egyptian literature essay

Ancient Egyptian Literature You Should Know About

Ancient Egyptian literature, which is one of the world’s earliest, is an an important component of Ancient Egypt ‘s great civilization, and a representation of the peoples’ life, culture, and beliefs. Here are some picks of literary fables that you should be reading about.

The legend of isis and osiris.

This is one of the best known myths in ancient Egypt. It concerns the murder of God Osiris by his brother, Set aka Seth, in order for him to take over the throne. Isis, Osiris’s wife, later collects her husband’s body and revives it it order to have a son with him. The rest of the story focuses on how Horus , Isis and Osiris’s son, becomes his uncle’s competitor to the throne and how he takes it back. The story is one of the most important in ancient Egypt for its religious symbolism, and”strong sense of family loyalty and devotion”, as J. Gwyn Griffiths , Egyptologist, says. For its importance, some parts of the story appear on ancient Egyptian texts such as short stories, magical spells, and funeral texts.

The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor

Great hymen to the aten.

In ancient Egypt, long poems, or hymens, were written to the God of Aten, and were attributed to King Akhenaten . This king changed the traditional forms of Egyptian religions, in which they worshipped many Gods, and replaced it with Atenism. This hymen shows the brilliance and artistry of the era. The hymen was said to be “one of the most significant and splendid pieces of poetry to survive from the pre-Homeric world” according to English Egyptologist, Toby Wilkinson. It was also turned to a musical by American composer, Philip Glass, in his opera Akhnaten.

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The Maxims of Ptahhotep

Maxims of Ptahhotep, also called the Instructions of Ptahhotep, is a collection of teaching advice about social virtues, kindness, modesty, and justice. The literary work remains currently in many papyrus texts, including two manuscripts housed at the British Museum, as well as the Prisse Papyrus that goes back to the Middle Kingdom, housed at Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

The Westcar Papyrus

This is one of Ancient Egypt’s texts that contains five stories narrated at the royal court of King Khufu (Cheops) by his sons about priests and magicians and their miracles, and is also known as “King Cheops and Magocians.” The papyrus is now located at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and it is exhibited there under low-light conditions.

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47 Orality and literacy in ancient Egypt

Jacqueline E. Jay is Associate Professor of Egyptology, Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Eastern Kentucky University

• Published: 15 December 2020
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Ancient Egypt has long been recognized for its importance as one of the world’s earliest ‘literate’ societies. However, it is only relatively recently that modern scholarship has begun to emphasize pharaonic Egypt’s ties to its pre-literate, prehistoric past and the many ways in which oral modes of behaviour continued to influence Egyptian society throughout the Pharaonic period and beyond. The educational process through which individuals were trained to read and write was itself heavily dependent upon oral recitation. Ritual and literary texts were intended for oral performance, and legal and business documents served to record an oral act. Over time, however, we do find a movement towards the independent use of such documentary texts as binding in their own right. The Ptolemaic and Roman periods witnessed particularly significant change, with writing being mobilized in new ways to support the foreign government’s control of a conquered population.

Introduction

The notion of ‘orality and literacy’ first gained prominence with the publication of Walter J. Ong’s 1982 monograph, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word . The first part of this book establishes the critical differences between fully oral, pre-literate societies and literate ones, identifying a number of key ‘psychodynamics of orality’. In the absence of writing, oral cultures use a variety of other strategies to enable the long-term preservation of knowledge (e.g., formulaic language, repetition, paratactic grammar). They also place a greater focus on the present moment and emphasize practical application over the abstract. The book’s second major claim is that ‘writing restructures consciousness’ (the title of chapter 4 ). The artificial and autonomous nature of a text produced in written form alienates it from the realm of oral speech (which is, in contrast, fully natural to humans), heightening consciousness and thereby making possible abstract and analytic thought. 1 There are certainly aspects of Ong’s work that can be (and have been) called into question, particularly his characterization of the development of abstract thought as a Greek innovation tied to the development of the alphabet. 2 On the whole, however, the far-reaching influence of his work cannot be overstated. Its implications for our understanding of the complex relationship between orality and literacy in ancient Egypt are profound.

To date, two of the most comprehensive Egyptological studies exploring these issues are survey articles by Donald Redford and John Baines. 3 Redford emphasizes the divide between orality and literacy, describing them as ‘“two solitudes”, each proceeding according to its own light, but impinging from time to time upon the other in an interaction at once hostile yet accommodating’. 4 He goes so far as to argue that the scribal tradition ‘set about actively to denigrate oral composition and transmission’. Certain texts clearly do give primacy to the written word. For example, there was a common trope by which kings justified religious rituals and theological texts by claiming reference to written works of the ancient past. In the tomb of Kheruef, Amenhotep III’s sed -festival (royal jubilee) is described as something that his majesty did ‘on the model of ancient writings. Generations of people from the time of the forefathers, they have not made (such) celebrations of the jubilee’. 5 Similarly, King Shabaqo ( c .716–702 bc ) of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty claimed that the Memphite Theology was re-copied after ‘his majesty found it to be what the ancestors had done, which was worm-eaten’. 6 In general, the elite’s emphasis on its ability to produce and call upon written sources probably did help to legitimize its domination over an illiterate majority. As discussed in more detail below, however, it is also critical to acknowledge the existence of situations in which unwritten personal memory and the oral tradition were viewed as authoritative.

In contrast to Redford, Baines stresses the complex interaction between orality and literacy in ancient Egypt. 7 Even the most autonomous written tradition occurs (and must be understood) within a ‘living oral context’. 8 Indeed, following Ong’s schema, ancient Egypt represents a literate culture ‘not far removed from primary orality’. 9 As a result, the impact of surviving orality is evident in a wide range of practices (even elite ‘high culture’ ones). Written letters are given the form of an oral direct speech made by the sender to the recipient, with letter-writing formulae regularly invoking the verb ḏd (‘to say’). 10 It was not until the third century ad that the verb ‘to say’ was replaced by the verb ‘to write’. 11 Similarly oral terminology exists in the religious sphere. The ritual formula ḏd mdw (‘saying words’), the prt ḫrw invocation formula (a ‘sending forth of the voice’), and the common funerary ‘appeal to the living’ are all key examples. 12 Longer religious texts possess elements that suggest a particularly complex blend of written and oral, visual and performative. The underworld books of the New Kingdom ( c .1550–1069 bc ), for example, mix pictorial illustration and written caption. Papyrus copies of these texts (all very large) may have been used for purposes of ritual display and consultation. Both text and image were also recorded on the walls of the royal tombs for eternal efficacy. At the same time, the nature of the underworld books as ‘secret knowledge’ suggests that their use was augmented with oral elements known only by the initiated. 13 By such means the Egyptians were able to make use of the full range of communicative possibilities available to them: oral, written, and pictorial.

While the scribe may at times seem to denigrate oral modes of communication, it must be emphasized that the methods of his own scribal education were heavily influenced by orality. Indeed, the nature of education in ancient Egypt must have been a critical factor contributing to the surviving influence of orality at even the highest levels of Egyptian society. The most basic kinds of educational texts (lists of specific words and verb forms) exist only from the New Kingdom onwards, surviving in relatively high numbers from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods ( c .332 bc – ad 395). 14 However, given that we have no educational texts at all dating earlier than the Middle Kingdom ( c .2055–1650 bc ), it seems reasonable to assume that beginning primers in some form had existed since the invention of writing. Beginning students seem to have used such material in a group context, as indicated by advice from the Instruction for Merykara : ‘Do not execute a man of whose abilities you are aware, one with whom you used to chant the writings.’ 15 This description suggests a schoolroom in which students copied out word lists and simple texts element by element with a teacher leading the group in the oral recitation of each word as it was written. The most advanced students worked more independently, producing copies of longer and more complex texts. 16 Given that the phenomenon of ‘silent reading’ was less emphasized in ancient Egypt, they too would have read the text out loud as they copied it. 17 For all literate individuals, this highly oral mode of reading and writing emphasizes just how embedded in orality ancient Egypt remained.

Thus far, we have considered the relationship between orality and literacy in Egypt from an essentially synchronic perspective, without taking into account change over time. As the next section will show, the heavily oral nature of ancient Egypt throughout its history had a major impact upon the development of the major genres of written text.

Chronological developments

When we consider the full chronological sweep of Egyptian history, it becomes clear that writing became increasingly important to (and embedded in) Egyptian society as time passed. The invention of writing itself was a gradual development. Precursors of writing appear in the late Predynastic, with current scholarship regarding as particularly significant the ivory and bone labels from Abydos tomb U-j (dating to roughly 3350 BC and recording location names and quantities of goods). 18 Dynasties 0 and 1 ( c .3200–2890 BC) witness the first translatable writings of royal names. Fully syntactic written texts did not appear until the Second Dynasty ( c .2890–2686 BC). 19 Similarly, there is no specific watershed moment marking the transition from ‘orality’ to ‘literacy’, but only a slow shift from one end of the spectrum to the other. 20

For the Old Kingdom ( c .2686–2160 bc ), intersections between orality and literacy are particularly apparent in the Pyramid Texts. Some features of the Pyramid Text spells are best interpreted as traces of their oral ‘prehistory’. The majority of the corpus is ‘oral-poetic’ in style, displaying the kind of word order permutation and loose juxtaposition of ideas we expect of oral composition. 21 There are also places where the Pyramid Texts mix dialects and older and newer forms of the language, features resulting from the slow accrual of oral material over time (a phenomenon also found in the Homeric epics). Critically, however, the spells do not reflect completely direct transcriptions from the oral tradition, for there are also key ways in which they have been modified to fit their current monumental context. In many cases, original first person pronouns (used by the king as active speaker) were changed to the third person, the king consequently becoming the addressee playing a passive role. Such pronoun changes were typically necessary when ‘individual’ rites, such as services recited by living individuals for Osiris, Re, and the dead, were adapted for use on behalf of the deceased. In these cases, the text owner was shifted from speaking officiant to beneficiary; that is, he was now addressed as Osiris, etc. 22 With this shift, a new explicit reciter was not introduced, making the spell more suitable for a permanent monumental setting. Such modifications are typically assumed to have taken place as the spells were being reworked for carving on pyramid walls. 23 A more logical timeframe, however, would seem to be the moment when a spell initially derived for use by a living individual was first adopted for funerary contexts—unless we assume a stand-in reciting for the deceased.

