Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt

By Geraldine Pinch

Book Overview

From stories of resurrected mummies and thousand-year-old curses to powerful pharaohs and the coveted treasures of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egypt has had an unfaltering grip on the modern imagination. Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction that untangles the mystery of Egyptian Myth.

Spanning Ancient Egyptian culture--from 3200 BC to AD 400--Pinch opens a door to this hidden world and casts light on its often misunderstood belief system. She discusses the nature of myths and the history of Egypt, from the predynastic to the postpharaonic period. She explains how Egyptian culture developed around the flooding of the Nile, or the "inundation," a phenomenon on which the whole welfare of the country depended, and how aspects of the inundation were personified as deities. She explains that the usually cloudless skies made for a preoccupation with the stars and planets. Indeed, much early Egyptian mythology may have developed to explain the movement of these celestial bodies. She provides a timeline covering the seven stages in the mythical history of Egypt and outlining the major events of each stage, such as the reign of the sun God. A substantial A to Z section covers the principal themes and concepts of Egyptian mythology as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters. For anyone who wants to know about Anubis, the terrifying canine god who presided over the mummification of bodies and guarded burials, or Hathor, the golden goddess who helped women to give birth and the dead to be reborn, or an explanation of the nun, the primeval ocean from which all life came, Egyptian Mythology is the place to look.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195170245
• ISBN13: 9780195170245
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very Informative

I wanted to do some personal research on Egyptian mythology and this book covered almost all the questions I had. I greatly enjoyed reading it.

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Goddesses, and Traditional Ancient Egypt

I enjoyed the content of the book but would have liked more pictures of gods & goddesses. I wanted to be able to identify them on temple & tomb walls in Egypt. I felt it gave me a solid foundation in Egyptian mythology though.

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditons of Ancient Egypt

Wonderful beginners' book to start a life long "love" of history and mythology. Makes for a great "rainy" day reader. My granddaughter is especially fond of stories from this book. An easy read with good information.

A Perfect Guide

This book was the perfect start-off point for my thesis research on ancient Egypt. It goes into an amazing amount of depth on a broad range of the spiritual aspects of ancient Egypt while remaining interesting and brief. Not only has Pinch fit an amazing catalog of information which I've found hard to come across in such mass in any other text, but she takes care to reference and suggest a wealth of texts to turn to next for more detailed information on any given topic in the book. For anyone who is either curious of or finds themselves in a position where they need to know more about the gods and customs of ancient Egypt, this is the perfect learner's guide.

A Wonderful Reference Work

This book is a great reference work, with detailed researh and opinions based on a deep knowledge of the life, work and religious traditions of Ancient Egypt. I love Geraldine Pinch's work, so maybe I am biased, but there is in my opinion no better work available today that provides as much information and insights on the Gods, Goddesses and spiritual ways of Ancient Egypt. Thus, I recommend this book to all and sundry who are interested in the spirituality, magic and life of ancient Egypt, without reservation. A great book!