Ancient Egyptian Literature

Twenty scholars have contributed to this book which deals with the development and characteristics of the literature of ancient Egypt over a period of over more than two millenia, from the monumental origins of autobiography at the end of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2150 BC) down to the latest literary compositions in Demotic during the Graeco-Roman period (300BC-200AD). The book is divided into thirty chapters concerned with the definition of literary discourse, the history and genre of the texts, their linguistic and stylistic features and the image of Egypt as displayed in later literary traditions - Greek, Coptic and Arabic. Thoroughly interdisciplinary.

Band 1.

Traces the development of Ancient Egyptian forms of writing. Provides a selection of ancient Egyptian myth and folklore as well as inscriptions on tombs, songs and hymns.

Presents annotated translations of papyrus writings and tomb inscriptions from the middle and late periods of ancient Egypt.

"Praise for the first editions: " "Concise, lucid, and altogether interesting . . ..The notes on the individual texts are unfailingly illuminating."--"Books Abroad" (now "World Literature Today")

Praise for the first editions: “Concise, lucid, and altogether interesting ….The notes on the individual texts are unfailingly illuminating.”—Books Abroad (now World Literature Today)

This volume deals with the development and the characteristics of the literature of Ancient Egypt over a period of more than two millennia, from the monumental origins of autobiography at the end of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2150 BCE) down to the latest literary compositions in Demotic during the Graeco-Roman period (300 BCE-200 CE). This book, the result of an international co-operation among more than twenty scholars, is divided into sections devoted to the definition of literary discourse in Ancient Egypt; the history and genres of these texts, their linguistic and stylistic features; and the image of Ancient Egypt as displayed in later literary traditions of the Mediterranean world - Greek, Coptic, Arabic. With over thirty chapters, this volume provides an interdisciplinary account of current research in one of the methodologically most advanced fields of Egyptology.

The literature of ancient Egypt is less well known than its art and architecture but merits study as one of the earliest literary traditions. This book reviews the current range of interpretative approaches and highlights the vitality of the field, covering the period c. 2000 BC to the Roman period.