Table of Contents
- List of Hieroglyphic Passages
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- The Poems
- Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun
- The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor
- "Why, just now, must you question your heart"
- "I love you through the daytimes"
- "My love is one and only"
- "Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond"
- "Love of you is mixed deep in my vitals"
- "I think I'll go home and lie very still"
- Songs of the Birdcatcher's Daughter
- The Instruction for Little Pepi on His Way to School
- Longing for Memphis
- "Oh, I'm bound downstream on the Memphis Ferry"
- Rebuke Addressed to a Dissipated Scribe
- Menna's Lament
- Thc Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul
- The Resurrection of King Unis
- Prayer to the King to Rise Up
- Hymn to the King as a Primordial God
- Hymn to the King as a Flash of Lightning
- Prayer of the King as a Star Fading in the Dawn
- The Prophecy of Neferty
- The Testament of Amenemhat
- Two Spells
- Spell for Causing the Beloved to Follow After
- Power from the Four Winds of Heaven
- The Greatness of the King
- Prayer of King Ramesses II
- For a Portrait of the Queen
- Hymn to Osiris
- Hymn to the Nile
- Hymn to the Rising Sun
- In Praise of Amun
- Lament to Amun
- The Tale of Sinuhe
- From The Leiden Hymns
- The Prayers of Pahery
- From the Tomb of King Intef
- The Harper's Song for Inherkhawy
- From The Eloquent Peasant
- The Peasant's Eighth Complaint
- From The Maxims of Ptahhotep
- The Instructionfor Merikarê
- The Wisdom of Amenemopet
- The Immortality of Writers (Epilogue)
- Chronology
- Glossary
- Sources of the Texts
- Bibliography
About the Author
John L. Foster was a Research Associate at the Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago, where he studied, translated, and
wrote about ancient Egyptian literature from 1966 until his death
in 2011.
Reviews
This exceptional sampling of one of the world's most ancient
literatures offers more than 40 hymns, stories, prayers, and songs
revolving around religion, the Pharaohs, life, death, love, and
more. The literary translation presents a critical reading of the
ancient texts rather than a strict literal rendering. We do not
know for certain how to pronounce the language as it was spoken
3000 to 4000 years ago, but Foster (research associate, Oriental
Inst., Chicago) includes a number of poems in their original
hieroglyphs, adding an exotic touch. The introduction to ancient
Egyptian literature, as well as information about the authorship
and chronology of each selection, helps to place the works in
context. An excellent glossary explains many of the ancient
concepts for the modern reader, who will discover that the splendor
of Pharaonic visual art of which we know and see plenty has its
parallel in literature. Highly recommended for all literary
collections, this is also of interest to comprehensive collections
of Egyptology, Near Eastern history, world literature in
translation, and religion. Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca,
NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.