Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology

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More About This Textbook

Overview

Poetry, stories, hymns, prayers, and wisdom texts found exquisite written expression in ancient Egypt while their literary counterparts were still being recited around hearth fires in ancient Greece and Israel. Yet, because of its very antiquity and the centuries during which the language was forgotten, ancient Egyptian literature is a newly discovered country for modern readers.
This anthology offers an extensive sampling of all the major genres of ancient Egyptian literature. It includes all the texts from John Foster’s previous book Echoes of Egyptian Voices, along with selections from his Love Songs of the New Kingdom and Hymns, Prayers, and Songs: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Lyric Poetry, as well as previously unpublished translations of four longer and two short poems. Foster’s translations capture the poetical beauty of the Egyptian language and the spirit that impelled each piece’s composition, making these ancient masterworks sing for modern readers. An introduction to ancient Egyptian literature and its translation, as well as brief information about the authorship and date of each selection, completes the volume.
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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
This exceptional sampling of one of the world's most ancient literatures offers more than 40 hymns, stories, prayers, and songs revolving around religion, the Pharaohs, life, death, love, and more. The literary translation presents a critical reading of the ancient texts rather than a strict literal rendering. We do not know for certain how to pronounce the language as it was spoken 3000 to 4000 years ago, but Foster (research associate, Oriental Inst., Chicago) includes a number of poems in their original hieroglyphs, adding an exotic touch. The introduction to ancient Egyptian literature, as well as information about the authorship and chronology of each selection, helps to place the works in context. An excellent glossary explains many of the ancient concepts for the modern reader, who will discover that the splendor of Pharaonic visual art of which we know and see plenty has its parallel in literature. Highly recommended for all literary collections, this is also of interest to comprehensive collections of Egyptology, Near Eastern history, world literature in translation, and religion. Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780292725270
  • Publisher: University of Texas Press
  • Publication date: 6/28/2001
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 298
  • Sales rank: 950,782
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 8.96 (h) x 0.87 (d)

Table of Contents

  • List of Hieroglyphic Passages
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • The Poems
    • Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun
    • The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor
    • "Why, just now, must you question your heart"
    • "I love you through the daytimes"
    • "My love is one and only"
    • "Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond"
    • "Love of you is mixed deep in my vitals"
    • "I think I'll go home and lie very still"
    • Songs of the Birdcatcher's Daughter
    • The Instruction for Little Pepi on His Way to School
    • Longing for Memphis
    • "Oh, I'm bound downstream on the Memphis Ferry"
    • Rebuke Addressed to a Dissipated Scribe
    • Menna's Lament
    • Thc Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul
    • The Resurrection of King Unis
    • Prayer to the King to Rise Up
    • Hymn to the King as a Primordial God
    • Hymn to the King as a Flash of Lightning
    • Prayer of the King as a Star Fading in the Dawn
    • The Prophecy of Neferty
    • The Testament of Amenemhat
    • Two Spells
      • Spell for Causing the Beloved to Follow After
      • Power from the Four Winds of Heaven
    • The Greatness of the King
    • Prayer of King Ramesses II
    • For a Portrait of the Queen
    • Hymn to Osiris
    • Hymn to the Nile
    • Hymn to the Rising Sun
    • In Praise of Amun
    • Lament to Amun
    • The Tale of Sinuhe
    • From The Leiden Hymns
    • The Prayers of Pahery
    • From the Tomb of King Intef
    • The Harper's Song for Inherkhawy
    • From The Eloquent Peasant
      • The Peasant's Eighth Complaint
    • From The Maxims of Ptahhotep
    • The Instructionfor Merikarê
    • The Wisdom of Amenemopet
    • The Immortality of Writers (Epilogue)
  • Chronology
  • Glossary
  • Sources of the Texts
  • Bibliography
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