Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians lived in a remarkable culture that created some of the world's most beautiful art and architecture. It was a land where Pharaoh was the supreme lord of all, the living embodiment on Earth of the god Horus, son of Osiris, ruler of the underworld. It was a culture that relied on the rising and falling of the River Nile, but flourished next to the Sahara, one of the hottest and driest deserts on the planet. Even today, the ancient civilization of Egypt - which produced the great pyramids, the riddle of the Sphinx and the riches of Tutankhamun - exerts a strong hold over our imagination. 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 colour photographs, maps and charts, Ancient Egypt illuminates the vivid and powerful symbolic images of this fascinating culture - from pyramids and temples to priests and ritual; from hieroglyphic writing to daily life by the Nile; and from temple carvings to the famous cult of the dead. The book uses the most recent historical research and archaeological finds to illuminate the routines of daily life in royal, elite and 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 colourful, 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 and jewellers; and that women were viewed as equal to men in Egyptian law and could wield considerable influence. Lavishly illustrated with beautiful colour artwork as well as photographs, Ancient Egypt is an authoritative and accessible guide to the many dimensions of the ancient Egyptian world.Silverman, David P. is the author of 'Ancient Egypt', published 1997 under ISBN 9781900131803 and ISBN 1900131803.