Egypt: Lost Civilizations
- ISBN-10
- 178023774X
- ISBN-13
- 9781780237749
- Series
- Egypt
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 208
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2017-04-15
- Publisher
- Reaktion Books
- Author
- Christina Riggs
Description
From Roman villas to Hollywood films, ancient Egypt has been a source of fascination and inspiration in many other cultures. But why, exactly, has this been the case? In this book, Christina Riggs examines the history, art, and religion of ancient Egypt to illuminate why it has been so influential throughout the centuries. In doing so, she shows how the ancient past has always been used to serve contemporary purposes. Often characterized as a lost civilization that was discovered by adventurers and archeologists, Egypt has meant many things to many different people. Ancient Greek and Roman writers admired ancient Egyptian philosophy, and this admiration would influence ideas about Egypt in Renaissance Europe as well as the Arabic-speaking world. By the eighteenth century, secret societies like the Freemasons looked to ancient Egypt as a source of wisdom, but as modern Egypt became the focus of Western military strategy and economic exploitation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, its ancient remains came to be seen as exotic, primitive, or even dangerous, tangled in the politics of racial science and archaeology. The curse of the pharaohs or the seductiveness of Cleopatra were myths that took on new meanings in the colonial era, while ancient Egypt also inspired modernist, anti-colonial movements in the arts, such as in the Harlem Renaissance and Egyptian Pharaonism. Today, ancient Egypt—whether through actual relics or through cultural homage—can be found from museum galleries to tattoo parlors. Riggs helps us understand why this “lost civilization” continues to be a touchpoint for defining—and debating—who we are today.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2022-10-27
- - pages
- Paperback
- Legare Street Press
Similar books
-
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
By Elizabeth PayneThe Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt explains how archaeologists have pieced together their discoveries to slowly reveal the history of Egypt’s people, its pharaohs, and its golden days.
-
The History of Egypt
By Panayiotis J. Vatikiotis"Certainly the best general history available in English."--Times Literary Supplement.
-
gods and myths of ancient egypt
By robert a armourA lively retelling of stories from Egyptian mythology, complete with new photos and line drawings
-
Unwrapping Ancient Egypt
By Christina RiggsJones, J., “The 'Linen List' in Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom Egypt: Text and Textile Reconciled,” in C. Michel and M.-L. Nusch (eds.), Textile Terminologies, Oxford: Oxbow, 2010, pp. 81–109. Jones, J., “New Perspectives on the ...
-
Queens of Egypt: From Hetepheres to Cleopatra
By Christiane ZieglerCelebrated in literature and Hollywood movies, the lives of the Ancient Egyptian queens have become synonymous with power, beauty, and glory. Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Nefertari and Hatchepsut are familiar names today,...
-
Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance
By David Frankfurter... and the “basket-carrying priestess [kalat ̄ephoros]” officiating at a small village temple of (Isis-)Demeter in the second or third century, who almost certainly ... Wormald 1929; P.Oxy XXXVI.2782, on which see above, 2.1.
-
Egypt, Islam, and the Arabs: The Search for Egyptian Nationhood, 1900-1930
By Israel Gershoni, James P. JankowskiThe General Editors of the series are Bernard Lewis of Princeton University, Itamar Rabinovich of Tel Aviv University, and Roger M. Savory of the University of Toronto.
-
Egypt: The Moment of Change
By Rabab El Mahdi, Professor Philip MarfleetThis book is the first for over 20 years to offer and accessible examination of contemporary issues in Egypt.
-
Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt: From Early Dynastic Times to the Death of Cleopatra
By Joyce TyldesleyThe definitive book that recounts the full history of the colorful queens of Egypt.This fascinating saga spans 3,000 years of Egyptian queenship from Early Dynastic times until the suicide of...
-
Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization
By Barry J. Kemp"Ancient written documents often provide the essential information and these are used where necessary. However, the book highlights the contribution that archaeology makes, seeking an integration of sources.