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Thames & Hudson

The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

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Format: Hardcover


Description

Worshiped for over three-fifths of recorded history, ancient Egypt's gods and goddesses are among the most fascinating of human civilization. The lives of pharaohs and commoners alike were dominated by the need to honor, worship, and pacify the huge pantheon of deities. From lavish tomb paintings and imposing temple reliefs to humble household shrines, countless tributes throughout Egypt reflect the richness and complexity of their mythology. This book examines the evolution, worship, and eventual decline of the numerous gods and goddesses―from minor household figures such as Bes and Taweret to the all- powerful deities Amun and Rethat made Egypt the most completely theocratic society of the ancient world, and made Egyptians, according to Herodotus, "more religious than any other people." • "Rise and Fall of the Gods" considers the origins of Egypt's deities, their struggles to control cosmic forces, and their eventual decline. • "Nature of the Gods" examines the forms, appearances, and manifestations of the deities, as well as the transcendence of preeminent deities such as Amun. • "Worship of the Gods" introduces the rituals and mysteries of formal Egyptian worship, including the importance of temples and festivals. • "Kingship and the Gods" discusses the all-important position of the king, who served as a bridge between the gods and humanity. • "The Many Faces of the Divine" is a unique catalogue of Egypt's gods and goddesses grouped according to their primary forms, discussing their iconography, mythology, and worship, and their influence over time. With hundreds of illustrations and specially commissioned drawings, this is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the deities that lay at the heart of Egyptian religion and society. 400 illustrations, 170 in color Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson; 1st Edition (May 26, 2003)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0500051208


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 07


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.76 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 1.2 x 10.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #918,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #870 in Ancient Egyptians History #1,834 in Archaeology (Books) #2,428 in Folklore & Mythology Studies


#870 in Ancient Egyptians History:


#1,834 in Archaeology (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Impressive!
Review Image by Amadna Dempster
Review Image by Amadna Dempster
Review Image by Amadna Dempster
Review Image by Amadna Dempster
This book is incredible! It is absolutely beautiful to look at and flip through and offers so much information and images. Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 31, 2022 by Amadna Dempster
    • Good information, poor quality
I bought a digital copy of the book for my Amazon kindle reader. While the quality of the content was fantastic from what I could see of it, the digital book itself was not. It is like someone scanned a copy taken off a copier - the edge of the page where the spine of the book would be was blurry and curved. The overall image quality for the text was poor and blurred slightly when I zoomed in to read it. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2023 by Laura H
    • Book lover's find
Excellent read!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2022 by Darrian Dobbins
    • A Plethora of Deities
Richard Wilkinson's latest book (he has previously written "Reading Egyptian Art," "Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art," and "The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt") presents the reader with an impressive selection of all the major gods and goddesses, and many of the minor ones, of ancient Egypt. Although hardly "complete" in the technical sense (Wilkinson discusses "only" 500 of Egypt's 1500 or so deities, and much more could be said about the ones he does discuss), the book is fairly "complete" in a practical sense: most gods that most readers want to look up, will get at least a brief mention. For example, you will find here the 24 Hours of the Day and Night, 12 (of 21) Gates of the Underworld, all 42 Gods of Judgement, and all 42 (hmm... there's that number again!) Nome Deities. The book begins with twelve brief essays (4-6 pages each) on Egyptian religion, covering such topics as creation myths, manifestations of divinity, temple and popular worship, and divine kingship. The essays are thoughtful, informative, and up-to-date with current scholarship. I wish they had been longer, because they deserve to be expanded at greater length than the book allocates to them. The rest of the book, some 180 pages, is devoted to a "Catalogue of Deities," organized by biological shape (anthropomorphic male and female, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and inanimate objects). This is a great idea, but it could have been taken even further. A visual index of shapes would make lookup much easier, and would only take an additional page or two. A name index is, of course, provided. Why not give a hieroglyphic index as well? Going to the individual entries, Wilkinson generally provides information about the mythology, iconography, and worship of each deity. The deities are generously illustrated, with line drawings and photographs. Again, I would wish that many of these entries could be expanded, both in terms of discussion and in terms of visual iconography. This is not a criticism of Wilkinson; it just reflects the practical limitations of the book. To summarize, Wilkinson's "Gods and Goddesses" is a very well-written, thoughtful, accurate, beautifully produced and illustrated reference on the religion of ancient Egypt. In terms of coverage it is somewhere between a handbook and an encyclopedia. I am very glad to have it in its present form, and I only wish that it had been much longer, since it is clear that Wilkinson has more to say about this subject than could fit into the covers of the present book. I would gladly pay double the price to have a truly complete encyclopedia of Egypt's gods from this author. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2004 by Michael Gunther
    • Wonderful and Informative!!
Very informative book! Wonderful Illustrations! Best purchase I've made with reference to Egypt and Egyptian Gods.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 27, 2022 by bledsoemom
    • Wonderful and informative source on Egyptian mythology
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It helped me immensely in my efforts to learn about the subject of Egyptian mythology. The pictures and illustrations complement the reading perfectly. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2022 by Anthony Robert Savarese
    • Great Beginner’s Guide
Great beginner’s reference book for anyone interested in learning about Ancient Egypt and their deities—especially beginner Kemetics. It gives a starting point with a bit of history alongside brief explanations of a lot of Egypt’s deities. Some descriptions are longer than others—Anpu’s for and example spans a couple pages. Highly recommend this book for any Kemetic/Egyptologist inspired bookshelf. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 13, 2021 by Amber Nebthet
    • A scholars book
Very descriptive and detailed on many subjects within this book. A proper addition to the collection
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 1, 2022 by Michel

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