The gods of Egypt / Claude Traunecker ; translated from the French by David Lorton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Traunecker, Claude.

Standardized Title:

Dieux de l'Egypte. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Gods, Egyptian.

Mythology, Egyptian.

Egypt--Religion.

Egypt.

Religion.

Physical Description:

x, 134 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First Eng. language edition, enhanced and expanded.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca [NY] : Cornell University Press, 2001.

Summary:

The Gods of Egypt, first published in France in 1992 and now in its third French edition, is a short, elegant, and highly accessible survey of ancient Egyptian religion. The clarity and brevity of Claude Traunecker's book make it especially valuable to readers seeking an authoritative introduction to this complex topic. The Cornell edition, the first English translation, is enhanced by 23 illustrations.

Traunecker begins with an overview of the source materials and a discussion of the historiography of Egyptian religion, a subject relatively neglected by scholars. He then describes the actual and metaphysical worlds inhabited by the Egyptian deities and the role that humans played in the Egyptian universe. Focusing especially on the diversity and number of approaches used by Egyptians to explain their world, The Gods of Egypt offers a succinct and highly readable presentation of recent interpretations of Egyptian religion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-128) and index.

ISBN:

0801438349

OCLC:

46564790