The Egyptian Myths A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends [Hardcover]

This survey of Egyptian mythology explores how the ancient Nile-dwellers explained the world around them. It delves into the creation and evolution of the world and the reigns of the gods on earth, before introducing us to the manifestations of Egypts deities in the natural environment; the inventive ways in which the Egyptians dealt with the invisible forces all around them; and their beliefs about life after death.The myths are presented here in a down-to-earth and often humorous manner, consistent with the spirit of the texts, exposing the gamut of human emotion from the rage of the solar deity to the lamentations of the widowed Isis ... will be fitting additions to the library of the Nile traveller ... can be read with interest and pleasure in an armchair.Most books on mythology present their material as archaic stories and that's that. But this author gives us the background to the myths and then explains how they were integrated into every aspect of the ordinary Egyptian's existence from birth to deathand beyond. Illustrations, diagrams and drawings, together with many extraordinarily powerful quotations from papyri, paint a picture of the dynamic forces that the gods represented and how their lives were played out in the various myths.With academic authority and enjoyable style, assisted by numerous, well-chosen illustrations of gods and goddesses, Shaw's book is a lively introduction to its subject.Beautifully set out on high quality paper ... and featuring some lesser known stories ... alongside more familiar myths, this is a good introduction to the complex mythology of the ancient Egyptians and their unique way of understanding the world around them.An authoritative guide to the Egyptian myths that sheds new light on an ancient way of understanding the world