| Title | : | Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 40 |
| Publication | : | Published March 20, 2016 |
In this brief introduction to the subject of
Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide Reviews
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This was a solid first introduction into Egyptian mythology. Of all the titles I have read in the hourly history series this was the one I had the least prior knowledge of. Carlson did a wonderful job of recreating the setting and informing the reader about how everyday life was lived during these times. Whilst still finding this a wonderful introduction to the topic I did find that less of the focus was actually contained to mythology and the gods, compared to the other series titles.
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Short and interesting read.
Got a brief introduction of the history, the gods and various myths.
It's good for beginners. -
5 🌟
This book has a description of the early Egyptian dynasties. It also has descriptions of the different gods and functions of people living in the city/town. There was also talk about the mummies and what happens to the body parts.
The ritual for the gods seems a little intense. The grain payment seems weird as well. Glad that we don't live in Ancient Egypt. Seems fun too. -
Praise Ra!
"The only thing that stood between human beings and the total chaos of the universe was the power and goodwill of the gods, who were able to control everything. If the gods were happy the sun would rise, the Nile would flow, ...the crops would flourish and harvests would be fruitful, the seasons would follow one another in an orderly fashion, and there would be peace in the land. Ma’at would prevail; there would be balance and harmony".
Another fascinating glimpse into olden times from this excellent series, would recommend to any curious mind. -
3.5
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Very informative and easy, even for beginners, to understand its history in chronological order
I’m afraid to say the author’s conclusion blows “again”, but other than that it’s a nice read with a great introduction and bodies.
(Kindle Ed. pp. 1-2)
The particular geography of Egypt has played a critical role in its history. This can be said of many countries of course, but in Egypt it seems to have had an “undue influence” on its development. A thin land, it is bracketed by Libya and the immense Sahara in the west and the Red Sea, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the east. In the north it is fringed by the Mediterranean. Unlike in most ancient countries, the people of Egypt, from time immemorial, have been oriented to the north. There lies the main fascination for Egyptians, the immense river of life, the Nile, that flows from the south and divides the full length of Egypt into two unequal land masses. Egypt is known as “the gift of the Nile,” as the river is what made life possible in this otherwise arid land, and it has always supported the existence, development, abundance and mystique of this enduring country...More than in other mythologies, the distinction between immortal God and human being was extremely tenuous to the Egyptians; sometimes the characters that populate the story are both an historical human being and a mythological god. The Gods do not dwell in the sky above, as in most other mythologies, but in manmade temples during their lives and then in giant pyramids when they move into the Underworld. For this reason it is essential that in exploring the mythology you should have a reasonable understanding of the real history of the country.
Probably the best introduction ever among all the books of the same author I have read so far, Mr. Robert Carlson.
(Kindle Ed. pp. 15-16)
...After a while he became concerned for his children and he sent his one eye to find them. When they returned, with his eye, he was so overjoyed he started crying with gratitude; human beings manifested from his tears.
This is why Egyptian Mythology is my favorite among all the ancient myths: The Human Beings were created from the most sincere love of our par'ents.
(Kindle Ed. p. 19)
“I am the Son of Maat, and wrong is what I execrate. I am the Victorious one.”
—Book of the Dead
All the quotes are relevant here in this book, unlike those in other mythology books of the author.
I have found some typos that the author gotta re-vise.
(Kindle Ed. p. 11)
The Nile: the Egyptians called it Ar or Aur, which meant “black,” or they referred to it simply as “the river.” It was the Greeks who actually gave the Nile its name, from the word for “valley” i.e. Neilos.The White Nile rises in Lake Victoria in Equatorial Africa, joins the Blue Nile, which rises at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and snakes its way down to enter Egypt in the south, at Aswan.
A simple mistake. Gotta put a space in-between the two sentences: ...from the word for “valley” i.e. Neilos. The White Nile rises...
(Kindle Ed. p. 17)
...The royal couple supplied a ship and Isis, “never stirring from beside the chest” returned to Egypt where she hid it...
Need to be edited: The royal couple supplied a ship, and Isis, “never stirring from beside the chest”, returned to Egypt where she hid it.
(Kindle Ed. p. 37)
...They were rooms were aptly referred to as the “chapel of the Hearing Ear”.
Correction: They were rooms [that were] aptly referred to as the “chapel of the Hearing Ear."
(Kindle Ed. pp. 3-4)
...he was the first pharaoh of the first dynasty; and that he ruled circa 3407 to circa 3368 BCE. What does seem to be uncontested fact is that he united Egypt and it is here that we start the timeline.
EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD c3159-2686 BCE
1ST TO 2ND DYNASTY
If it is not any typo, how come there's a 200-year gap there? No explanation, either, and so it is a subject for editing for the readers.
