Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt
Editorial CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Mainland Spain
- Publisher CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
- ISBN13 9781108081993
- ISBN10 1108081991
- Type BOOK
- Published 2018
- Language English
Subjects
Ancient UniversalDevelopment of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt
Editorial CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Mainland Spain
Book details
The American archaeologist James H. Breasted (1865?1935) is best remembered for his 1906 four-volume Records of Egypt, which contains fresh readings and translations of almost all of the ancient Egyptian historical inscriptions available at the time, and remains an important resource. In this 1912 work, originally delivered as lectures, Breasted discusses the significance of the 'Pyramid Texts', preserved on fifth- and sixth-dynasty pyramids at Saqqara, and recently published in full, to the understanding of ancient Egyptian religious thought. He argues that mortuary practice as revealed by archaeology gives indications of the beliefs of a pre-literate society, but that by the time of the earliest inscriptions the Egyptian belief system was well established. He is particularly interested in the development of a moral sense in the context of the traditional pantheon with its multiple aspects of human/animal divinities, and in the influence of the developing Egyptian empire on its religion.
In this 1912 work, James Breasted discusses the significance of the 'Pyramid Texts' to the understanding of Egyptian religious thought. He is particularly interested in the development of a moral sense in the context of the traditional pantheon, and in the influence of the developing Egyptian empire on its religion.