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English summary: This book is divided into four main chapters on the basis of 150 original artifacts from ancient Egypt. The first chapter examines daily life on the ancient Nile, which was dominated by the pharaoh and the literate elite. The second chapter covers concepts of the afterlife and the important elements of Egyptian funerary culture from the cultic mortuary chapel to the burial chamber. This chapter also provides details about the meaning of the various grave goods that were typically interred with the deceased. The religion of ancient Egyptian society is discussed in the third main chapter by examining the deities that populated the ancient Egyptian pantheon as well as their great temples and the role that the pharaohs played in the religious cults. Animal cults, which enjoyed great popularity in ancient Egypt, especially in the first millennium, are given their own section in this chapter. The final chapter is dedicated to Egypt under the rule of the Greeks and Romans and offers insights into the changing traditions within Egyptian society and religion. The book is rounded out with a brief historical overview of ancient Egypt. The book offers a clearly written and thorough introduction to ancient Egyptian society and functions as the companion volume to the new organization and presentation of the ancient Egyptian collection in the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum. German description: Ausgehend von 150 antiken Originalen gliedert sich der Band in vier Hauptkapitel. Im ersten wird das Leben am Nil erlautert, in dessen Mittelpunkt der Pharao und die schriftkundige Elite standen. Das Kapitel Jenseitsvorstellungen erklart die wichtigen Elemente eines Grabes, von der Kultkapelle bis zur Sargkammer. Zudem wird auf die Bedeutung der vielfaltigen Beigaben eingegangen. Anschliessend wird die agyptische Religion geschildert, die von einer vielfaltigen Gotterwelt und grossen Tempeln gepragt ist. Neben ihrem Wirken werden die Rolle des Pharaos und der Kult a