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ABC-CLIO’s Handbooks of World Mythology
Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt
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.
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.
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Geraldine Pinch
9 books36 followersGeraldine is a British author and Egyptologist. She taught Egyptology at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and has written books on Ancient Egypt for adults and children. Her latest book, `The Diary of a Woman Scorned' is a dark comedy about divorce, murder and flower-painting. She also writes Fantasy Fiction under the name of Geraldine Harris.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
July 29, 2021
First of all, I really need to mention that this is a good INTRO to Egyptian Mythology. It gives us a good basis for the Egyptian empire, time periods, landscapes, and influences before diving right into the gods and goddesses.
What this is NOT is a collection of stories a-la Edith Hamilton's Greek Mythology. It does have a number of stories from different time periods and gives us plausible morphologies of main gods as they become less important, giving rein to others. Again, this is natural for any society that changes and wishes to distance itself from the past, but I found myself a bit mystified in places.
Instead of delving deep enough to get us invested in Osirus, Isis, Seth, or Horus, it spends, in my humble opinion, too little time on any. And all the other gods and goddesses? We sometimes get little more than names.
This may be just something that I have an issue with or perhaps it's the legends themselves being a bit sparse on details. I'll just assume for now that it's the latter. But I want more.
In fact, I'm thinking I should go right to the source of the big things that we DO have -- such as Herodotus.
Still, it's very readable for what it is and it would be a very good reference material for a new student. So, there's that.
What this is NOT is a collection of stories a-la Edith Hamilton's Greek Mythology. It does have a number of stories from different time periods and gives us plausible morphologies of main gods as they become less important, giving rein to others. Again, this is natural for any society that changes and wishes to distance itself from the past, but I found myself a bit mystified in places.
Instead of delving deep enough to get us invested in Osirus, Isis, Seth, or Horus, it spends, in my humble opinion, too little time on any. And all the other gods and goddesses? We sometimes get little more than names.
This may be just something that I have an issue with or perhaps it's the legends themselves being a bit sparse on details. I'll just assume for now that it's the latter. But I want more.
In fact, I'm thinking I should go right to the source of the big things that we DO have -- such as Herodotus.
Still, it's very readable for what it is and it would be a very good reference material for a new student. So, there's that.
March 3, 2010
This is an absolutely must-have book for anyone researching the religion, gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. It provides an excellent and plausible explanation of the origin and content of Egyptian religion, and traces the myths and legends through the various iterations available through the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and The Book of the Dead. It's an excellent reference book for the multiple religious centers and the various combinations of deities that ruled in each one. Among the many fascinating facts I learned was that while Egypt as a land borders on the Mediterranean Sea, and certainly the ancient Egyptians were familiar with boating up and down the Nile, they were not seafaring in the traditional sense, and had no God/Goddess of the Sea. There were however multiple deities to describe the various stages and conditions of the river. Just an excellent book!
April 20, 2024
Very informative, but the writing is a bit dry. There are no direct translations of texts here, only summaries of myths and lists of gods and goddesses.
Then again:
"Ra becomes angry when he is insulted by the baboon god Babi and lies down on his back. This implies that the creator sun god was sinking back into the inert state that would mean the end of the world. Hathor, Lady of the Southern Sycamore, visits her father and shows him her genitals. He immediately laughs, gets up, and goes back to administering justice."
Then again:
"Ra becomes angry when he is insulted by the baboon god Babi and lies down on his back. This implies that the creator sun god was sinking back into the inert state that would mean the end of the world. Hathor, Lady of the Southern Sycamore, visits her father and shows him her genitals. He immediately laughs, gets up, and goes back to administering justice."
June 10, 2017
From my childhood, i am too much curious to Egypt. After Greek mythology, i was decided to read Egyptian Mythology. Excellent introduction! Pinch structured the book well, with the first two sections split into longer chapters dealing with very important themes in Egyptian mythology (e.g. mythical time lines, etc).This is a good reference work for Studies in Ancient Egyptian mythology.
October 17, 2018
Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch, an Egyptologist at the Oriental Institute of Oxford University and a Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions is a good reference work on Ancient Egypt in general and their thought, cosmology, and religion in particular.
