Awards

• Winner of A Main Selection of the Natural Science Book Club.

Overview

Ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in books that were to be discovered more than two millennia later in royal tombs. Erik Hornung, the world's leading authority on these religious texts, surveys what is known about them today.The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the Book of the Dead, which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the Books of the Netherworld. Hornung looks closely at these latter works, while summarizing the contents of the Book of the Dead and other widely studied examples of the genre. For each composition, he discusses the history of its ancient transmission and its decipherment in modern times, supplying bibliographic information for any text editions. He also seeks to determine whether this literature as a whole presents a monolithic conception of the afterlife. The volume features many drawings from the books themselves-drawings that illustrate the nocturnal course of the sun god through the realm of the dead.Originally published in German and now available in a fluid English translation, this volume offers an accessible and enlightening introduction to a central element of ancient Egyptian religion.

Full Product Details

Author:   Erik Hornung ,  David Lorton
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
Imprint:   Cornell University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780801485152

ISBN 10:   0801485150
Pages:   216
Publication Date:   17 June 1999
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Reviews

Hornung's study of ancient Egyptian afterlife books, translated into English for the first time by D. Lorton, fills a major gap in the available literature in English and will prove indispensable to students of Egyptian funerary religion. . . His presentation is clear and thorough. Denise M. Doxey, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Religious Studies Review, Vol. 25, No. 4, October 2000

Hornung's study of ancient Egyptian afterlife books, translated into English for the first time by D. Lorton, fills a major gap in the available literature in English and will prove indispensable to students of Egyptian funerary religion. . . His presentation is clear and thorough. -Denise M. Doxey, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Religious Studies Review, Vol. 25, No. 4, October 2000

Author Information

David Lorton, an Egyptologist, is the translator of many books, including Erik Hornung's books The Secret Lore of Egypt and Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, both from Cornell.

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