Ancient Egypt
The scale of ancient Egyptian history is overwhelming. Americans (North and South) wrestle with the consequences of five hundred years of invasion, conquest, and settlement. Europeans argue over what delineates different phases of their history (modern, the rise of the nation-state, phases of the Renaissance, medieval, post-Roman, and so on). Well, that gets you back only 1500 years. Classicists pride their discipline on another thousand years. Egyptians look on, bemused. They go back 6000 years without breathing hard. Ancient Egypt (a deep and long category, obviously) represents a civilization that still fascinates us. Think pharaohs, pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphs, the Sphinx, the Nile, "King Tut." Children and adults love such stuff. I debated with myself whether to be a purist on Ancient Egypt and end my listings with Alexander the Great's conquest and the great era of the Ptolemaic dynasty, but you would miss so much in those 275 years leading up to the pragmatic and unimaginative Romans building their empire on Egyptian grain. I wanted to include the Pharos lighthouse, Alexandria and its library, Cleopatra. So I did, and I will. This page, these offerings, like the rest of Whistlestop, will be carefully curated and vetted and supplemented as I find and list interesting items.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead [slip-cased edition]
The Egyptian Book of the Dead [slip-cased edition]
Deliver me from the Watchers who bear slaughtering knives, and who have cruel fingers.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead?is an ancient collection of spells, prayers and incantations designed to guide the departed through the perils of the underworld, ultimately ensuring eternal life. Written as part of funeral rites, these scrolls were often left in the sarcophagus of the deceased and now offer fascinating insight into Egyptian culture.
This beautifully illustrated edition contains images from the exquisite Papyrus of Ani, an ancient Egyptian scroll narrating the journey of Theban scribe Ani through the underworld. Its accompanying hieroglyphic text has been translated by acclaimed Egyptologist E.A Wallis Budge, and includes spells addressed to ferryman, gods and kings to aid Ani on his way to the afterlife.