She explains that Ancient Egyptians thought of time both as linear and cyclical contained in the myth of Ancient Egypt. They experienced the past, present and future of linear time (straight line). The linear mythic story of Ancient Egypt contained seven stages: "chaos (pre-creation), the emergence of the creator (Sun God), the creation of the world and its inhabitants, the reign of the sun god, the period of direct rule by other deities (Gods), the period (term) of rule by semi-divine kings (history), and the return to chaos" (57). The unbroken cycles of decay, death, and re-birth occurred in cyclical time. Symbolically, the snake that swallows its tail (GK - Ouroboros) signifies eternity, universe renewing itself: every end could be a beginning. Examples include the flooding of the Nile, the Egyptian year, the seeming journey of the sun from night to day, and the eternal journey of the soul.
An encyclopedic A to Z section covers the principal themes and concepts of Egyptian mythology as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters. Under 'P' appears PRIMEAVAEL MOUND "the first land to rise above the primeval ocean at the dawn of time" (180). The comprehensive index describes Ka as "the vital essence of a person that continued to need nourishment after death. Shown as a person's double" (229).
She explains that Ancient Egyptians thought of time both as linear and cyclical contained in the myth of Ancient Egypt. They experienced the past, present and future of linear time (straight line). The linear mythic story of Ancient Egypt contained seven stages: "chaos (pre-creation), the emergence of the creator (Sun God), the creation of the world and its inhabitants, the reign of the sun god, the period of direct rule by other deities (Gods), the period (term) of rule by semi-divine kings (history), and the return to chaos" (57). The unbroken cycles of decay, death, and re-birth occurred in cyclical time. Symbolically, the snake that swallows its tail (GK - Ouroboros) signifies eternity, universe renewing itself: every end could be a beginning. Examples include the flooding of the Nile, the Egyptian year, the seeming journey of the sun from night to day, and the eternal journey of the soul.
An encyclopedic A to Z section covers the principal themes and concepts of Egyptian mythology as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters. Under 'P' appears PRIMEAVAEL MOUND "the first land to rise above the primeval ocean at the dawn of time" (180). The comprehensive index describes Ka as "the vital essence of a person that continued to need nourishment after death. Shown as a person's double" (229).
October 13, 2018
Mostly this wasn't what I was looking for which was stories from Egyptian mythology. This is definitely a reference book with a bunch of historical background and then an A to Z listing of gods and goddesses.
Stories are referenced but it's a very dry read. I confess I skimmed it.
More helpful if you're doing research.
Stories are referenced but it's a very dry read. I confess I skimmed it.
More helpful if you're doing research.
July 22, 2022
I would've liked to see less dictionary-style info and more stories, but still an interesting read.
July 19, 2024
This is such a great introduction book into the beautiful world that was ancient egypt. Incredibly beginner friendly. Pinch takes you through the chronology of ancient egypt and how their religion developed in each time period, which i found helpful. It's great when this is all In one place to turn back to! She also explains the different time aspects that the ancients believed.
In the last chapter she dives into important deities, or more prominent ones with a brief overview of how they were created, their aspects and general mythology which is a great starting point. She focused a lot on the seth/horus myth but this is likely due to how prominent this story was for the ancient Egyptians, and of course the many stories of the Eyes of Ra.
What I liked about this read was that she did not just focus on the Deities but different concepts the Egyptians thought important as well to give us a better understanding.
In the last chapter she dives into important deities, or more prominent ones with a brief overview of how they were created, their aspects and general mythology which is a great starting point. She focused a lot on the seth/horus myth but this is likely due to how prominent this story was for the ancient Egyptians, and of course the many stories of the Eyes of Ra.
What I liked about this read was that she did not just focus on the Deities but different concepts the Egyptians thought important as well to give us a better understanding.
May 8, 2024
I so badly wanted to like this book but it was just so dry and almost painful to get through. I don't know how much information I actually retained.
July 6, 2018
This books marks what I think is the end of my ancient Egypt kick, since the only books I have left on Egypt are a beginner’s guide to translating hieroglyphics and a French artist’s realizations of ancient sites/cities in their prime (and the book is in French). I’m not sure how useful reading hieroglyphics will be in everyday life, so the bits of it I studied are already fading. I’ll have to keep learning French for awhile before I can tackle the other book, too.
Anyway, this book was a great finish to this mini obsession that lasted about 6 months. Having already absorbed stories, gods, and the end-to-end history of ancient Egypt, this book provided some much needed and welcome context.
