Thebes In Egypt

The riveting, definitive account of the ancient Greek city of Thebes, by the acclaimed author of The Spartans—now in paperback Among the extensive writing available about the history of ancient Greece, there is precious little about the city-state of Thebes. At one point the most powerful city in ancient Greece, Thebes has been long overshadowed by its better-known rivals, Athens and Sparta. In Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece, acclaimed classicist and historian Paul Cartledge brings the city vividly to life and argues that it is central to our understanding of the ancient Greeks’ achievements—whether politically or culturally—and thus to the wider politico-cultural traditions of western Europe, the Americas, and indeed the world. From its role as an ancient political power, to its destruction at the hands of Alexander the Great as punishment for a failed revolt, to its eventual restoration by Alexander’s successor, Cartledge deftly chronicles the rise and fall of the ancient city. He recounts the history with deep clarity and mastery for the subject and makes clear both the di?erences and the interconnections between the Thebes of myth and the Thebes of history. Written in clear prose and illustrated with images in two color inserts, Thebes is a gripping read for students of ancient history and those looking to experience the real city behind the myths of Cadmus, Hercules, and Oedipus.

A history of ancient Egyptian civilization written as a travel guidebook contemporary with the time.

Women, Gender and Identity in Third Intermediate Period Egypt clarifies the role of women in Egyptian society during the first millennium BCE, allowing for more nuanced discussions of women in the Third Intermediate Period. It is an intensive study of a corpus that is both geographically and temporally localized around the city of Thebes, which was the cultural and religious centre of Egypt during this period and home to a major national necropolis. Unlike past studies which have relied heavily on literary evidence, Li presents a refreshing material culture-based analysis of identity construction in elite female burial practices. This close examination of the archaeology of women’s burial presents an opportunity to investigate the social, professional and individual identities of women beyond the normative portrayals of the subordinate wife, mother and daughter. Taking a methodological and material culture-based approach which adds new dimensions to scholarly and popular understandings of ancient Egyptian women, this fascinating and important study will aid scholars of Egyptian history and archaeology, and anyone with an interest in women and gender in the ancient world.

"After reviewing the topography of the site, the Strudwicks recount the history of Thebes from the city's rise in the late Old Kingdom to the peak of its power in the New Kingdom and to its gradual decline in the Graeco-Roman period.

The Theban necropolis lies in strange contrast to the bustle of Luxor on the opposite bank of the Nile. Over 450 tombs spanning more than a thousand years, some fully excavated and recorded, others tantalisingly described by travellers but now lost, form a maze-like network of passages and caves. The decoration of many of the tombs, particularly those of the Eighteenth dynasty, provides some outstanding examples of ancient Egyptian painting and relief work and reveals fascinating details about the lives and beliefs of their owners. Some of the tombs were re-used and display contrasting styles of workmanship, while many were colonised in more recent centuries by peoples with scant respect for the tombs of their ancestors: many well-paintings are blackened and burnt beyond redemption. The author traces the history of the site discussing the more important tombs in some detail, and sheds new light on the symbolism used in painting to help the deceased in the Afterlife. She also surveys the role of the treasure hunters and travellers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries and the pioneer epigraphers who followed them and paved the way for the archeological investigation and research that continues today.

Thebes (modern Luxor) was a popular tourist destination during the Roman Period, receiving the likes of Strabo, Germanicus, and Hadrian. Yet while its international fame rested on its royal tombs and the Memnon colossus, Thebes was also a vibrant religious center with over a dozen active temples. The purposefully archaizing inscriptions and architecture attracted both Egyptians and Romans in search of ancient traditions and millennial wisdom, influencing intercultural and multilingual texts produced in the region, including Gnostic, Hermetic, and magical writings. This book surveys epigraphic and archaeological evidence for temple construction and renovation throughout the Theban nome during the Roman Period, studying the new inscriptions within their ritual and theological contexts. It also contains the first comprehensive treatment of the greater Theban Pantheon during the Graeco-Roman era, cataloguing over fifty local divinities and establishing their roles in various cosmogonies and mythological traditions.The concluding chapter reconstructs the religious life of the district, tracking annual festival processions which united the multiple temples and their communities.