This kind of transformation of text could also occur in the other direction, from ‘written’ to ‘oral’. A few Pyramid Texts (offering spells in particular) are laid out in the form of a table and thus likely were derived from older written offering lists. 24 Although the Pyramid Text versions include verbs, Baines suggests that their precedents were completely non-syntactic tabular lists. The addition of verbs to the Pyramid Texts would have made them more ‘performable’, a process which Baines describes as a ‘strategy of adding a field to the table in order to activate it’. 25

The development of the written tomb biography in the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties also has strong connections to the oral performative sphere. Full narrative text first appears in the early Fifth Dynasty in the tombs of Debehni, Niankhsakhmet, Washptah, and Rawer. 26 These tombs do not present full life stories of their owners, but rather key moments that illustrate the favour they received from the king. Rawer, for example, has become famous in modern scholarship for the pardon he received from Neferirkara ( c .2475–2455 bc ) after the king’s sceptre blocked Rawer’s way. 27 Baines suggests that these written narratives do not describe incidents that occurred spontaneously, but rather events that were carefully staged in advance as ceremonial occasions—in other words, performances. 28 To Julie Stauder-Porchet, the fact that such scenes were inscribed explicitly at the behest of the king explains their use of the third person. 29 These individual scenes formed the basis for the more comprehensive first-person ‘event’ biographies of the Sixth Dynasty, in which the tomb owner now appears as the true agent of his own life story.

The appearance of written literary texts at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom provides another avenue by which to approach questions of orality and literacy. Scholars have long recognized the integral role played by oral performance in the dissemination of Egyptian literary texts. Richard Parkinson has even developed a ‘conjectural reconstruction’ of a performance of The Tale of Sinuhe and The Eloquent Peasant , giving this imagined performance the setting of the palace of the mayor of Elephantine during the reign of Senusret II ( c .1877–1870 bc ). 30

The Tale of Sinuhe and The Eloquent Peasant , along with The Shipwrecked Sailor , are ancient Egypt’s earliest fictional narratives (see Chapter 50 in this volume). In structure, the three tales are quite different, but each draws in a variety of ways from precedents both oral and written. Sinuhe is framed as a tomb biography, a written genre that itself invokes oral performance through its first-person presentation of a life story from beyond the grave. Embedded in the tale are copies of written letters said to be exchanged between Sinuhe and Senusret I, along with examples of the overtly oral genres of royal praise hymn and lament. Along the same lines, The Shipwrecked Sailor draws on the written genre of the official expedition report and exhibits intertextualities with elite religious texts that would have been quite restricted in their circulation. 31 In tone, however, it is more reminiscent of a folktale, a characteristic that it shares with the narrative of The Eloquent Peasant . 32 In the case of The Eloquent Peasant , the narrative is a frame story interrupted by nine embedded petitions spoken by the peasant as a plea for justice. Despite this ostensibly ‘low culture’ oral origin, these petitions represent a highly stylized display of rhetoric. 33

Sinuhe , The Shipwrecked Sailor , and The Eloquent Peasant petitions are all quite complex in their grammar. 34 In contrast, the Eloquent Peasant frame story is simpler, being constructed predominately of independent main clauses. Such linguistic simplicity is also a key feature of tales ascribed to a ‘low tradition’ of Egyptian literature, first appearing in writing in the late Middle Kingdom. 35 Members of this low tradition (best exemplified by Papyrus Westcar) are composed of loosely linked episodes, often overtly humorous, and thus stand in sharp contrast to the earlier tales of Sinuhe and The Shipwrecked Sailor , with their more serious tone and carefully integrated cyclical structure. The later Middle Egyptian tales are stylistically quite similar to one another and do not exhibit the kind of experimentation with different genres that is characteristic of their predecessors. As a result, this ‘low tradition’ would seem to represent a standardization of the written literary tradition as it developed, probably under the influence of contemporary oral storytelling practices.

The later New Kingdom witnessed a further expansion of written literature, with the appearance of fairy-tale like stories (most notably The Doomed Prince and The Tale of Two Brothers ) and love poetry. In all likelihood, both genres had their roots in the oral tradition. Their written forms are, however, complex in their language use, employing what is called ‘literary Late Egyptian’. This artificial form of the language mixes older Middle Egyptian constructions with newer Late Egyptian ones, and its origins are unknown. Was it a written construct of the scribal elite used exclusively for ‘high culture’ literary purposes, or did it develop in the oral tradition? Both possibilities are viable. Despite this uncertainty, it seems reasonable to assume that the appearance of the genres of fairy tale and love poetry in written form during the later New Kingdom was tied to broader trends of linguistic change. Moreover, these phenomena were themselves impacted to some degree by the upheaval of the Amarna period. 36

In the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, demotic became the language and script of Egyptian literary compositions. Again, it is impossible for us to know just how closely the language of the so-called ‘demotic tales’ (such as the Setne and Pedubast ‘cycles’; see Chapter 55 in this volume) reflected oral story-telling practices, but demotic was at least more closely congruent with contemporary spoken discourse than earlier phases of the language. The demotic tales tend to be highly episodic in structure, continuing a trend that began with the ‘low tradition’ of Middle Egyptian stories. 37 In fact, a number of demotic tales give the impression of having been cobbled together from a variety of previously existing independent sources, some written and some oral. 38 Across the corpus we find repeated the same basic formulaic phrases, stock characters, and scenes, elements that, I would argue, most likely had their origin in the oral tradition. 39

When we shift our focus from literature to legal and business contracts, we find once again that oral performance remained the foundational principle throughout ancient Egyptian history. 40 The most basic (and earliest) way to enact a transaction was to make an oral declaration before witnesses, and the oral element was retained even after the option arose to record the transaction in writing. 41 Written documentation was first used only in the most unusual cases, when a future legal challenge was viewed as a distinct possibility. 42 In such instances, the written text was drawn up to protect the interested parties and their descendants. In fact, Eyre argues that the very process of gathering the interested parties to draw up the document was functionally more important than any potential future use it might hold as a written record. A will ‘kept secret until death, or only made on the point of death, would be pointless: it would not hold water, and would not prevent challenge. The agreement of interested parties was necessary in advance, and could not be compelled or overridden by a document’. 43 Moreover, in cases where written records were later consulted, the documentation clearly possessed severe limitations. In the Nineteenth-Dynasty land dispute of the family of Mose, for example, texts consulted were often inconclusive or contradictory and the living witness was relied upon as the ultimate authority. 44 The identification of witnesses is a key component of the early Twenty-second-Dynasty ‘oracular property decree’ of Iuwelot, High Priest of Amun, in which he transferred a number of properties to his son, Khaemwase. In this decree, Iuwelot lists the people from whom he had purchased these properties as a way to prove his ownership; presumably he could not provide written documentation for these transactions because they had been confirmed orally. 45 In fact, Brian Muhs sees the development of the oracular property decree as a reaction to the many disputes that had arisen in the New Kingdom as a result of the predominately verbal nature of property transfer at that time. As proof of legal acquisition, the oracular property decrees were themselves somewhat limited (in part because they were accessible only to the royal family and highest clergy). To Muhs, these limitations explain why oracular property decrees were replaced by notary contracts, which first appear in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. 46

The appearance of notary contracts is only one aspect of a broader shift toward a more fully independent use of written documentation. When legal and business transactions are recorded in writing, it is important to identify the exact relationship between the written document and real-world action. According to Speech-Act theory as developed by J.L. Austin in his monograph How to Do Things with Words (1962), performative utterances are meant to have a specific, pragmatic ‘illocutionary’ force: they get things done. With the appearance of written documents tied to such practical ends, the key question becomes whether the written document itself qualifies as performative utterance, or simply serves as a record of a truly binding oral performance. In other words, can the text stand autonomously? In the case of Ramesside royal decrees and private legal documents, Arlette David concludes that such texts were not used autonomously. 47 Eyre agrees, arguing that the shift from document as simple aide-memoire to document as written instrument guaranteeing transaction never fully occurred in ancient Egypt. 48 However, in private legal documents from later Twentieth-Dynasty Deir el-Medina we begin to find new elements, like a curse in the Adoption Papyrus, that mark the beginnings of the movement toward the use of the written text as an autonomous performative instrument. 49

This trend intensifies in the Late Period and Ptolemaic and Roman periods, as particularly evident through changes in the use of witnesses. In New Kingdom Deir el-Medina, the local council ( qnbt ), organized by the head village scribe, could be called upon both to make decisions and to serve as witness. The scribe (‘local witness par excellence ’) 50 wrote the text and recorded the names of all of the witnesses present. Post-Ramesside documents shift the focus from the council to the scribe; at the same time, individual witnesses began to write their own names. This new importance of the personal signature would have made the document itself a stronger witness at a future date if the original witness himself could not be called upon. 51 In some particularly elaborate early cases, each witness recorded not just his name, but the full text of the contract as well. 52 For the production of these documents, Baines imagines a ceremonial setting combining the oral and the written, with each witness speaking the words of the contract out loud as he copied them before the entire group. 53

The act of writing itself clearly carried great symbolic weight in such circumstances. Notable in this respect are a number of elaborate marriage contracts of the Ptolemaic period characterized by text written in a large, archaizing hand, with large borders of blank papyrus (the latter feature a kind of ‘conspicuous consumption’ of expensive papyrus). 54 Moreover, existing documentation was an integral component of all successive transactions. For example, land transfer documents (common in the Late Period and Ptolemaic and Roman times) contain formulae indicating that it was necessary for the seller to pass over all related older documents in order to guarantee the buyer’s property rights. 55 This need to preserve old documents led to the phenomenon of family and professional archives that are now so useful to the modern scholar. It must also be stressed, however, that given the high levels of illiteracy even in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, fully oral transactions must have continued to take place. In other words, the creation of a written document never became a mandatory element of transactional processes.

