Overview
The ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in books that were to be discovered over two millennia later in royal tombs. In this volume, Egyptologist Erik Hornung surveys what is known about them today. The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the ""Book of the Dead"", which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the ""Books of the Netherworld"". Hornung looks closely at the latter works, while summarizing the contents of the ""Book of the Dead"" and other widely studied examples of the genre. For each composition, he discusses the history of its ancient transmission and its decipherment in modern times, supplying bibliographic information for any text editions. He also seeks to determine whether this literature as a whole presents a monolithic conception of the afterlife. The volume features many drawings from the books themselves - drawings that illustrate the nocturnal course of the sun god through the realm of the dead. Originally published in German, this English translation offers an introduction to one of the central elements of ancient Egyptian religion.
Full Product Details
Author: Erik Hornung ,
David Lorton
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Edition: New edition
Dimensions:
Width: 15.50cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.907kg
ISBN: 9780801435157
ISBN 10: 0801435153
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 08 June 1999
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
It is a fortunate circumstance that Eric Hornung... has rendered the invaluable service of producing a complete guide and manual to the texts... It now appears in an admirable English translation by David Lorton. -- Leo Depuydt, Brown University * Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt *
It is a fortunate circumstance that Eric Hornung... has rendered the invaluable service of producing a complete guide and manual to the texts... It now appears in an admirable English translation by David Lorton. --Leo Depuydt, Brown University Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt
Author Information
Erik Hornung is Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Basel. He is the author of Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt, also from Cornell. An American Egyptologist, David Lorton translated Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids, by Guillemette Andreu, from Cornell. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
