Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids / Edition 1

by Guillemette Andreu, David Lorton

Overview

The Golden Age of Ancient Egypt comes alive as Guillemette Andreu recreates the details of daily life. Construction sites teem with workers building the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Administrators bustle to and fro, handling their assignments from the pharaoh's court. Scribes train themselves to draft a variety of letters.Andreu describes the Egyptians as they spend a day in the marshes with family and friends. They glide on light skiffs through the papyrus plants, stopping occasionally to marvel at the marsh creatures: frogs, butterflies, kingfishers, ibises, herons, lapwings, weasels, and mongooses. Because the marshes also shelter crocodiles and hippopotami, the day is not without its perils. In her vivid representation of Egyptian life, Andreu makes use of letters from family archives, full of household instructions from travelers and nostalgic greetings from grown children living away from their parents.The principal source of evidence for Egyptian life-styles between 2650 and 1750 B.C. are the scenes carved or painted on the walls of tombs. Short hieroglyphic inscriptions accompany these images, recording what might have been said by the men and women pictured. Andreu's book is amply illustrated and supplemented by a bibliography. It will delight tourists planning to visit Egypt, museum goers, as well as students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801483134
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	05/08/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Guillemette Andreu is Professor of Hieroglyphs at L'Ecole du Louvre in Paris and an Egyptologist in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre Museum. She is also the author of Images de la vie quotidienne en Egypte au temps des Pharaohs. David Lorton is an American Egyptologist who lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

What People are Saying About This

R.M. Seaton

A super book.

Lawrence M. Berman

I am very pleased that this enjoyable, up-to-date, and learned account of life in ancient Egypt is now accessible to American readers in David Lorton's excellent English translation.

From the Publisher

After a brief historical introduction, Andreu surveys, in ten brief, crisply written chapters, the royal court, pyramids, and other public work, the life of the scribe, economic and family life, the countryside, and religious practice... Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids is a clear and useful introduction to a fascinating period of Egyptian history.

Editorial Reviews

This book is a most welcome and valuable one for the individual wishing to learn about ancient Egypt, especially since it also reflects the recent expansion of scholarly interest in matters other than government, wars, and royalty. Andreu deserves commendation for writing a lively and interesting (and accurate) book.

Journal of Near Eastern Studies - Susan Tower Hollis

This book is a most welcome and valuable one for the individual wishing to learn about ancient Egypt, especially since it also reflects the recent expansion of scholarly interest in matters other than government, wars, and royalty. Andreu deserves commendation for writing a lively and interesting (and accurate) book.

--Susan Tower Hollis, Empire State College "Journal of Near Eastern Studies"

From the Publisher