We do, however, find a sharp increase in the number of private business and judicial documents produced at Deir el-Medina; these first appear in the Nineteenth Dynasty and spike in the Twentieth. Once the use of writing for everyday purposes had been introduced to the villagers by the upper administration, the residents of Deir el-Medina seem to have seen its benefits and adopted it for their own purposes. 56 Ben Haring sees some of the formulae used in this documentation as direct transcripts from oral practice (such as the oral deposition formulae ỉr ỉnk , ‘as for me’, and twỉ dỉ.t rḫ , ‘I inform’). Other formulae, however, are more abbreviated, and in these Haring identifies the development of written scribal conventions. 57 He sees these abbreviated ‘scribal’ formulae as distinct from the narrative body of the text, usually occurring ‘as introductions or additions to narrative texts’. 58 To Haring, the predominately narrative style of these documents is a mark of orality. As David notes, however, narrative is an essential component of the legal genre as a whole. Even in modern, fully literate contexts ‘a legal case is also a story, and depositions remain verbal presentations recorded by the competent authority’. 59

New uses of writing in the private sphere continued to develop in the Late Period. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty witnessed the appearance of lease contracts recording in writing an annual agreement between the land-holder and the farmer being engaged to work the land. The agreements themselves were not particularly unusual, and so the practice of recording them in writing may have begun among the highly literate community of priests in Upper Egypt and spread from there into other segments of society. 60

The advent of foreign rule in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods witnessed new developments in the use of documents as a means of governmental control, as evidenced, for example, in the appearance of individual tax receipts, a state bank, and auctions of tenure. This period also saw the legal establishment of professionalized, government-appointed notaries as the only individuals who could draw up demotic documents, along with the requirement that demotic contracts be registered in government offices. 61 Various explanations for these changes can be proposed. Drawing upon the work of Walter Ong, one might take them as a mark of the influence of the more fully ‘literate’ Hellenistic and Roman worlds upon Egypt. However, it seems more reasonable to view them as practical devices mobilized by foreign powers to facilitate their control of a conquered territory. 62

Current debates

While a great deal of recent scholarship has emphasized the continued influence of oral modes of behaviour throughout the Pharaonic period and beyond, there can be no doubt that the invention of writing was an integral component of the development of complex state-level society in ancient Egypt. The question remains, however, as to what extent the use of writing changed actual modes of thinking in ancient Egypt. As we have seen, Walter Ong’s theories focus on the cognitive change brought about by the Greek alphabet in particular, an emphasis that derives in large part from an article by Jack Goody and Ian Watt. 63 Significantly for our purposes, Goody himself later argued that non-alphabetic writing systems also brought about cognitive change. 64 This later work focuses on the activity of list-making made possible through writing, noting that the visual representation of material in a list possesses abstract qualities very different from the flow of oral discourse. 65 Ultimately, Goody concludes that lists are ‘an example of the kind of decontextualization that writing promotes’, resulting in a ‘change in “capacity”’ that ‘gives the mind a special kind of lever on “reality”’. 66 As evidence, he explores in detail early Mesopotamian and Egyptian lists (including the ‘onomastica’ of the late Middle Kingdom and Twentieth Dynasty). The kind of lexical list represented by the Egyptian onomastica requires the classification of the universe in particular ways, thereby impacting how individuals perceive the world around them. To Goody, such classifications change not only the worldview of the literate members of a society, but also of the illiterate and of children who have not yet been taught to read. 67 In contrast, Baines argues that it is only in the modern age of widespread literacy that writing can be viewed as a catalyst for cognitive change. Instead, in pre-modern societies ‘Literacy is a response more than a stimulus. It may be a necessary precondition for some social and cognitive change, but it does not cause such change’. 68 For Baines, these words obviously hold true for the specific case of ancient Egypt.

Another major debate within Egyptology surrounds the degree to which the administrative structure of the country before the Ptolemaic and Roman periods depended upon writing and bureaucratic systems. The answer to this question in turn affects our understanding of the extent of state control in ancient Egypt. For the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, the successful collection of the various annual ‘poll’ or ‘capitation’ taxes (personal taxes levied at fixed rates), for example, clearly required relatively comprehensive census documents, which themselves speak to quite a high degree of state control. 69 Debates arise, however, when we attempt to identify seemingly similar practices in more scantily documented earlier periods. To what extent can we extrapolate backward from the evidence of the Ptolemaic–Roman period? When publishing a series of household lists from Twentieth-Dynasty Deir el-Medina, for example, Robert Demarée and Dominique Valbelle take these documents as evidence of a systematic registration system of the central government. 70 In contrast, Fredrik Hagen argues for a far more minimalist interpretation, viewing the same set of documents as a highly localized phenomenon motivated by the specialized nature of the site of Deir el-Medina. 71

Eyre makes the same essential argument for the administrative structure of the Pharaonic period as a whole (see Chapter 36 in this volume), presenting a model of a diffuse and yet highly effective hierarchy of control in which specific local affairs of little concern to the central state were delegated to the local level, and typically conducted orally. Such was the case for the collection of taxes, for example; Eyre suggests that neither central land registers nor a formal national census existed. 72 Land registers like the Wilbour Papyrus were instead working documents used by tax assessors. 73 While such documents could be used as a starting point for the process of tax assessment, their acknowledged inaccuracies meant that they could not stand alone. Effective assessment also required regular personal interaction between agents of the central government and the local authorities. The resulting system was ‘rather ramshackle, with layers of competing interests…and necessarily depended on negotiation between collectors, local agents, and farmers’. 74 These kinds of negotiations are illustrated by the Twentieth-Dynasty P. Valençay I, a letter in which the mayor of Elephantine complains of improper field and tax assessment to the chief taxing master. 75 While ‘ramshackle’, the system of the Pharaonic period seems to have achieved a necessary balance. Significantly, attempts towards greater standardization and rationalization in the Ptolemaic period and beyond were often met with rebellion. 76

Eyre’s analysis of the Duties of the Vizier (surviving in New Kingdom tomb copies, e.g. in the tomb of the vizier Rekhmira at Thebes) presents the same basic picture of highly personal (and largely oral) government activity. We find no evidence of a ‘paper-based office administration’ or a ‘defined structure of line management’ within the administration. 77 Instead, the process of government was probably carried out on a face-to-face and largely ad hoc basis. The vizier himself was required to hear oral petitions and appeals, and he sent agents throughout the country to carry out his orders and attend to local concerns. Documents sent with such government envoys served to legitimize the authority of these officials, but did not replace their presence. 78

As is so often the case, our current inability to conclusively resolve these debates concerning the nature of governmental activity in ancient Egypt stems largely from the patchy nature of the surviving documentary record. It is always problematic to draw conclusions based on the assumption of the existence of documentation that has not survived, and at the same time, new discoveries may well challenge conclusions based on the premise that such hypothetical documents never existed. Despite these difficulties, current scholarship’s growing awareness of the continuing influence of orality on ancient Egypt long after the invention of writing has without question produced a better-rounded picture of the society as a whole, and the relationship between orality and literacy must continue to be taken into consideration.

Suggested reading

Ong 1982 is foundational to the study of orality and literacy. Redford 2000 : 143–218 and Baines 2007 : 146–78 are wide-ranging introductory surveys of the topic as it relates to ancient Egypt. Reintges 2011 , Eyre 2013 , and Jay 2016 provide focused studies of specific text genres. The literary analyses of Parkinson (especially 2002 and 2009 ) are deeply informed by the performative nature of ancient Egyptian literature. McDowell 2000 serves as an introduction to issues of scribal education.

Austin, J.L.   1962 . How to Do Things with Words . Oxford: Clarendon.

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Baines, J.   1999 . Prehistories of Literature: Performance, Fiction, Myth. In G. Moers (ed.), Definitely Egyptian literature: proceedings of the symposium ‘Ancient Egyptian literature: history and forms’, Los Angeles, March 24–26, 1995 . Göttingen: Lingua Aegyptia, 17–41.

Baines, J.   2004 . Modelling Sources, Processes, and Locations of Early Mortuary Texts. In S. Bickel and B. Mathieu (eds), D’un monde à l’autre: Textes des Pyramides et Textes des Sarcophages . Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 15–41.

Baines, J.   2007 . Visual and written culture in ancient Egypt . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brunner-Traut, E.   1979 . Wechselbeziehungen zwischen schriftlicher und mündlicher Überlieferung im Alten Ägypten, Fabula: Zeitschrift für Erzählforschung 20: 34–46.