The book starts with a (relatively) quick recap of 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, proving the story of the country and its ruling dynasties. But where it shone was in explaining longer-term shifts in ancient Egyptian beliefs, diving into cultural beliefs that contextualize religious practices, and in adding details about the Egyptian understanding of the world/cosmos.
After this rich opening section, the book becomes a catalogue of ancient Egyptian gods, myths, and religious beliefs. Even knowing a bit about Egyptian gods, I was excited to read the passages about my favorites, as each passage contained details that I hadn’t seen or heard before.
I wish I’d started my little obsessive deep dive into ancient Egypt with this book. It’s succinct, insightful, and down-to-earth, even when discussing creation myths and gods. Thoth himself would keep it on his shelf.
Anyway, this book was a great finish to this mini obsession that lasted about 6 months. Having already absorbed stories, gods, and the end-to-end history of ancient Egypt, this book provided some much needed and welcome context.
The book starts with a (relatively) quick recap of 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, proving the story of the country and its ruling dynasties. But where it shone was in explaining longer-term shifts in ancient Egyptian beliefs, diving into cultural beliefs that contextualize religious practices, and in adding details about the Egyptian understanding of the world/cosmos.
After this rich opening section, the book becomes a catalogue of ancient Egyptian gods, myths, and religious beliefs. Even knowing a bit about Egyptian gods, I was excited to read the passages about my favorites, as each passage contained details that I hadn’t seen or heard before.
I wish I’d started my little obsessive deep dive into ancient Egypt with this book. It’s succinct, insightful, and down-to-earth, even when discussing creation myths and gods. Thoth himself would keep it on his shelf.
July 23, 2011
This is a good reference work for studies in Ancient Egyptian mythology. Note, you won't find the literature represented here per se but rather you will be introduced to Ancient Egypt in general and their thought, cosmology & religion in particular. In begins with a short introduction to myth and Ancient Egyptian history. Then it proceeds to introduce the reader to how Ancient Egyptians conceived of their world both in terms of linear time and in terms of cyclical time. By far the largest portion of the book is an wonderful A to Z reference guide to the deities, themes, and concepts of Ancient Egyptian mythology. For the size, this little book is pretty comprehensive and will definitely be a useful resource for future Near Eastern studies.
March 12, 2022
Altough, over-all, I was able to learn some from this book, I was not overly impressed. I found Betro's book on hieroglyphics much easier to read. Though, my being off-put by the style of the book could be that this book is not meant to be read straight through. If it is only used as a reference book then I would say it would be very helpful and useful to keep as a guide. It is not, however, a book to be read straight through.
June 12, 2019
Good overview of the Gods, Goddesses and traditions found in the various Egyptian dynasties using examples from archaeological buildings and offering pictorial examples.
The ties to the various ancient texts help explain where the information came from. Some explanations of the natural life on the Nile. A good introduction although some of the descriptions of the Gods and their activities and stories seem repetitive.
The ties to the various ancient texts help explain where the information came from. Some explanations of the natural life on the Nile. A good introduction although some of the descriptions of the Gods and their activities and stories seem repetitive.
June 12, 2020
Mısır mitolojisini öğrenmek isteyenler için yerinde bir başlangıç olacaktır. Wilkinson'un kitabıyla kıyaslarsak eğer bunda daha fazla hikaye anlatımı var ve bu da konuyu anlamayı kolaylaştırıyor. Tavsiye ederim.
March 17, 2024
Mısır Mitolojisi; Mısır Bilimci Geraldine Pinch'in Mısır hanedanlıklarına, tarihi metinlere,tapınaklarda bulunan kabartmalar ve yazıtlara değinerek; Mısır tarihini, kültürünü, mitolojik döngüyü ve anlatıların sembolik anlamlarını; anlaşılır ve yalın bir üslup ile işlediği, okumaktan keyif aldığım bir kitap oldu.
