By John Ray
Spanning greater than millennia, Reflections of Osiris opens a small window right into a undying international, shooting the flavour of lifestyles in historical Egypt via brilliant profiles of 11 genuine humans and the god Osiris. the various figures profiled listed here are well-known. Ray discusses Imhotep, whom he calls "Egypt's Leonardo"--the royal architect of the Step Pyramid, excessive priest of the sunlight cult, and a guy of serious clinical ability. We meet Hatshepsut, an extraordinary woman Pharaoh, who had herself depicted as a male determine in temple scenes, ceremonial beard and all. Horemheb, who rose from neighborhood baby-kisser to common and at last to king. And the mythical magician, Pharaoh Nectanebo II, the best builder of temples. both exciting are the lives of daily Egyptians who're additionally resurrected right here. there's Heqanakhte, a cantankerous peasant farmer who has issues of his sons--and they with their stepmother. And Petiese, a scribe whose petition to the professionals preserves a feud stretching again over generations. so much attention-grabbing of all are the folks of the Serapeum: a Greek recluse, his brother (a rootless adolescent and police informer), temple dancers with monetary problems, and a temple scribe. All of whom we come to grasp intimately--even their desires. final comes the god Osiris, pass judgement on of the netherworld, author of the land of Egypt, prior to whom all would seem on the finish in their lives. Reflections of Osiris captures the entire spectrum of lifestyles in historical Egypt. With greater than twenty halftones and a number of other maps, this impressive quantity will fascinate someone attracted to an inside of examine the nice old civilization of the Nile.
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Extra info for Reflections of Osiris: Lives from Ancient Egypt
Example text
This would have been easy for Hatshepsut's supporters to arrange after she had seized power, in a process of divine laundering. What is more important is that the queen cuts out any form of human intermediary, and goes straight for ratification from the supreme god. As Pharaoh, she would have had this ratification as a matter of course, and there would be no need to labour this aspect of things. But Hatshepsut needs to extract everything she can from the theology which underpins Pharaonic Reflections of Osiris • 48 rule.
In the last case, one suspects that the three categories of people he lists are all descriptions of himself. These extracts are typical of the old man in his more ingratiating mode, although it is interesting to note that his references to his elderly mother are invariably respectful. One wonders what she must have been like. One of Heqanakhte's more subtle ploys is to anticipate complaints from his family by contrasting their comfort with his own suffering. He never loses an opportunity to point out that he is making sacrifices so that they do not lack for anything: Now, what do you mean by having Sihathor [the second son, who acted as a go-between] coming to me with old, dried-out, northern barley from Memphis, instead of giving me ten sacks of good, new barley?
Reflections of Osiris • 22 The rediscovery even of the remains of the Asklepieion would be of prime importance, but it is not essential in order to appreciate the achievement of the man to whom it was dedicated. For this it is only necessary to walk over the plateau and enter the compound of the Step Pyramid. It is not so much the size of the monument, although books about pyramids tend to emphasise this sort of thing. The point is that Imhotep was aware of the setting, which is nothing less than the backdrop of the Sahara desert.