David, A.   2006 . Syntactic and Lexico-Semantic Aspects of the Legal Register in Ramesside Royal Decrees . Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

David, A.   2010 . The Legal Register of Ramesside Private Law Instruments . Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Demarée, R. and D. Valbelle . 2011 . Les registres de recensement du village de Deir el-Medineh (Le ‘Stato Civile’) . Leuven: Peeters.

Depauw, M.   1994 . The Demotic Epistolary Formulae,   Acta Demotica. Acts of the Fifth International Conference for Demotists = Egitto e Vicino Oriente 17: 87–94.

Enmarch, R.   2011 . Of Spice and Mine: The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and Middle Kingdom Expedition Inscriptions. In F. Hagen et al. (eds), Narratives of Egypt and the Ancient Near East: Literary and Linguistic Approaches . Leuven: Peeters, 97–121.

Eyre, C.   2013 . The Use of Documents in Pharaonic Egypt . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gardiner, A.H.   1941 and 1948. The Wilbour Papyrus . 3 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goody, J.   1977 . The Domestication of the Savage Mind . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Goody J. and I. Watt . 1963 . The Consequences of Literacy,   Comparative Studies in Society and History 5: 304–45.

Hagen, F.   2016 . Review of Demarée, R. and Valbelle, D. Les registres de recensement du village de Deir el-Medineh (Le ‘Stato Civile’) , JEA 102: 205–12.

Haring, B.   2003 . From Oral Practice to Written Record in Ramesside Deir El-Medina,   Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 46: 249–72.

Havelock, E.A.   1963 . Preface to Plato . Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Hays, H.   2012 . The Organization of the Pyramid Texts: Typology and Disposition . Leiden; Boston: Brill.

Hughes, G.R. and R. Jasnow   1997 . Oriental Institute Hawara Papyri: Demotic and Greek texts from an Egyptian family archive in the Fayum (fourth to third century b.c.) . Chicago: Oriental Institute.

Jay, J.   2016 . Orality and Literacy in the Demotic Tales . Leiden; Boston: Brill.

Junge, F.   2001 . Late Egyptian Grammar: An Introduction . Translated by D. Warburton . Oxford: Griffith Institute.

Katary, S.L.D.   1989 . Land Tenure in the Ramesside Period . London: Kegan Paul International.

MacArthur, E.   2010 . The Conception and Development of the Egyptian Writing System. In C. Woods (ed.), Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond . Chicago: Oriental Institute, 115–21.

McDowell, A.   2000 . Teachers and Students at Deir el-Medina. In R.J. Demarée and A. Egberts (eds), Deir el-Medina in the Third Millenium ad: A Tribute to Jac. J. Janssen . Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 217–33.

Muhs, B.P.   2005 . Tax Receipts, Taxpayers, and Taxes in Early Ptolemaic Thebes . Chicago: Oriental Institute.

Muhs, B.P.   2009 . Oracular Property Decrees, in their Historical and Chronological Context. In G.P.F. Broekman , R.J. Demaree , and O.E. Kaper (eds), The Libyan Period in Egypt: Historical and Cultural Studies into the 21st–24th Dynasties: Proceedings of a Conference at Leiden University, 25–27 October 2007 . Leiden; Leuven: NINO; Peeters, 265–75.

Ong, W.J.   1982 . Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word . London; New York: Methuen.

Parkinson, R.   2002 . Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection . London; New York: Continuum.

Parkinson, R.   2009 . Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories . Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Parkinson, R.   2012 . The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant: A Reader’s Commentary . Hamburg: Widmaier Verlag.

Ragazzoli, C.   2010 . Weak Hands and Soft Mouths: Elements of a Scribal Identity in the New Kingdom,   Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 137: 157–70.

Rathbone, D.   1993 . Egypt, Augustus and Roman taxation,   Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz 4: 81–112.

Redford, D.B.   2000 . Scribe and Speaker. In E. Ben Zvi and Floyd, M.H. (eds), Writings and Speech in Israelite and Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy . Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 143–218.

Reintges, C.H.   2011 . The Oral-Compositional Form of Pyramid Text Discourse. In F. Hagen et al. (eds), Narratives of Egypt and the Ancient Near East: Literary and Linguistic Approaches . Leuven: Peeters, 3–54.

Stauder, A.   2013 . Linguistic Dating of Middle Egyptian Literary Texts, ‘Dating EgyptianLiterary Texts’: Göttingen, 9–12 June 2010 , Volume 2. Hamburg: Widmaier Verlag.

Stauder-Porchet, J.   2017 . Les autobiographies de l’Ancien Empire égyptien: Étude sur la naissance d’un genre . Leuven: Peeters.

Simpson, W.K. (ed.) 2003 . The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry . Third ed. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Strudwick, N.C.   2005 . Texts from the Pyramid Age . Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.

Tassier, E.   1992 . Greek and Demotic School-Exercises. In J.H. Johnson (ed.), Life in a Multi-Cultural Society: Egypt from Cambyses to Constantine and beyond . Chicago: Oriental Institute, 311–15.

Thomas, R.   1992 . Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Vinson, S.   2017 . The Craft of a Good Scribe: History, Narrative and Meaning in the First Tale of Setne Khaemwas . Leiden: Brill.

Ong 1982 , especially p. 81.

See, for example, Thomas 1992 : 18–19.

Redford 2000 : 143–218; Baines 2007 : 146–78.

Redford 2000 : 145.

Eyre 2013 : 289. For extensive discussion and a wide variety of examples, see Eyre 2013 : 277–98.

Eyre 2013 : 291.

An important early contribution along much the same lines is Brunner-Traut 1979 .

Baines 2007 : 170.

Ong 1982 : 32.

Eyre 2013 : 94–5.

Depauw 1994 : 89.

For fuller discussion and bibliography, see Jay 2016 : 10.

Baines 2007 : 162–3.

Tassier 1992 : 313.

Simpson 2003 : 157. See also McDowell 2000 : 218.

McDowell 2000 : 220–3 and 230.

Ragazzoli 2010 : 160. To Ragazzoli, ‘For scribes, hands and mouths are the two human tools necessary for reading and writing…The hand is what holds the reed and the mouth is where the sounds of reading are produced and take place’.

MacArthur 2010 : 115–21. See also Chapter 28 in this volume.

Baines 2007 : 137–9. In contrast, Redford suggests that continuous text was already present in the First Dynasty. Redford 2000 : 150, n. 19.

However, Baines sees the Middle Kingdom as an important turning point in this transition; see Baines 2007 : 147.

Reintges 2011 : 36.

Hays 2012 : 259; for the basic distinction between ‘individual’ and ‘collective’, see Hays 2012 : 17–20.

Hays 2012 : 259; Reintges 2011 : 28.

In fact, Baines sees the offering lists in the mortuary temple of Sahura as the earliest attestation of the Pyramid Texts. Baines 2004 : 21–2.

Baines 2004 : 24–5 and 40.

Strudwick 2005 : #200, #225, #235, #227.

Strudwick suggests that Rawer may have tripped over the sceptre. Strudwick 2005 : 305.

Baines 1999 : 21–4.

Stauder-Porchet 2017 : 71–3; 164–5; 312–13.

Parkinson 2009 : 20–68. For a basic overview of ancient Egyptian literary texts, see Chapter 50 in this volume. For a more extensive discussion of the relationship between written ancient Egyptian literature and the oral tradition, see Jay 2016 . For translations of many of the texts discussed below, see Simpson 2003 .

Enmarch 2011 : 103–11; Baines 1990 : 62–4.

Baines 1990 : 57–65.

Parkinson 2012 : 3–4.

They are characterized by ‘complex sequences of asyndetically joined clauses’. Stauder 2013 : 118.

Parkinson 2002 : 138–46.

Baines see the written examples of love poetry from the later New Kingdom as a result of changes in decorum at that time. Baines 2007 : 161. For a nuancing of Akhenaten’s role in the appearance of Late Egyptian as a written form of the language, see Junge 2001 : 20–3.

A particularly notable exception is Setna I, which displays a highly intricate story-within-a-story structure with multiple conscious mirrorings between the different diagetic levels. Vinson 2017 .

For discussion of the specific examples of Setna II and Mythus, see Jay 2016 : 225–44; 250–5.

Jay 2016 , especially chapters 3 and 4 .

For a basic overview of ancient Egyptian socio-economic texts, see Chapter 51 in this volume.

Eyre 2013 : 117–18.

Eyre 2013 : 103–4. The earliest extant legal papyri date to the late Old Kingdom. Eyre discusses in detail an early example from a late-Sixth-Dynasty family archive from Gebelein.

Eyre 2013 : 106.

Eyre 2013 : 155–62, especially 162. This dispute was recorded in Mose’s tomb at Saqqara.

Muhs 2009 : 268–9.

Muhs 2009 : 272–5.

David 2006 : 39–40; David 2010 : 4–9.

Eyre 2013 : 101.

David 2010 : 263.

Eyre 2013 : 113.

Eyre 2013 : 115–19.

The Saite Oracle papyrus is a notable example. Baines 2007 : 166.

Baines 2007 : 163–6.

See, for example, several of the contracts published in Hughes and Jasnow 1997 .

Eyre 2013 : 166. See also the related documentation accompanying the wills of Wah and Naunakhte. Eyre 2013 : 106–8; 264–5.

Haring 2003 : 266.

Haring 2003 : 260 and 262.

Haring 2003 : 262.

David 2010 : 7.

Eyre 2013 : 188–9.

For a summary and bibliography of these developments, see Eyre 2013 : 121; 199.

See also Eyre 2013 : 354.

Goody and Watt 1963 : 304–45. Ong’s other major influence was Havelock 1963 .

Goody 1977 : 74–111.

