Egyptian Literature

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 provides original texts as well as translations of the major works of Middle Kingdom literature.

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")

DIVFascinating extracts from The Book of the Dead, legends of the gods, historical and autobiographical literature, tales of travel and adventure, poetical compositions, much more. /div

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.

First published in 1973, this anthology has assumed classic status in the field of Egyptology and portrays the remarkable evolution of the literary forms of one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Beginning with the early and gradual evolution of Egyptian genres, it includes biographical and historical inscriptions carved on stone, the various classes of works written with pen on papyrus, and the mortuary literature that focuses on life after death. It then shows the culmination of these literary genres within the single period known as the New Kingdom (1550–1080 B.C.) and ends in the last millennium of Pharaonic civilization, from the tenth century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. An introduction written in three parts by Antonio Loprieno, Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert, and Joseph G. Manning completes this classic anthology.