The Search for God in Ancient Egypt: An Immigrant Community in New York City - Hardcover

Assmann, Jan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801437865 ISBN 13: 9780801437861

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2001

Synopsis

First English-language edition, with revisions and additions by the author.This classic work by one of the world's most distinguished Egyptologists was first published in German in 1984. The Search for God in Ancient Egypt offers a distillation of Jan Assmann's views on ancient Egyptian religion, with special emphasis on theology and piety. Deeply rooted in the texts of ancient Egypt and thoroughly informed by comparative religion, theology, anthropology, and semiotic analysis, Assmann's interpretations reveal the complexity of Egyptian thought in a new way.Assmann takes special care to distinguish between the "implicit" theology of Egyptian polytheism and the "explicit" theology that is concerned with exploring the problem of the divine. His discussion of polytheism and mythology addresses aspects of ritual, the universe, and myth; his consideration of explicit theology deals with theodicy and the specifics of Amarna religion.

About this title

Review:

"What has made Assmann not only an eminent Egyptologist, but, in Germany, a public intellectual as well, is his sympathetic operation from within Egyptian texts coupled with a deep and detailed knowledge of Western intellectual history.... We are very fortunate to see his extraordinary scholarship appearing at last in English, and owe our thanks to... Cornell University Press and David Lorton, as well as, of course, to Assmann himself, for this excellent new opportunity."

--Tom Hare, Princeton University "Cambridge Archaeological Journal "

"Very occasionally there will appear a book, vibrant with intellectual fervor, which challenges jaded ideas and as such I welcome with the greatest admiration Jan Assmann, The Search for God in Ancient Egypt. At the outset I would urge readers to confront the complexity of the linguistic level of this book... because Assmann's total command of the ancient sources and his interpretative insights make joining him on his 'search' a unique experience."

--George Hart "Egyptian Archaeology "

About the Author:

Jan Assmann is Professor of Egyptology at Heidelberg University and the 1998 winner of the prestigious Deutsche Historikerpreis (German History Prize). David Lorton, an Egyptologist, has translated other Cornell books, including The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: First Millennium B.C.E. by Karol Mysliwiec and The Priests of Ancient Egypt, New Edition by Serge Sauneron.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0801437865
• ISBN 13: 9780801437861
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288