Similarly, Ong argues that abstract, neutral lists separated from the human context are impossible for an oral society. Ong 1982 : 42–3.

Goody 1977 : 109.

Goody 1977 : 109–10.

Baines 2007 : 62. And even in Greece, Baines sees literacy as only one of many factors motivating cognitive change. Baines 2007 : 60–2.

For the poll taxes of the early Ptolemaic period (particularly important being the yoke and salt taxes), see Muhs 2005 : 29–60. For the poll tax established by Augustus (from which citizens of Alexandria were exempt), see Rathbone 1993 : 86–99.

Demarée and Valbelle 2011 .

Hagen 2016 : 205–6.

Eyre 2013 : 182–3; 232.

The editio princeps of the Wilbour Papyrus is Gardiner 1941 and 1948. For discussion, see Katary 1989 .

Eyre 2013 : 201.

Eyre 2013 : 174–5.

Eyre 2013 : 192–3; 197–9.

Eyre 2013 : 77.

Importantly, Eyre’s model assumes a far more integrated administrative use of written and oral sources than does Redford’s. Compare, for example, Redford 2000 : 172.

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Egyptian Streets

Independent Media

Summer Read Suggestions: 11 Literary Works by Egyptian Writers

By Egyptian Streets

Egyptian literature is suffused with inspiring and thoughtful masterpieces. Nonetheless, it is quite a challenge to find contemporary Egyptian literature in English or in translation, as such, Egyptian Streets has compiled a list of 11 poems, short stories and one essay to give literature enthusiasts a taste of contemporary works from a variety of Egyptian authors. These works were mostly published in Arabic, and many in print, but they have been compiled here to give the modern reader ease of access.

1.’Solitude’ by Doria Shafik (poetry)

One of the most iconic feminists of Egyptian modern history, Doria Shafik is well-known for her political activism and advanced education. Not only was she editor in chief of Bint Al Nil (Daughter of the Nile) and La Femme Nouvelle (The Modern Woman), she also founded an Egyptian feminist organization and lead women to storm Parliament to obtain their right to vote.

It’s important to note that Shafik herself was a great translator, having translated the Quran to French and English, and was a prolific writer of fiction essays as well as poetry.

Her poetry took on a philosophical tone, which is understandable considering Shafik earned a doctorate in philosophy from the Sorbonne. Her freestyle extensively tackles notions of love, freedom, exploration and activism.

Find her work here .

2.’The fairest faith’ by Anthony Fangary

It is crucial for Egypt’s contemporary literature scene to reflect the diverse voices which live in it. One perpetually missing voice is that of Copts in literature, whether fiction or nonfiction. Anthony Fangary, whose poetic works can be found in Anomaly, Left-Hooks, University of Iowa’s BARS, is a Coptic-Egyptian American who poignantly reflects the themes of faith, discrimination, identity and Coptic Christianity in his work.

The San-Francisco based writer’s work overflows with emotion and powerful imagery. It suffuses typical language of Egyptian Coptic culture, such as ‘orban’, ‘ezayak’ and ‘abouna’ (father) into the largely English-written poetry, also evoking local places and practices.

Find his work here .

3.’Arabs on the Beach’ by Noor Naga (essay)

A wonderful read which makes one reflects about city dwellers and desert dwellers in Egypt as well as Egyptian customs of vacationing, this essay provides a glimpse into the complicated lives of Arabs (sometimes called Bedouins) who live in the North coast of the country. The essay is replete with anthropological and historical musings with personal reflections of the author.

It tackles the subject of tribe politics, vengeance, crime and blood money all while maintaining a smooth writing style which keeps one mesmerized from start to finish.

The piece was written by Alexandrian writer Noor Nagga who admits to having lived in the United Arab Emirates for an extended time in the piece. Nagga’s work was featured in other publications such as Arc Poetry Magazine and Nashville review. Another essay of hers “Mistresses Should be Muslim Too” was published in The Walrus. Winner of  2017 Bronwen Wallace Award and the 2018 Disquiet Fiction prize, her upcoming book “The Mistress Washes Prays” will be out in spring 2020.

4. ‘Half a day’ by Naghuib Mahfouz  (short story)

One of the few iconic writers on this list who do not need an introduction, Mahfouz is Egypt’s most famous contemporary writer, most known for his ‘Cairo Trilogy’. He received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 which many of his works having been adapted to films and TV series. His most well-known works, many of which dealing with the subjects of existentialism- he was a great enthusiast of philosophy-, Egyptian politics, and society are ‘Sugar Street’, ‘Midaq Alley’, ‘Miramar’ and ‘Palace Walk.’

His short story ‘Half a day’ explores the passage of time, bewilderment and growth.

Find the work here .

5. ‘Rythmic Exercise’ by Mohamed Makhzangi (short story)

An unusual yet captivating short story by Mohamed Makhzangi; it narrates the simple idea of a family’s quest to combat obesity and gain fitness during a time where Egypt’s sunset-to-dawn curfew was active. The family resorts to dancing and making simple exercises, latching on to any resemblance of having a normal life during times of political unrest. The story ends in a shocking twist.

Makhzangi is a Cairo-based writer who first practicing medicine before making a career shift to journalism and writing. He has published several volumes of short stories and his work has been translated in five languages. .

6. ‘The Death of His Excellency, the Ex-Minister’ by Nawal El Saadawi (short story)

A physician, psychiatrist, women’s rights activist and author, Nawal El Saadawi’s is Egypt’s most well-known contemporary feminist. A staunch criticism of female genital population and Arab patriarchy, she co-founded the Arab Association for Human Rights and founded the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association. Her activism has lead her to face challenges from both the government and Egypt’s religious institutions, even leading to imprisonment.

Despite this, the women’s rights advocate tackled women’s political and sexual rights outspokenly and in writing. She is dubbed as the ‘Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab world’ with her most famous works being ‘Woman at Point Zero’, ‘God Dies by the Nile’, ‘Daughters of Isis’ and ‘The Hidden Face of Eve’.

Her short story ‘The Death of His Excellency, the Ex-Minister’ tells the story of a former minister who is troubled by a female activist.

7. ‘To me belongs yesterday, I know not tomorrow’ and ‘The Egyptian’ by Nashwa Gowanlock (poetry)

There are few Egyptian poems that can link the life of Egyptians today with their elements of their ancient path. One poet, Gowanlock, tackles playfully this link. A translator, journalist and writer, she holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Two wonderful poems of hers, published on Anomaly, speak of connecting to one’s roots based on the decision of adopting an Egyptian cat, and one is inspired from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

8. ‘An Edifice of the imagination’ by Hani Omar Khalil (short story)

An interesting story which attempts to capture a portrait of a young man in Tahrir, the literary piece of work captures perfectly how word of mouth travels and identity is debated in Egypt. Multiple theories about the identity of the young man, who quickly becomes iconic and famous, arise as he is claimed by different groups of Egyptians, all desiring to be associated with him. The story thus takes the reader through parallel universes and possibilities, capturing well the confusion and disarray surrounding individuals during the 2011 revolution.

It was written by Brooklyn based Hani Omar Khalil; the latter is n Egyptian-American writer, photographer and attorney whose work of fiction has appeared Corium and Epiphany.

9.’The Idea of Houses’ by Iman Mersal (poetry)

Iman Mersal is a contemporary Egyptian poet who has authored four poem books in Arabic. She is also an Associate Professor of Arabic Literature and Middle Eastern Studies in the University of Alberta.

Her poetry, which is piercing and sensible, has been published in a number of publications such as the Paris Review, American Poetry Review and the Nation. Her work tackles themes such as home, love, food, and relations.

10. ‘The Treasure’ by Youssef Idris (short story)

Another Egyptian literary whizz who does not need an introduction is Youssef Idris. The physician turned journalist also had a long career writing for Egypt’s official news outlet, Al Ahram. Throughout his life, he wrote 11 collections of short stories and nine plays which were translated into 24 languages.

Considered a master of the short story format, he sought to illustrate the lives of simple, modern-day Egyptians and villagers.

His story, ‘The Treasure’ narrates a policeman’s encounter with a forged cheque which he keeps for himself.

11.’The Open Door’ by Abdelrahman Munif (short story)

This is a  fantastic short story by one of the most prominent novelists of the Arab world, Abdelrahman Munif. The latter, author of ‘Cities of Salt’, wrote two short story collections, twelve works of non-fiction and twelve novels. Having adopted an anti-imperialist stance for years, Munif was also critical of Saudi Arabia’s regime and the war in Iraq. Many of his life experiences, namely his immigration and travels were reflected in his work.

This emotional masterpiece narrates the story of a young man due to travel away from his family and country only to find resistance from his grandmother at his decision. Bit by bit, Munif unravels a tragic backdrop story which leaves the reader to reflect on themes of family, grief and travel.

Main image courtesy of quotemaster.org

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[…] There are also writers that capture the essence of Egyptian life and identity, such as Naguib Mahfouz. If novels are too complicated,you can start with short stories and poetry that can be found here: Summer Read Suggestions: 11 Literary Works by Egyptian Writers. […]

[…] SOURCE: EGYPTIAN STREETS […]

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Ancient Egyptian and Greece Literature Essay

Ancient egyptian literature, greek literature, works cited.

Fiction is an art form that uses natural language words and constructions as its sole material. The specifics of fiction are revealed in comparison with the types of art that use different materials, such as music, visual art, theater, song, visual poetry, as well as with different types of verbal text. In addition, fiction, like other types of art, combines the author’s works, in contrast to the results of folklore that have no author in principle. The history of literature began in the Bronze Age with the invention of writing in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Although at first glance it seems that the literature of all countries is the same, there is still a significant difference in styles, goals, and prevailing genres.

