Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE - Softcover

Dunand, Françoise; Zivie-Coche, Christiane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801488532 ISBN 13: 9780801488535

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2005

Synopsis

In their wide-ranging interpretation of the religion of ancient Egypt, Francoise 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.

About this title

Review:

"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

About the Author:

The late David Lorton, an Egyptologist, was the translator of many books, including Ancient Egypt in 101 Questions and Answers, The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus, The Secret Lore of Egypt, and Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, all from Cornell.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0801488532
• ISBN 13: 9780801488535
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400