|
| Temples of Ancient Egypt | 
| Authors: Dieter Arnold, Gerhard Haeny, Lanny Bell, Ragnhild Bjerre Finnestad, Byron E. Shafer
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $55.00
Buy Used: $3.42
You Save: $51.58 (94%)
New (8) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 420948
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 335
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.3
ISBN: 0801433991
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.31
EAN: 9780801433993
ASIN: 0801433991
Publication Date: December 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: May contain significant wear and/or markings. Supplemental materials may not be included. Inventory subject to prior sale.
|
| Customer Reviews:
The Real Meaning of Temple April 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read this book from two perspectives: 1) being an architect & 2) being a serious Egyptophile studying & teaching about Egypt for years. It is a highly scholarly work containing academic information of Egypt that may seem out of context to the casual reader, for example: knowing the transliteration script of hieroglyphs and having previous knowledge of Egyptian deities. As cumbersome as this may be to some, it is an engaging series of essays.
This work describes the human elements of ritual and the physical world the ancients created to define their place in the cosmos. Architecture defines a culture. Each of the authors admit, however, that there is so much symbolism within any given society, so much diversity and connotation, that a completely accurate portrait of any building is impossible. But their extensive and informed analysis is enlightening.
The beauty of this book is that it tells the tale of rituals, offerings and links to the divine as we have always known it, and practice it, in our own individual and collective subconscious, and how the Egyptians were the first to develop these systems. The role of these buildings is set in the backdrop of the culture they came from, the significance of temple architecture to the creation myths of Egypt and how the concept and practice of worship have come full circle into our own world today.
This book is an eye-opener I wish existed back in college. The previous writings of Mircea Iliade, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and even Joseph Campbell on the subject of Egyptian symbolism are dated by comparison to this work. A great book on the nature of ancient spirituality, piety and concepts of the divine. A must read for any serious Egyptophile (probably mandatory reading now for all budding Egyptologists!).
 Insightful collection of essays November 29, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a collection of five essays by scholars which cover the types of Egyptian temples and the rituals associated with them from the Old Kindgom to the Roman period. The level to which the essays are engaging for the average reader varies for individual contributions, though they all contain some interesting ideas. Some of the writers spend a lot of time in detailed descriptions of the layout of temples, which some readers may not find so interesting, but two of the essays in particular contain quite insightful arguments relating to the role of Egyptian temples, their relation to the social and economic hierarchy and the purpose of the rituals associated with them. A picture emerges from the essays of an interdependent religious, political and social order that is nigh on impossible to describe using a modern conceptual framework. Some of the writers skillfully delineate what concepts such as ` royal ka', `maat', chaos etc. may have meant to the people who conceived them. Egyptian religion was a representation of the physical environment that gave birth to it - the power of the cycles of the inundation of the Nile and of the daily rising and setting of the life-giving sun. These cyclical renewals were mirrored in the rituals of the temples and associated festivals and the Pharaoh played a central role in ensuring that the cycles were not interrupted. It is difficult to give star rating. Some of the essays would rate five stars and others three.
thought-provoking and fascinating August 11, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This thought-provoking book is comprised of comprehensive essays written by various established scholars. Amongst the topics covered are religion, creation, kingship and the netherworld. The book consists of fascinating surveys of the Ancient Egyptian temples. Byron Shafer gives an overview of temples and rituals; Dieter Arnold explains the evolution of the pyramids through the Middle Kingdom; Gerhard Haeny explained the temples of the Ramessid Period; Lanny Bell describes the Luxor Temple (the monument most visited by tourists); and Ragnbild Finnestad writes on Ptolemaic and Roman temples. A recommended book for the interested.
For the avid Egyptophile February 8, 2000
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Shafer, et al have compiled a very well written and extremely in-depth examination of the meaning and importance of temples in ancient Egypt. All the sections were fascinating but I especially found Lanny Bell's treatment of Luxor temple (derived from his many years of work there), Gerhard Haeny's section on Mansions of Millions of Years, and Finnestad's chapter on Ptolemaic temples (really a discussion of the context of this period of temples) to be especially engaging. All of these added greatly to my understanding of the topics they addressed. I would recommend this to any serious Egyptophile with the caveat that it is all written largely in scholarly terms. They don't entirely assume prior knowledge but without some foundation in Egyptological literature, readers might find this interesting but a bit thick.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
