This book explores what life was really like for everyday people in Ancient Egypt. Using primary sources and information from archeological discoveries, it uncovers some fascinating insights and explodes some myths. Supported by timelines, maps and references to important events and people, children will really feel they are on a time-travelling journey when reading this book.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to live and work in Egypt, the most powerful kingdom of the ancient world? Spend a day with 24 Egyptians to see Egypt through their eyes - the sights, the smells, the struggles and the conflicts.
A fascinating, erudite, and witty glimpse of the human side of ancient Egypt—this acclaimed classic work is now revised and updated for a new generation Displaying the unparalleled descriptive power, unerring eye for fascinating detail, keen insight, and trenchant wit that have made the novels she writes (as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels) perennial New York Times bestsellers, internationally renowned Egyptologist Barbara Mertz brings a long-buried civilization to vivid life. In Red Land, Black Land, she transports us back thousands of years and immerses us in the sights, aromas, and sounds of day-to-day living in the legendary desert realm that was ancient Egypt. Who were these people whose civilization has inspired myriad films, books, artwork, myths, and dreams, and who built astonishing monuments that still stagger the imagination five thousand years later? What did average Egyptians eat, drink, wear, gossip about, and aspire to? What were their amusements, their beliefs, their attitudes concerning religion, childrearing, nudity, premarital sex? Mertz ushers us into their homes, workplaces, temples, and palaces to give us an intimate view of the everyday worlds of the royal and commoner alike. We observe priests and painters, scribes and pyramid builders, slaves, housewives, and queens—and receive fascinating tips on how to perform tasks essential to ancient Egyptian living, from mummification to making papyrus. An eye-opening and endlessly entertaining companion volume to Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, Mertz's extraordinary history of ancient Egypt, Red Land, Black Land offers readers a brilliant display of rich description and fascinating edification. It brings us closer than ever before to the people of a great lost culture that was so different from—yet so surprisingly similar to—our own.
Focuses on an ideal period set some time in the later Pharaonic Era. This book examines several aspects of daily life across various strata of Egyptian society, from the priestly caste to the lowliest peasant farmer and the slaves, from food to religious beliefs.
Originally published in 1975 as The Horizon Book of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, this revised edition includes a new chapter as well as full documentation of the sources.
This book explains how people lived in ancient Egypt by describing their social, economic, political, and cultural life, and explains how their values and attitudes have helped shape our world.
100 biographies reveal the true character and diversity of the ancient world's greatest civilization The biographies included here give voice not only to ancient Egypt's rulers but also to the people who built the great monuments, staffed government offices, farmed, served in the temples, and fought to defend the country's borders. Spanning thousands of years of ancient Egyptian history, the book offers a fresh perspective on an always fascinating civilization through the lives of: The god-kings, from great rulers like Khufu and Ramesses II to less famous monarchs such as Amenemhat I and Osorkon Egypt's queens: the powerful Tiye, the beautiful Nefertiti, Tutankhamun's tragic child-bride Ankhesenamun, and the infamous Cleopatra The officials who served the pharaoh: the architect Imhotep who designed the first pyramid, the court dwarf Perniankhu, and the royal sculptor Bak Ordinary women who are often overlooked in official accounts: Hemira, a humble priestess from a provincial Delta town, and Naunakht, whose will reveals the trials and tribulations of family life Commoners and foreigners such as the irascible farmer Hekanakht, the serial criminal Paneb, and Urhiya, the mercenary who rose to the rank of general in the Egyptian army. Profusely illustrated with works of art and scenes of daily life, Lives of the Ancient Egyptians offers remarkable insights into the history and culture of the Nile Valley and very personal glimpses of a vanished world.
This book presents the latest archaeological evidence that makes a case for Egypt as an early urban society. It traces the emergence of urban features during the Predynastic Period up to the disintegration of the powerful Middle Kingdom state (ca. 3500-1650 BC).
Step back in time to Ancient Egypt and meet some of the many people who lived, worked, and played during that time. From a necropolis builder to a tomb robber, a brewer to an embalmer, and a slave girl to the Pharaoh himself - each one will share with you the story of their own daily life. Together, they are the Ancient Egyptians. Featuring 19 different characters from Ancient Egyptian times, as well as an introduction to the Ancient Egyptian world, a key to decoding hieroglyphics and a timeline of key events, this book provides a new angle on a classic subject, bringing the ancient world to life.
