Category:  Myths & Legends

Del libro : Este diccionario es un manual de consulta r´pida y clara sobre las divinidades m´s relevantes o m´s significativas del Egipto Faraó;nico, siguiendo un sistema de 'ficha' amplia que permite una localizació;n ´gil ante cualquier duda que pueda surgir en la lectura o estudio de temas m´s específicos. Dicha ficha est´ estructurada del siguiente modo : nombre popular, nombre en jeroglífico, transcripció;n, nombre griego, iconografía, relaciones, sinopsis y principales centros de culto. El diccionario est´ dirigido tanto a especialistas como a todos aquellos que sientan la necesidad de esclarecer alguna cuestió;n. Se complemente con una serie de índices de equivalencias griegas/egipcias y egipcias/griegas entre ciudades, dioses y nomos, junto a los jeroglificos m´s usuales para cada deidad y su correspondiente ilustració;n, así como 'referencias cruzadas' que amplían el contenido de esta obra.
Note from Francesca : :""This dictionary is best used for a fast consultation on the most significant divinities of Pharaonic Egypt. The author gives the hieroglyphic, Egyptian and Greek names of the countless Egyptian gods and goddesses. She also explains their iconography and their relationships with each other. The origins of the divinity's name, the main cult centers and the legends about their character are detailed. Useful appendices are included. Widely illustrated, this dictionary is an excellent reference for both specialists and persons needing clarification on ancient Egyptian deities.

Note from Francesca : This book relates many interesting stories about the Ancient Egyptian gods. Amongst those featured are the Daily Voyage of Ra through the sky, the mythical story of Osiris and Isis, the battle of Horus with his uncle Seth, the destruction of mankind by Hathor, the secret name of Ra, the book of Toth and the famous Tale of Two Brothers. There is a useful glossary of Ancient Egyptian gods. The book is clearly written with concise and brief explanations. It is a good general reference to the myths and legends of Ancient Egypt.

From Amazon.com : This exploration of the myth of Isis and Osiris involved the help of famous people, such as Jacqueline Onassis and actor Richard Gere and renowned Egyptologists such as James Allen and Robert Bianchi.

Du site de l'éditeur : Au-delà de tout ce qui a été écrit sur la Déesse Lointaine, la recherche entreprise par l’auteur sur le mythe de cette divinité a pour objectif d’appréhender la version spécifique du mythe à Philae, chaque sanctuaire développant des concepts et ensembles de concepts propres, ne serait-ce qu’en fonction de la divinité à laquelle il était dédié. Cette démarche s’effectue en deux temps : tout d’abord, l’auteur établit un corpus détaillé des références au mythe que l’on peut trouver, en précisant bien leur contexte. Dans un second temps, les différents formulaires qui apparaissent sont exposés, et le mythe «reconstruit» sur des bases nouvelles.

From the book cover : This classic study remains the best single introduction to the Egyptian mythological world. The Egyptians lived apart from the rest of the ancient world, and it is this isolation that makes their ideas so difficult to appreciate and interpret. Egyptian thought was presented in terms of mythology: myth was used to convey insights into the workings of nature and the ultimately indescribable realities of the soul
[The author] gives us an excellent and valuable introduction to the Egyptian mythological world, based upon the most reliable interpretation of their principle myths. In telling the myths, he allows the texts to speak for themselves as far as possible and gives considerable attention to the philosophical ideas that the myths were trying to express - ideas that foreshadowed the philosophy of the Greeks and even touched on the perennial themes of Christian theology.

Du site de l'éditeur : L’ouvrage présente l’édition complète du papyrus et sa traduction, deux sections consacrées aux commentaires textuel et mythologique, ainsi qu’une analyse paléographique.

From the publisher\'s website:The origins of ancient Egyptian civilisation have been attracting the attention of archaeologist ever since the beginnings of Egyptology more than 200 years ago. This book presents a new and original interpretation of the rock art in Egyptian Western Desert which is of a key importance for our understanding of the roots of ancient Egyptian civilisation. Indeed, her very origins can be most likely dated to the 6th millennium B.C. In this time and the centuries to follow the paintings in the Cave of the Swimmers known from a blockbuster English Patient and in the Cave of Beasts discovered only few years ago were created. These caves are located in a distant and hardly accessible part of Egypt, on the border of Egypt, Libya and Sudan. The rock-art preserved in these caves features several unique motifs that will become cornerstone of ancient Egyptian iconography and mythology. Among them may be named the motif of the sky goddess and the earth god, prototypic representation of an ancient chieftain in the much later pharaonic guise or the concept of cave creatures protecting the entrance to the Netherworld. During the Fifth and Fourth millennia B.C. the vast areas of Western Desert suffered from a major depredation of climate that most likely led to a gradual evacuation of the region and instigated appearance of permanent settlements in the Nile valley which led to genesis of ancient Egyptian culture. The present study aims to present a theory according to which at least some parts of the discussed rock art in the Western Desert was created by an ancient mind that later on contributed to the intellectual emergence of ancient Egyptian civilisation in the Nile valley.