Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE

by Françoise Dunand, Christiane Zivie-Coche, David Lorton (Translator)

Overview

In their wide-ranging interpretation of the religion of ancient Egypt, Françoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche explore how, over a period of roughly 3500 years, the Egyptians conceptualized their relations with the gods. Drawing on the insights of anthropology, the authors discuss such topics as the identities, images, and functions of the gods; rituals and liturgies; personal forms of piety expressing humanity's need to establish a direct relation with the divine; and the afterlife, a central feature of Egyptian religion. That religion, the authors assert, was characterized by the remarkable continuity of its ritual practices and the ideas of which they were an expression.

Throughout, Dunand and Zivie-Coche take advantage of the most recent archaeological discoveries and scholarship. Gods and Men in Egypt is unique in its coverage of Egyptian religious expression in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Written with nonspecialist readers in mind, it is largely concerned with the continuation of Egypt's traditional religion in these periods, but it also includes fascinating accounts of Judaism in Egypt and the appearance and spread of Christianity there.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801488535
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2005
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Françoise Dunand is Professor of the History of Religion, Marc Bloch University, Strasbourg. Christiane Zivie-Coche is Director of Studies, L'Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, Section des Sciences religieuses, Paris. She is the author of Sphinx: History of a Monument, also from Cornell. David Lorton, an Egyptologist, lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

What People are Saying About This

George Hart

The authors have written an excellent book which challenges readers to explore Egyptian religion with intellectual honesty towards the ancient evidence.

Editorial Reviews

"The authors have written an excellent book which challenges readers to explore Egyptian religion with intellectual honesty towards the ancient evidence."--George Hart, Egyptian Archaeology 25, Autumn 2004

From the Publisher