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, reading and writing were the main requirements for service in public institutions. However, government officials received assistance in their daily work from elite, literate social groups called scribes. Scribes were responsible for preserving, transmitting, and canonizing literary classics, as well as writing new pieces. Sometimes certain people outside the scribal profession were literate and had access to classical literature.

Literature also served religious purposes, for instance, the works of funerary literature written on the tomb walls, sarcophagi, and papyri were intended to protect and educate the soul in the afterlife. These inscriptions included magical incantations, chants, lyrical hymns, and many other types of literary works. There was a time when funeral texts were written only for the pharaohs, but then people realized that they would all end up in the afterlife, and such texts were written for everyone (Gala Tejal “The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A Guidebook for the Underworld”). Sometimes, the tombs also contained copies of literary texts not related to the funeral ritual and probably were intended for the entertainment of the dead in the afterlife.

The Greeks created and developed almost all the literary forms of subsequent European literature, and thanks to their inherent sense of symmetry and proportion, they made perfect artistic forms. Most of the works of the classical period were intended for oral performance, so they convey the spirit of Greek life with a lively spontaneity that is lacking in other highly developed literature. The creative era in ancient Greek literature lasted from the XI century BC to the III century BC.

At this time, there were all kinds of prose, the dominant place among which was the epic. The epic, as a long narrative about heroes and gods, had a didactic function from its very beginning. It instructed and taught fellow citizens how to manage wisely and live with dignity. The basis for all the literature of ancient Greece was myths. The literature of Ancient Greece was able to develop many long-lasting images and ideas, to create a whole system of worldview. The originality and authenticity of such images and ideas were the reason for the enormous influence that the literature of Ancient Greece had on the formation of Western culture.

Comparing the early literature of the two countries, one can see the striking differences between them. For example, the literature of ancient Egypt is more focused on hymns, funeral marches, and strict documents. The same cannot be said about the literature of Greece, which was aimed at praising its gods, heroes, and beauties. Pan claims that Greek literature reflects the attitude of the Greeks toward knowledge, and the world, emphasizing their philosophical wisdom (1437). Works of literature in Greece were created using the alphabet, which later became the basis of all European languages. In Egypt, hieroglyphs and the similarity of drawings were used for writing.

In conclusion, it is very important and exciting to know the features of the literature of different countries. After all, modern literature is a follower of an older one and takes its origins from there. It is also essential to know what literary works a particular country is famous for because, over time, these works have become classics that every intellectually developed person should know.

Gala, Tejal. “ The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A guidebook for the underworld. ” YouTube, uploaded by Ted-ed. 2016. Web.

Pan, Jie. “Research on the Influence of Greek Mythology on Anglo – American Language and Literature.” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 119, 2017, pp. 1437-1440.

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The Moral Values Reflected in Ancient Egyptian Literary Texts

Standards of behaviour, principals determining right from wrong and what this entails can be observed in many ancient Egyptian literary texts. From stealing, lying, cursing, bribery, and betrayal, this essay will attempt to observe and outline the traditional values which dominated ancient Egyptian society.

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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Egypt in the ptolemaic period.

Osiris inscribed for Harkhebit, son of Padikhonsu and Isetempermes

Relief plaque with face of an owl hieroglyph

Statue of a seated baboon

Inlays and Shrine Elements

Book of the Dead of the Priest of Horus, Imhotep (Imuthes)

Dancing dwarf

Statuette of Anubis

Man squatting with head resting on his hands on his knees

Offering Table of Tjaenhesret, priest of Thoth, son of Iaa

The Goddess Isis and her Son Horus

Cat Statuette intended to contain a mummified cat

Seated Osiris-Anedjty

Face attributed to Ptolemy II Philadelphos or a contemporary

Harnefer son of Paheb (Phibis) and Takerheb (Kalibis)

Head Attributed to Arsinoe II

Marble head of a Ptolemaic queen

Fragment of a Vase Depicting Berenike II

Large storage jar with floral decoration

Mummy of Nesmin with plant wreath, mask, and other cartonnage elements

Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen, perhaps Cleopatra VII

King's Head with Egyptian Headdress but Greek Hair and Features

Official with Pleated Costume

Inlay, satyr

Marsha Hill Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2016

The Arc of Egyptian and Greek Interaction in the First Millennium Preludes to Greek presence in Egypt are seen in the land reclamation and settlement of the western Delta beginning in the Third Intermediate Period and the new prominence of that area with the capital of Dynasty 26 at Sais. From the seventh century B.C., Egyptian rulers encouraged a flourishing Mediterranean trade involving Greeks from many islands and city-states: the coastal cities Canopus and Thonis/Herakleion, with large immigrant populations, served as gateways for trade down the westernmost Canopic Nile branch to the Egyptian/Greek trade city Naukratis near Sais and onward to the great city of Memphis. Conflict with imperial powers Assyria and Persia in the Near East dominated the same centuries, and the Egyptians relied on Greek alliances and troops to help fight their expansion. After more than a century of conquest and rule by the Achaemenid Persians , Egypt shook off these overlords, and independent Egyptian Dynasties 28–30 ruled for sixty years, before being reconquered by the Persians in 343 B.C.

Then, when Alexander the Great of Macedon set out to dismantle the Persian empire, he took Egypt in 332 B.C., initiating the Macedonian dynasty of the Ptolemaic Period. On the death of Alexander’s last heirs, his conquests were divided among his generals: the Ptolemaic dynasty begins in 305 B.C., when one of Alexander’s generals, Ptolemy, became Ptolemy I of Egypt. Thereafter, kingship was handed down through Ptolemy’s descendants until 30 B.C., when Roman takeover followed swiftly on the defeat of Cleopatra VII ( 89.2.660 ).

Examining Egyptian art during these 300 years reveals strong continuities in its traditions but also interactions with Greek art, whose forms and styles swept the world with Alexander’s armies. The encounter of the two cultures had many aspects and phases, and is easiest to comprehend by looking first at the new ruling class, its involvements and concerns, and then at religion and the arts in the greater land of Egypt.

Alexandria, Hellenistic Monarchy, and External Relations Alexander established the new city of Alexandria on the northwestern Delta coast. The Ptolemies were very much Hellenistic rulers, with the country as their military prize. The magnificent city had splendid palaces, temples, and libraries oriented on a Hellenistic street grid; cemeteries stretched to the east and west. Temples included those for the royal cult and for the chief god Serapis, a deity combining aspects of Osiris, Apis, and Ptah, but in a Hellenistic guise and whose consort was Isis. There were also, however, temples to Egyptian gods and traditional pharaonic monuments relocated from other sites, although the extent of the latter practice in the Ptolemaic Period is very difficult to ascertain because it continued through Roman times . Ptolemaic queens ( 2002.66 ; 26.7.1016 ) received special attention as guarantors of the inheritance of divine rulership. The Pharos lighthouse, at the entry to the great harbor, announced the shining city to those arriving, but the Ptolemies also embraced the resonant imagery of Egypt, setting up colossal statues of themselves as Egyptian pharaohs to welcome the ships that entered the harbor. With an international population, Egyptian resources, and Egyptian and Greek artistry, the city was reputed for its beauty and for the fine arts produced there.

As Hellenistic kings, the Ptolemies were involved with the other Hellenistic kingdoms in diplomatic marriages and in significant military disputes over inheritance and territories. Much of the third century B.C. was occupied by the so-called Syrian wars, in which the Ptolemies and the Hellenistic Seleucid kings centered in the area of ancient Mesopotamia battled over territories. A massive battle at Raphia in Gaza in 217 B.C. gave Egypt control over territories in the Levant, but twenty years later, the territories were lost to Antiochus III of Seleucia. And not long after Raphia, a serious and long-lasting rebellion took place in Upper Egypt, while the growing power of Rome as a force in the eastern Mediterranean became increasingly problematic. Ptolemaic concerns thereafter turned largely inward, to the land of Egypt itself, or westward to Rome on the Mediterranean.

To the south of Egypt, the Kushites had expanded into Lower Nubia between the first and second cataracts during the period of Persian rule. In 275–274 B.C., Ptolemy II drove back the Kushites and annexed the area, which was then developed as a sort of trade corridor between Egypt and the lands ruled by the Kushites, who had recentered at Meroë.

The Land of Egypt with Its (Greek) Pharaohs Outside Alexandria, excavations in the Delta have attested flourishing communities integrating Greek and other trade or immigrant groups at certain sites—Canopus, Herakleion/Thonis, and Naukratis, of course, but also, Athribis, Memphis, and throughout newly developed agricultural lands in areas near the coast or in the Fayum. An already established and significant Greek population experienced a new influx, particularly in the northern areas of the country. And social hierarchies were certainly affected by the existence of Greek rulers and members of the ruling elite. Greek became a major language alongside Egyptian, which was now written in the Demotic script except on monuments.

Still, the country’s traditional practices and forms remained strong. The Ptolemaic rulers supported Egyptian cults and priesthoods. During the first three reigns of the Ptolemaic dynasty, temple building projects of Dynasty 30 were continued by the new kings and official classes, closely following Egyptian styles ( 12.182.4a ). As time progressed, the Ptolemies aggrandized or embellished age-old temples, especially in Upper Egypt; consequently, most of the temples still standing today are actually Ptolemaic constructions. The kings also installed celebrations of their own ruler cults in the Egyptian temples.

