Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, Paperback / softback Book

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife Paperback / softback

Paperback / softback

Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours

Description

Ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in books that were to be discovered more than two millennia later in royal tombs.

Erik Hornung, the world's leading authority on these religious texts, surveys what is known about them today.The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the Book of the Dead, which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the Books of the Netherworld.

Hornung looks closely at these latter works, while summarizing the contents of the Book of the Dead and other widely studied examples of the genre.

For each composition, he discusses the history of its ancient transmission and its decipherment in modern times, supplying bibliographic information for any text editions.

He also seeks to determine whether this literature as a whole presents a monolithic conception of the afterlife.

The volume features many drawings from the books themselves—drawings that illustrate the nocturnal course of the sun god through the realm of the dead.Originally published in German and now available in a fluid English translation, this volume offers an accessible and enlightening introduction to a central element of ancient Egyptian religion.

Information

Other Formats

Save 5%

£26.99

£25.55

Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information