İlk bölüm mitin tanımı, işlevi, Mısır kelimesinin anlamı ve coğrafi konumu ile bağlantısı, kronolojik sırası ile Mısır Hanedanlıkları, piramitlerin yapımı, Mitlere dair genel çerçevenin öğrenildiği Piramit Metinleri ile Sanduka Metinleri,bir babanın oğluna doğru davranmayı öğretmesi ve Etik konular ile ilgili Akil Metinleri, tanrılarla karşılaşan insanları işleyen yazılı ve sözlü öykücülük, asillerin ruhlarının öbür dünyada zengin bir yaşam sürmesine yardımcı olmayı amaçlayan el kitaplarından biri olan Ölüler Kitabı,Perslerin Mısır'ı işgali ve Yunan Tarihçi Herodot ve Mısır'a yönelik düşünceleri, Büyük İskender'in Mısır'ı bağımsızlığa kavuşturması ve İskenderiye kentini kurması, 2.Ptolemaios zamanında kurulan İskenderiye Kütüphanesi, Jül Sezar ile başlayan Roma dönemi, Yunan tarihçi Plutarkhos'un mitleri anlamak konusunda rolü işleniyor.
İkinci bölüm mitolojik akışı tarihsel kayıtları temel alarak yansıtıyor.
Başlangıçta Nun (Kaos) adı verilen Kadim sular vardı.Nun içinden çıkan Atum-Ra, tanrısallaştırılan zihinsel ve fiziksel özellikleri ile Shu ve Tefnut'u yaratır.Sonsuz tekdüzeliği simgeleyen Tefnut, yeryüzü ile bağlantısı olan Geb'i ve gökyüzü ile ilişkili Tanrıça Nut'u yaratır. Geb ile Nut birbirilerine sımsıkı sarılır. Aralarına hava ve ışığın girmesi ve yaşamın ortaya çıkması için; sonsuz değişimi simgeleyen Shu; Nut'u havaya kaldırır, Geb'i ise ayaklarının altına alır. Nut ve Geb'in birbirinden ayrılması; Tanrılar Osiris, Seth ve Horus ile Tanrıçalar İsis ve Nephthys'i meydana getirir. Tarih boyunca farklı isimlerle anılan Yaratıcı; kozmosu, onun yasalarını ve gözyaşlarından insanları oluşturur. İnsanlık kendisine karşı isyan edince yeryüzünü İsis ve Osiris'e bırakarak gökyüzüne çekilir. Gözü Osiris'in tahtında olan Seth ise Osiris'i iki kez öldürerek ; İsis' ın oğlu Horus'un peşine düşer. Böylece efsanevi Seth ve Horus çatışması başlamış olur.
Üçüncü bölüm ; Krallıklarda yaşatılan farklı isimleri ile Tanrıları ve mitolojik kavramları referanslar göstererek işliyor.
Masalsı hikayeler yerine; tarihi eserlere,kayıtlara ve metinlere göndermeler yolu ile mitolojinin çerçevelenmesi,kabartma ve piramitlerdeki anlatıların ön planda işlenmesi açısından dikkat çekici olan bu kitap mitoloji severlere önerimdir.
İlk bölüm mitin tanımı, işlevi, Mısır kelimesinin anlamı ve coğrafi konumu ile bağlantısı, kronolojik sırası ile Mısır Hanedanlıkları, piramitlerin yapımı, Mitlere dair genel çerçevenin öğrenildiği Piramit Metinleri ile Sanduka Metinleri,bir babanın oğluna doğru davranmayı öğretmesi ve Etik konular ile ilgili Akil Metinleri, tanrılarla karşılaşan insanları işleyen yazılı ve sözlü öykücülük, asillerin ruhlarının öbür dünyada zengin bir yaşam sürmesine yardımcı olmayı amaçlayan el kitaplarından biri olan Ölüler Kitabı,Perslerin Mısır'ı işgali ve Yunan Tarihçi Herodot ve Mısır'a yönelik düşünceleri, Büyük İskender'in Mısır'ı bağımsızlığa kavuşturması ve İskenderiye kentini kurması, 2.Ptolemaios zamanında kurulan İskenderiye Kütüphanesi, Jül Sezar ile başlayan Roma dönemi, Yunan tarihçi Plutarkhos'un mitleri anlamak konusunda rolü işleniyor.
İkinci bölüm mitolojik akışı tarihsel kayıtları temel alarak yansıtıyor.
