greeks, represented Egyptian words inaccurately does not warrant perpetuating such corruption, as this would rob those words of their true essence. Much as the corrupted English words Ikobi, inokobi would not sound familiar to an English-speaker as the words To be, or not to be, neither do words like miri, kem, or osiris represent the Ancient Egyptian muara, ekim, and ase, respectively....... Page 56, re men kimi - In Efik, these corrupted words should read as uyo mn ekim, meaning black voices (voices of those who are black). Up until the earlier period of the present-day Copts, Egyptians referred to themselves as such: mn ekim. In a similar vein, the present-day speakers of this languageincluding the Efik, Ibibio, Anang, rn, Etinan, Uyo, Nsit, Ibun, Itu, Ikt Abasi, ft, Ediene, Eket, Abak, Ikt Aran, Ikt Ub, Oku, Itam, Muaa (iba)are described in similar fashion, i.e., mn so-and-so. In this case, mn is used in a generic manner as opposed to nu, which has particular relevance to family or ancestors.
With the help of Egyptologists Collier and Manley, museum-goers, tourists, and armchair travelers alike can gain a basic knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of hieroglyphic script and encourages acquisition of reading skills with practical exercises. 200 illustrations.