Minus one star due to the shitty conclusion...again. It was great until I read the conclusion. What is the writer always in a hurry for? Why always the disappointing conclusions that make his hard works "incomplete" after all?
On the other hand, the book delivers a great message and lesson to the readers: The history of Egypt, more than any other mythology that the author has written about, tells us how important "unity" is for a society's stability and prosperity; it is so, very clear when you look at the country's history.
All-in-all it is fun while informative despite the short length, and it's pretty easy to navigate through the long history in chronological order, therefore the book deserves a high rate.
(Kindle Ed. p. 4)
...Imhotep, a gifted architect, was born in 2667 BCE and was influential to his death in 2600 BCE and beyond...
A good info: Just a personal interest as an architecture major myself ;) -
First of all, I keep on wondering why we call it mythology when there is a clearly laid out facts and figures right in front of our eyes. It's a bit disturbing. Specially when it comes to this book, it starts with the ancient timeline of dynasties and goes into the culture which of course entangles with lots of other stuff such as Gods, the creation, day to day life, the philosophy, the funeral rituals, architecture, etc.
While reading this I seriously started questioning our "progress" as humans from 3000 years ago to now. It was crystal clear the ancients were more progressive and more sensible people with lots of meaningful things in life. This book gives a brief but a very precise description of how the ancient Egyptian society operated.
Fast but a very educative read indeed.
Book #07 of 2022. -
Egyptian Mythology
I was disappointed with this book more history than mythology I was expecting tales of Gods and Goddess like the Greek or myth stories from other cultures there was very little of that it did have some interesting material including how Egyptian mumification was done however -
Very concise book on Egypt’s history and mythology. Really easy to take in and very interesting. Excellent gateway book.
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Egyptian Mythology for me is the hardest, and reading this book did not help .
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Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide — Robert Carlson (Introduction + 9 titled chapters + Conclusion) Dec. 2, 2020
This is a quick overview of Egyptian Mythology which covers a (written and not visual) timeline. The quick book goes on to explore the myths and how they were used both daily along with temple uses and death and eternal life and even touches on pyramids locations. The pyramid chapter was interesting as it talked about how exacting they were in building the pyramids in which one thought was that they went out at night and measured the base using the stars.
There were three links included in the book, and they all looked interesting enough to follow up on.
Again, a very quick and interesting read. I enjoyed it.
Four stars. -
Very interesting learning about the history of Egypt and their ancient mythology. Learning about the Nile, Gods (around 20,000), pyramids, and mummification like Woah! When I felt I have read it all the weirdest things in life than this book comes along and hit me. I like it is written in a brief and easy-to-read way. It made reading the strange names (can't pronounce) and the rich information baring to process.
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This makes me want to read The Kane Chronicles lol.
Isis is a bad bitch, get you a wife who will find you another penis because your jealous brother indirectly fed it to a fish.
And I thought the Greek pantheon was wild.
The section about the pyramids was really cool!! The history nerd within me was thriving. Also liked the background we got on the pharaohs/royal family.
Definitely going to be reading more about ancient Egypt and the mythology in the future! -
This book isn’t exactly about Egyptian Mythology but more about the history of Egyptian Mythology. Only the basic creation myths are highlighted in this book. If one wants to read in depth about ancient Egyptian myths,then this is not the book.
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Another in an excellent series!
The second in this series, this one concentrating on the Egyptian gods! Although this book never lists all the gods (which there are quite a few!)
Its still very good without being boring! -
Title is completely misleading. It's more about "Ancient Egypt" than "Egyptian Mythology". It makes sense to add some history for context, but there is just too much "context" in this book there is hardly any mythology anymore. Title should be changed.
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Very informative
I am new to Egyptian mythology and wanted to start with the basics. This book helped me to really understand the background for the possible whys to the Egyptian beliefs. Now I feel I can delve further with greater insight. -
Always loved different mythologies.
This one I felt has been really great to read and reminded me of how fascinating I found the history of Egypt.
It’s definitely a must read - pretty good for teens who want more of an insight. -
Gist of Egyptian mythology
All important elements pertaining to Egyptain mythology have been summed up in this book. A reader can pick up from here and dive deeply into particular aspects of ancient Egypt. -
I liked it.
It was a very light, informative introduction to ancient Egypt.
Very easy to comprehend.
A great read for beginners. -
A very short intro to Egyptian mythology
Quick and to the point. A bit too brief for my taste, but a nice starting place to begin a study in the interest. -
Recomendado
Como introducciĂłn a la egiptologĂa , este libro es genial. De fácil comprensiĂłn y lectura, bastante claro, objetivo e interesante. -
While I enjoyed it, the book was needed to be larger.
At best it will whet your appetite for more Egyptian mythology... -
a unique and interesting look at Ancient Egypt
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Good stuff
A fascinating read. I highly recommend it. Why did the Hebrews leave Egypt? This book gives a hefty clue as to why!