Başlangıçta Nun (Kaos) adı verilen Kadim sular vardı.Nun içinden çıkan Atum-Ra, tanrısallaştırılan zihinsel ve fiziksel özellikleri ile Shu ve Tefnut'u yaratır.Sonsuz tekdüzeliği simgeleyen Tefnut, yeryüzü ile bağlantısı olan Geb'i ve gökyüzü ile ilişkili Tanrıça Nut'u yaratır. Geb ile Nut birbirilerine sımsıkı sarılır. Aralarına hava ve ışığın girmesi ve yaşamın ortaya çıkması için; sonsuz değişimi simgeleyen Shu; Nut'u havaya kaldırır, Geb'i ise ayaklarının altına alır. Nut ve Geb'in birbirinden ayrılması; Tanrılar Osiris, Seth ve Horus ile Tanrıçalar İsis ve Nephthys'i meydana getirir. Tarih boyunca farklı isimlerle anılan Yaratıcı; kozmosu, onun yasalarını ve gözyaşlarından insanları oluşturur. İnsanlık kendisine karşı isyan edince yeryüzünü İsis ve Osiris'e bırakarak gökyüzüne çekilir. Gözü Osiris'in tahtında olan Seth ise Osiris'i iki kez öldürerek ; İsis' ın oğlu Horus'un peşine düşer. Böylece efsanevi Seth ve Horus çatışması başlamış olur.
Üçüncü bölüm ; Krallıklarda yaşatılan farklı isimleri ile Tanrıları ve mitolojik kavramları referanslar göstererek işliyor.
Masalsı hikayeler yerine; tarihi eserlere,kayıtlara ve metinlere göndermeler yolu ile mitolojinin çerçevelenmesi,kabartma ve piramitlerdeki anlatıların ön planda işlenmesi açısından dikkat çekici olan bu kitap mitoloji severlere önerimdir.
February 8, 2024
Pinch succeeds in describing the complex Egyptian mythology to the attentive reader. However, as she recognizes, the lack of a contemporary and authoritative compilation of myths, such as Hesiod’s Theogony on Greek mythology, means that almost all Egyptian myths are known in a plethora of forms and interchanging characters. This aspect added a layer of complexity as the deities merge and switch places, blurring their identity and the uniqueness of the stories. In the end, Pinch manages to give the historical context for the evolving mythology of Egypt and an exhaustive, if over-inclusive, list of gods and their attributes. While the work might not function as a literary work, as most Greek mythology books do, it does show a more realistic description of the formation and evolution of religious thought across thousands of years.
August 17, 2024
beautifully presented and categorized but also reading this book I learned just how convoluted egyptian mythology can be. there’s a lot of gods that share symbolism or aspects of divinity with other gods and gods that have various forms, blending into other gods still depending on where and how they were worshipped. still, egyptian myth is always fascinating to learn about and this book makes me want to delve into more content on the topic
May 10, 2022
An easy to understand overview of Egyptian Mythology. Well written. The first half of the book is a good overview of Egyptian development and spiritual world view and the second half gives short summaries of each of the major deities.
February 26, 2022
Very helpful in sorting out the myriad and confusing Egyptian gods and goddesses and mythology
October 19, 2023
Genuinely appreciate reading about mythologies, yet mostly stick to Norse and Greek myths . I should've read up on the Egyptian pantheon earlier!
May 13, 2023
Somehow the author decided that introducing Egyptian goddess and gods in alphabetical order is a good idea. The stories are very fragmented and repeated. They talk about a goddess got mad and had to be convinced to return to help her father for at least three times in the book. I feel like I’m reading a long Wikipedia article.
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February 8, 2017In the Egyptian mythology Egyptians didn’t just believed in one god, they believed in many gods. The most Egyptian god was Ra and Egyptians believed that Thoth was his secretary and counsellor. In the Egyptian mythology Thoth would stay next to Ra wherever he goes. Egyptians believed in about 2,000 gods but Ra was the god of the gods. A long time ago in Ancient Egypt, Egyptians believed that people were made out of clay. A fact Egyptians used to do was when they started preparing the body into a mummy the embalmer would pull the dead humans brain out from his nose using a long metal hook. In Egyptian mythology cats were known as sacred animals and Thoth, the secretary and counsellor of Ra has the best animal avatar, an ibis. Ra, the god of the gods was part in many myths and legends. There were many gods part of the Egyptian mythology but there were 12 important gods starting with Ra, after that Anubis, Horus, Thoth, Osiris, Isis, Seth, Sekhmet, Ptah, Hathor, and Nephthys. Finally, Egyptians also believed in reincarnation.
