Author Description

None of the ancient civilizations valued religion more highly than Egypt, where every civic and public issue was influenced by religious considerations. The foremost artifacts of the Nile Valley, its temples and tombs, attest to the dominance of religious culture, but even secular objects from ancient Egypt tend to exhibit a connection with the worship of higher powers. This far-reaching and highly readable study offers an accessible overview of the predominant role of religion in ancient Egyptian life. Rather than a systematic or interpretive work, it devotes itself to a factual presentation of the culture's principal deities, myths, religious ideas, and doctrines, placing particular emphasis on the concepts bearing historical significance. Written by an expert Egyptologist with a thorough understanding of the ancient languages, this book is firmly based on original texts and offers literal translations of passages from the most important documents. Topics include explorations of sun worship and solar myths, the practice of magic and sorcery, ritual use of amulets, the worship of animals, and an introduction to the chief Egyptian deities--particularly Osiris, the god of the underworld and of vegetation, and the doctrine of immortality associated with his worship. The text is completed by 73 handsome black-and-white illustrations of religious art. Unabridged republication of the edition published by H. Grevel & Co., London, 1897. Index. 73 black-and-white illustrations.