Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt is an authoritative and vividly written guide to the main themes of the ancient Egyptian world from the lives of the pharaohs and the building of the pyramids to the fascinating language of hieroglyphs It covers all the major aspects of this powerful civilization historical religious artistic scientific and mythological Superbly illustrated Ancient Egypt brings the world of the pharaohs to life as never before Book jacket The ancient Egyptians created some of the world s most beautiful art and architecture To this day this ancient civilization which produced the great pyramids the riddle of the Sphinx and the riches of Tutankhamun exerts a strong hold on our imaginations Now in Ancient Egypt eminent Egyptologist David P Silverman and a team of leading scholars explore the cultural wealth of this civilization in a series of intriguing and authoritative essays based on the latest theories and discoveries Illustrated with more than 200 superb color photographs maps and charts this book illuminates the vivid and powerful symbolic images of this fascinating culture from pyramids and temples to priests and rituals from hieroglyphic writing to daily life by the Nile and from temple carvings to the cult of the dead Correcting the popular misconception of the Egyptians as a death obsessed people the book uses the most recent historical research and archaeological finds to illuminate the routines of daily life in royal elite priestly circles as well as at lower levels of society We learn for example that despite the monochromatic appearance of most temple ruins today in ancient times they would have been colorful even gleaming structures that the title Pharaoh derives from the Egyptian phrase per aa which means great house and was originally a reference to the royal palace that temples employed all manner of part time and full time personnel from farmers and carpenters to scribes jewelers and keepers of livestock