Egyptian Mythology and Greek mythology are actually a little bit familiar to each other. In every mythology both of them have a god of the gods which is Zeus and Ra. After that, they have 12 very important gods. In the Greek mythology it only has 13 god's but comparing to the Egyptians that's nothing because Egyptians have over 2,000 gods & goddesses. Both mythology’s believed in the after life and have the same rules to enter the afterlife for example believing into gods and religion beliefs and traditions. As said in the first paragraph Egyptians did believe in reincarnation but Greeks did not believe in it. In Greek mythology cats were not sacred as animals but for Egyptians it did.
This book can be recommended for many types of grades level such as 6th to 9th grade because it is a very exciting book. It has been a long time since people did not read about Egyptians and it is actually very fun to read about them. This book can be recommended to many types of people also such as people that like to read about mythology and also fun gods. After that, if people read this book they would know more about ancient Egyptian History. Finally, people that are able to understand this book would never give it back to the library because they will love it and everyone would love the book “Egyptian Mythology”.
Egyptian Mythology and Greek mythology are actually a little bit familiar to each other. In every mythology both of them have a god of the gods which is Zeus and Ra. After that, they have 12 very important gods. In the Greek mythology it only has 13 god's but comparing to the Egyptians that's nothing because Egyptians have over 2,000 gods & goddesses. Both mythology’s believed in the after life and have the same rules to enter the afterlife for example believing into gods and religion beliefs and traditions. As said in the first paragraph Egyptians did believe in reincarnation but Greeks did not believe in it. In Greek mythology cats were not sacred as animals but for Egyptians it did.
This book can be recommended for many types of grades level such as 6th to 9th grade because it is a very exciting book. It has been a long time since people did not read about Egyptians and it is actually very fun to read about them. This book can be recommended to many types of people also such as people that like to read about mythology and also fun gods. After that, if people read this book they would know more about ancient Egyptian History. Finally, people that are able to understand this book would never give it back to the library because they will love it and everyone would love the book “Egyptian Mythology”.
August 26, 2018
While I was reading I made sure to take notes about the gods and goddesses that engrossed my mind. I learned that Ancient Greeks recycled knowledge from Egyptians, which is not surprising. It's a shame that Europeans are so fascinated with Egyptian culture, but cannot, by any means, respect the knowledge that Egyptians shared with them. The ancient Egyptians were Black. Arabs didn't invade until the 7th century. Why attempt to wipe out my history? The proof is in the pudding; we can look at the garbs that were worn and compare with the material that West Africans utilized. Even the Arabic language is relatively different than what the Egyptians used. Egyptians lost their land when they decided to split power. When you separate authority, you lose the ability to govern effectively, which is why Egypt was invaded by the Persians, Greeks, and Arabs. After thousands of years of invasion, our blood was diluted. I will not allow anyone to delete the indigenous people from Egypt.
I learned in my Biological Anthropology class that Europeans dug up the bodies of Africans and Native Americans to prove their physical and mental superiority. In this book, we learn that 19th century Europeans held mummy unwrapping parties. Completely disregarding the rituals that were used to guide the dead to the afterlife. Chants were written inside and outside of the coffins to protect the deceased.
My final message to all readers would be,
Respect my mind, respect the dead, and respect my gods.
Peace!
I learned in my Biological Anthropology class that Europeans dug up the bodies of Africans and Native Americans to prove their physical and mental superiority. In this book, we learn that 19th century Europeans held mummy unwrapping parties. Completely disregarding the rituals that were used to guide the dead to the afterlife. Chants were written inside and outside of the coffins to protect the deceased.
My final message to all readers would be,
Respect my mind, respect the dead, and respect my gods.
Peace!
September 20, 2016
I recently listened to a lecture series on the history of ancient Egypt. I became fascinated with the topic and wanted to learn more about the mythology and religion of the people in the Nile valley. Geraldine Pinch's "Egyptian Mythology" was exactly what I was looking for.
In her book, Pinch first surveys Egyptian history with an eye to the different extant sources that give clues about Egyptian gods and goddesses. The second section tries to recount the Egyptians' story of creation and the developments that led up to the first kings on the Nile. I say "tries" because there are many conflicting versions of these tales. Pinch suggests the variations while giving a good sense of the general flow. The third section is an alphabetical listing of important gods, goddesses, and concepts in Egyptian mythology. Many listings are cross-referenced with related gods, and Pinch also notes the primary sources (Pyramid texts, coffin texts, Books of the Dead, etc.) for her interpretations. Finally there is a good annotated bibliography at the end of the book, plus a glossary of technical terms.