The temples themselves flourished as centers of learning and coalescence of Egyptian beliefs and literature. Religious activity followed tendencies that had dominated the first millennium: for example, the growth of the cult of Osiris ( 10.175.133 ); the increasing popularity of Isis and Horus or other child gods ( 55.121.5 ); the donation of small divine statuary to temples; the flourishing practice of offering animal mummies ( 56.16.1 ); the creation of relief plaques and busts that seem to fetishize the elements of Egyptian representational/belief systems (temple architectural elements, royal busts, hieroglyphs) ( 07.228.11 ); and broad public celebration of certain festivals. Individuals who were able to set up statues of themselves did so in a temple rather than a tomb.

And the temples continued in their role as focal points of towns and urban entities, the temple’s gateways and the god’s processional routes constituting the structural axes of the city. The towns themselves and the temple precincts were crowded by the multistory buildings that had been the common form of workshops and houses for centuries. And among their varied production, workshops produced the fine bichrome faience vessels and vivid opaque glass and mosaic glass inlays that were Egyptian specialties. Other economic wealth derived from linen, agricultural production, and Egypt’s role as a trade corridor between the Mediterranean, the rest of Africa, and the Indian Ocean.

Delta sites have been stressed so far, but Memphis remained prominent, as did numerous Middle and Upper Egyptian towns. Memphis was the second city after Alexandria; its High Priests of Ptah had great influence with the Ptolemaic kings and among the country’s priesthoods. Its necropolis, Saqqara, was a center of worship of the Apis bull, integrated in the national/political mythology, and many other sacred animals ( 1971.51 ). Hermopolis, cult center of Thoth, had been favored by Dynasty 30 pharaohs, who built an innovative monumental temple pronaos. The Ptolemies continued this attention, building a Greek-style temple in honor of the royal cult. The Hermopolite necropolis at Tuna el-Gebel had temples and great underground galleries for mummified ibises and baboons and their shrines, and also featured elaborate tomb chapels for the priests of Thoth ( 48.149.5 ). Thebes continued to be a venerable religious center with extensive priesthoods. Attention to areas of the Karnak complex devoted to the Osirian cult and to Khonsu the Child ( 1980.422 ) followed the trends of religious developments over the course of the first millennium. Temples and communities on the Theban west bank also flourished, along with Ptolemaic cemeteries of a distinctive type overlying the site of the Hatshepsut Valley Temple.

Mixtures of the Two Cultural Styles Within these parameters, the relationship of the artistic styles of the two cultures varies by region, purpose, and individual circumstance. Notably, the Ptolemies themselves employed different sculptural styles for political reasons—in the earliest years, they adopted the pharaonic style of Dynasty 30 to such an extent that it is often difficult to distinguish pieces from the two periods ( 38.10 ; 12.182.4a ), while at the same time depicting themselves as Greek dynasts in Alexandria and for the Mediterranean world. In the second century B.C., the kings introduced images combining Greek hair and features with Egyptian attributes and overall pose ( 2008.454 ), and queens’ statuary followed a similar course ( 89.2.660 ). Among the elite classes outside Alexandria, a marked change in costume and hairstyle appears to take place only from about 125 B.C., but then statues set up at temples might adopt curly Greek hair and a garment that, while still Egyptian, appears to be current rather than following age-old models ( 65.119 ). At yet another level, small arts, domestic items, and terracottas associated with domestic and festival religion might exhibit more influence from Hellenistic styles ( 26.7.1403 ; 26.7.1411 ), while in death the ancient prescriptions and forms remained prevalent.

Hill, Marsha. “Egypt in the Ptolemaic Period.” In  Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ptol/hd_ptol.htm (October 2016)

Further Reading

Arnold, Dieter. Temples of the Last Pharaohs . New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Lloyd, Alan B. “The Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BC).” In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt , edited by Ian Shaw, pp. 395–421. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

McKenzie, Judith McKenzie. The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, c. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.

Stanwick, Paul Edmund. Portraits of the Ptolemies: Greek Kings as Egyptian Pharaohs. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.

Villing, Alexandra, et al. Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt , at http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_research_catalogues/ng/naukratis_greeks_in_egypt.aspx.

Additional Essays by Marsha Hill

• Hill, Marsha. “ Egypt in the Late Period (ca. 664–332 B.C.) .” (originally published October 2004; last revised January 2018)
• Hill, Marsha. “ Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1070–664 B.C.) .” (October 2004, last revised March 2018)
• Hill, Marsha. “ Art, Architecture, and the City in the Reign of Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten (ca. 1353–1336 B.C.) .” (November 2014)

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Free Egyptian Literature Essay Sample

The story of "The Tale of Two Brothers" is full of themes of sexual dominance, deceit, and revenge whereby a fierce power struggle between sexes comes out clearly. When reading the story one discovers that the women in the story are shown to be powerful, although they use their power for the wrong reasons, evil aims. Men are also brought out painted as power; the only difference between their power and that of the women is that, men use their power for good purposes in the society. It is because of these good deeds by men that make them prevail over the women. This article seeks to analyze the relationship between the two brothers and how it is affected by wife of the elder brother.

In the story we are first introduced to the relationship between Anpu, the elder brother and his wife. The wife is introduced an evil figure, a woman who uses her powers to manipulate his husband to carry out her evil schemes. She makes sexual overtures towards Anpu's brother, Beta, but when Beta refuses these advances, she is infuriated. She therefore goes a head to seek revenge against him. Being skillful in deception, she convinces Anpu to kill his brother. She lies by saying, "When your brother came to collect the seed, he found me sitting alone and said to me, come let's spend an hour sleeping. You shall put on your wig, but I refused to obey him,". She went ahead to allege that the younger brother became afraid and assaulted her to prevent her from reporting him to the elder brother. She therefore wanted the elder brother to kill his brother lest she killed herself. Here we see that Anpu's wife uses her manipulative powers successfully for her own evil purposes. The wife has used her intellectual power to achieve her end results, but the husband uses his physical powers to assert his authority, to establish what is just. We see in the story that after discovering his wife's evil ploy to have his brother killed, Anpu decides to kill his wife. He threw away her body to the dogs. Here the elder brother emerges as the victor not because he is the only one left standing at the moment, but because he has used his physical power to bring out justice to the evil in the society.

In this story the author has hinted at the fictional aspect of his work by introducing fable like elements, for instance the introduction of a talking bull, and most notably the giving of divine names to his human characters, Anpu and beta which represent Egyptian gods. This is a clear indication that the Egyptians viewed their Pharaoh as a god. This story can also be taken to be addressing disturbances that usually happen in royal households especially when they touch on issues of succession. The tale emphasizes the importance of the friendship between the two brothers, but at the same time demonstrates that the wife who was unfaithful, who had betrayed her husband's love, was justified to die. The author has applied the principle of projective analysis, where an individual misperceives the outer world as a result of inner states. Just as in many other fairy tales where the hero or the heroin is sometimes punished, and the punishment is usually self inflicted, this tale shows that Beta who is supposed to be the hero, emasculates himself in a bid to avoid guilty. This is another example of projective inversion. After falling off with his brother, Beta sets of to a far of land; this represents not only exile but also a kind of death to Beta. While in his exile, beta undergoes several deaths at the hands of a wife that he was divinely given by the gods. He is eventually reborn from the same wife as the heir to the king's throne which he takes up on the death of the king. Just as in the biblical narrative about Joseph and Pharaoh's wife, the actions of a malicious and scared woman leads to the move of a young man, Beta, from his safe and secure abode into death and them rebirth into a higher societal stratum. The woman in both tales acts for negatives aims but ends in giving positive results. There are similarities that make the reader think that the authors may have borrowed from each other. Both men in the talks are young and handsome, they both live in a household with an older woman with her husband, both are approached by the older woman for sex, both refuse the advances because their conscience won't allow them, the woman accuses both falsely, they are separated from the household into exile or death, and finally both men in these two tales return from their exiles to rule over the people.

This tale brings out the actions of the gods in the Egyptian society in those years. Beta and Anpu represent Egyptian gods that relate to mortuary realm. Anpu was the Egyptian mortuary god, he was responsible for the linking of the death from the earthly self to the spiritual or the next world especially kings. This is clearly brought out when Anpu leads to Beta leaving his home to another place. On other hand, Beta was an ancient Egyptian underworld god that represented the Horus or Osiris succession. In this tale, the dead Beta is becomes his own father through his wife mother, a concept that is held to be the proper succession to the kingship by the Egyptians where the actions of a woman, makes her the means of transformation that is needed. Those tales also paints a very negative picture of the ancient Egyptian queens who always tried to avert any challenge to the throne by their surviving relatives. We see this in the case of Beta, where through many attempts by the wife to kill him, he is finally reborn by herself as the heir to the throne.

This tale also represents the rite of passage in regard to Beta, the hero in this case. The young man is separated from his home of comfort by the destructive actions of his mother figure, his brother's wife, and is forced to pass through a series of deaths and transformations to be reborn into a very high position in the society. This story puts our hero, Beta, into a no-win situation. This is because he will be destroyed if he accepts the advances from the woman, and he will still be destroyed if he does not accept the proposition. He is at risk of death no matter the choice he picks on, all this is because of the powerful female figure in the name of the brother's wife. But when the episode is followed to its end, we see the young man returning in a transformed state, at a new societal level, with new knowledge and understanding of himself and those around him. This therefore forms the rites of passage into the society to the young man. The tale therefore brings out the beliefs and ideologies of the ancient Egyptians. The seemingly destructive female figure in reality brings about long term positive results that not only affect her male victim, but also all the people in the society. There is also the issue of family reunion where by the young brother returns to be the king, and then leaves the throne to his brother at his death. The Egyptian way of live is also strikingly clear, we are shown that the elder brother was working in the field with his younger brother, they were actually planting, and when the seed were over, he sent Beta to go collect some more, and that is when he met with the provocative wife. They were also cattle keepers, the author confirms this in the following lines, "...he would drive his cattle to let them graze in the fields while he followed behind his cattle". What this show is that the Egyptians practiced farming as their economic activity. The political system of the ancient Egyptians is also brought out where we see that they were ruled by kings, they had kingdoms, monarchs where ascending to the throne was hereditary.