If you are interested in this topic, I can highly recommend this book. If not compelling, the text is informative and clear. The book is also well-illustrated with images from Egyptian art that support the text.
In her book, Pinch first surveys Egyptian history with an eye to the different extant sources that give clues about Egyptian gods and goddesses. The second section tries to recount the Egyptians' story of creation and the developments that led up to the first kings on the Nile. I say "tries" because there are many conflicting versions of these tales. Pinch suggests the variations while giving a good sense of the general flow. The third section is an alphabetical listing of important gods, goddesses, and concepts in Egyptian mythology. Many listings are cross-referenced with related gods, and Pinch also notes the primary sources (Pyramid texts, coffin texts, Books of the Dead, etc.) for her interpretations. Finally there is a good annotated bibliography at the end of the book, plus a glossary of technical terms.
If you are interested in this topic, I can highly recommend this book. If not compelling, the text is informative and clear. The book is also well-illustrated with images from Egyptian art that support the text.
March 31, 2016
Excellent introduction! Pinch structured the book well, with the first two sections split into longer chapters dealing with very important themes in Egyptian mythology (e.g. mythical time lines, etc). These should be read through before reading the last section, which is comprised of entries about different deities and lesser concepts. The book is well written in general, though I can see how someone could get bored if they read it all the way through. Given that I actually *did* read it through, I sometimes wished that she had just used the deities names instead of saying only the Distant Goddess or the Sun God, though I recognize her reasons for not doing so. There is also a very good list of additional sources in the back of the book as well!
Overall I am very pleased with the book, and I feel significantly more knowledgeable about Egyptian mythology.
Overall I am very pleased with the book, and I feel significantly more knowledgeable about Egyptian mythology.
September 2, 2009
This book was a very good reference guide. I think Pinch does a great job of structuring this book. It has sections of Linear Time, Cyclical Time, and an alphabetical guide of Deities and concepts. Not only does this outline do a great job of catching all of the nuances of everything in Egyptian religion/mythology but it shows different ways to understand these ideas.
Pinch explains the territorial and fluid nature of Egyptian beliefs very well and does her best to place them in historical context and place what the actual beliefs may have been (or how they changed).
This type of book may be less useful now with the prevalence of things like wikipedia but I still think this book is a fine resource. Detailed enough to be valuable, yet light enough to be readable.
Pinch explains the territorial and fluid nature of Egyptian beliefs very well and does her best to place them in historical context and place what the actual beliefs may have been (or how they changed).
This type of book may be less useful now with the prevalence of things like wikipedia but I still think this book is a fine resource. Detailed enough to be valuable, yet light enough to be readable.
July 12, 2020
Initially, I felt a bit cheated because nearly half of this book is just an alphabetical catalog of the various deities, demons and oddities of Ancient Egyptian religion. After I got done with it, though, I could see the logic of organizing it this way. The first 100 pages gives a decent overview of the religion and its development. The second half is for reference. Egypt has so many gods and mixed traditions. It is really hard to keep everything straight. So the dictionary at the end really helps. On the whole, the book serves as a good introduction to the subject, and future reference book.
November 30, 2019
This is an informative and readable introduction/reference book to Egyptian mythology. Since the ancient Egyptians didn't seem concerned with orthodoxy or canonical texts, their myths have numerous and contradictory versions, and their deities are often interchangeable or merge into one another. The result is a rich, if somewhat bewildering, cycle of myths that is fascinating in its own right, but lives on in other mythologies and religions of the world.
January 24, 2014
This is an excellent introduction to the mythology of Ancient Egypt. More than just an encyclopedia of gods and goddesses, this book takes a thematic approach and presents the major stories using major concepts (such as creation, death, morality, etc.). I found it very easy to get through and now feel ready to delve deeper into this subject (using the excellent resources listed in the book)!
May 1, 2018
In the first three chapters, author did a good job giving a simplistic but thorough view of the egyptian ancient culture. In the fourth chapter, he did an incredible job bringing to life the different deities, their stories and relations with other deities. It was excellent book, which was very informative.
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