In this story the author has used the three characters, the two brothers and the wife to bring out the differences between male and female sexes that existed in the ancient Egypt and may be at present. Driven by lust, the woman manages to separate the two brothers that had lived happily together. But she does not go away scot free because she is killed by her husband on discovering her evil intentions. This shows that her evil plot does not succeed in the end because Beta, the younger brother comes back in another form to restore his relationship with his brother. He even gives him his throne, meaning there were not hurt feelings between them. This had a very vital lesson to the Egyptians in those years and also lessons can still be borrowed from it now.

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9 Best Egyptian Authors of All Time

If you want to expand your literary horizons, take a look at a list of the best Egyptian authors and writers of all time.

Egypt’s powerful culture goes back thousands of years. There are numerous writers throughout the Arabic world, including Cairo and Alexandria, who have produced a wide variety of short stories, novels, and works of fiction that have had a tremendous impact on literature to this day.

A few authors from around the Nile have left their mark on the world of literature . Take a look at a few of the top Egyptian authors you need to know.

1. Ahdaf Soueif, Born 1950

2. nawal el saadawi, born 1931, 3. yusuf indris, 1927 – 1991, 4. alaa al aswany, born 1957, 5. miral al-tahawy, born 1968, 6. salwa bakr, born 1949, 7. taha hussein, 1889 – 1973, 8. tawfiq al-hakim, 1898 – 1987, 9. naguib mahfouz, 1911 – 2006, best egyptian authors ranked.

Ahdaf Soueif is one of the most popular Modern Egyptian writers. A prolific novelist and political campaigner, Soueif has become a force as an author and an activist. She was one of the leaders of the Arab Spring protests, which led to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. Before this, she was a critically acclaimed novelist. Her most famous work is titled The Map of Love.

In addition to her work on this novel, she wrote extensively on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has been going on for thousands of years. She continues to write beautifully to this day. If you would like to explore her work for yourself, you should check out The Map of Love. You might be interested in exploring other cultures across the globe, such as these incredible best Nigerian authors .

• Soueif, Ahdaf (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 544 Pages - 09/12/2000 (Publication Date) - Anchor (Publisher)

Nawal El Saadwi is a popular female writer from Egypt. During the course of her prolific career, she has written on a variety of topics. She is also a physician, psychiatrist, and activist. She is one of the most powerful leaders who advocate for the rights of women not only in Egypt but also throughout the Arab world.

Many of her books focus on the subject of women, with two of her most popular works being Memoirs from the Women’s Prison and The Fall of the Imam. If you would like to read Saadawi’s works for yourself, take a look at The Fall of the Imam.

• Saadawi, Nawal El (Author)
• 240 Pages - 05/12/2020 (Publication Date) - Saqi Books (Publisher)

Yusuf Idris is one of the most popular Egyptian writers of all time. During the course of his prolific career, he wrote novels, plays, and even a short story or two. Similar to numerous other Egyptian authors, he did not train to be a writer when he was younger. Instead, he actually trained to be a doctor during his time at the University of Cairo. Eventually, he decided that his life would be better served in the world of literature.

Even though he has a number of marquee works, his most popular work is titled Al-Farafeer. This is a play that focuses on two characters who are completely different from each other. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature several times, and he won an award named after another Egyptian author, the Naguib Mahfouz medal, for his book titled City of Love and Ashes. Check out City of Love and Ashes.

• Idris, Yusuf (Author)
• 175 Pages - 10/22/2004 (Publication Date) - The American University in Cairo Press (Publisher)

Alaa Al Aswany is a prolific Egyptian writer. Originally from Cairo, he is the founding member of a political movement called Kefaya. Through his work and ideas, he speaks to drive changes that take place in Egypt for the benefit of everyone who lives there, including middle-class families.

Two of his most popular works include Chicago and The Yacoubian Building. His work is well-respected for his powerful use of imagery. You can take a look at the work of Al Aswany for yourself by picking up a copy of The Yacoubian Building.

• Al Aswany, Alaa (Author)
• 255 Pages - 08/01/2006 (Publication Date) - Harper Perennial (Publisher)

Miral Al-Tahawny is a popular novelist and short-story writer from Egypt. Even though she comes from a conservative background, many of her ideas are revolutionary. Her unique thoughts are reflected in her powerful works, and she is widely seen as a pioneer in the world of Arabic literature.

She is also a recipient of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. Some of her most popular works include The Tent, Blue Aubergine, and Brooklyn Heights, which takes place in New York. If you want to explore her work for yourself, you can find Brooklyn Heights.

• al-Tahawy, Miral (Author)
• 130 Pages - 09/15/2006 (Publication Date) - The American University in Cairo Press (Publisher)

Salwa Bakr is an Egyptian novelist, critic, and activist. She was born in Cairo in 1949 to a father who was a railway worker. She went on to study business at Ain Shams University, graduating in 1972. While she thought about going into the business world, she decided that her talents would be better served as a writer.

She has quickly become one of the most popular Egyptian writers of all time, with some of her most popular books including The Man from Bashmour and The Golden Chariot. If you want to read her work, you can check out The Golden Chariot.

• Used Book in Good Condition
• Hardcover Book
• Bakr, Salwa (Author)
• 328 Pages - 10/07/2007 (Publication Date) - The American University in Cairo Press (Publisher)

Taha Hussein is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He has also been called the Dean of Arabic literature. In many ways, he led a Renaissance movement in Arabic literature, and his work contributed to the modernist movement of the entire genre.

Growing up, he studied literature at Al-Azhar University. Of note, he also spent most of his life living without sight. This took place when he had an ocular procedure performed by someone without proper training. Despite this, he is still one of the most well-respected Egyptian writers of all time. One of his most popular works is called The Call of the Curlew. You can take a look at The Call of the Curlew.

• Hussein, Taha (Author)
• 111 Pages - 01/01/1997 (Publication Date) - Palm Press (Publisher)

Tawfiq Al-Hakim is an Egyptian writer who is originally from Alexandria. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of modern Arabic literature, and his work continues to be studied to this day. He is also widely considered to be the father of Arabic theater. In 1956, he published a play called Death Song that positioned him among the greats in the Arabic World. Some of his other popular works include Leaving Paradise, The People of the Cave, and A Bullet in the Heart.

• al-Hakim, Tawfiq (Author)
• 384 Pages - 07/09/2019 (Publication Date) - Penguin Publishing Group (Publisher)

Naguib Mahfouz is one of the top Egyptian writers of the 20th century. He also won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. He is a writer with a career that has spanned more than 70 years. He has written several plays, hundreds of short stories , and dozens of novels. During the latter part of his career, he also wrote scripts for movies.

Many of his works have had a tremendous impact on Islamic and Egyptian literary culture. Therefore, many of his books have been made into films that have been broadcast overseas. Some of his most popular works include the Cairo Trilogy, Love In The Rain, Heart of the Night, and Cairo Modern. If you would like to explore his works for yourself, you may want to take a look at the Cairo Trilogy. If you enjoyed our round-up of the best Chilean authors, we have many more articles on the best authors from around the globe. Why not check out our list of the best Turkish authors ?

• Mahfouz, Naguib (Author)
• 544 Pages - 11/29/2011 (Publication Date) - Anchor (Publisher)

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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Ancient Egyptian Culture

Updated 04 August 2023

Downloads 44

Category Culture ,  History

Topic Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptian culture has several years of recorded history since Ancient Egypt formed part of Africa's earliest civilizations (Bleeker, 1964). Ancient Egypt had an outstandingly complex, stable, and unique culture that greatly influenced later European cultures. The Ancient Egyptian Culture thrived between c. 5500 BCE (characterized by technological advancements) and 30 BCE (marked by last Egypt's Ptolemaic ruler, Cleopatra VII) (Bleeker, 1964). Today, Egypt is famous for the significant monuments made in celebration of the rulers’ triumphs, and honor of the Ancient Egyptian gods (Caminos, 1952). The Ancient Egyptian culture is often considered to have been life-affirming. In other words, the Ancient Egyptians considered death as part of life journey, and death marked the transformation or transition to a spiritual form of life (Caminos, 1952). This paper explores the Ancient Egyptian culture with the focus on its history, its representation in the United States, its characteristics, and its artistic contributions. It further looks into the Ancient Egyptian cultural values, religion(s), sex and gender role differences, as well as how people acculturated into the Ancient Egyptian culture.

History of the Ancient Egyptian Culture

            Egypt's current rich cultural traditions can be traced back to the period of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt formed part of the leading civilizations in Africa, and its history has traditionally been subdivided into thirty-one dynasties. The Ancient Egyptian culture started with Manetho, the Egyptian priest, who is considered to have lived during the 3rd Century B.C (Griffiths, 1955). The first and second dynasties (archaic or early dynastic period) date back to around 5,000 years. The first dynasty was under the rule of Menes (first pharaoh). The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth dynasties date from about 2650 to 2150 B.C. and they are usually to as the Old Kingdom period, which got characterized by the construction of pyramids (Griffiths, 1955).

            The seventh to eleventh dynasties date from 2150 to 2030 B.C., and it was a period marked by weak governance and the collapse of several Middle East cities and civilizations due arid climate and drought (Caminos, 1952). The twelfth and thirteenth dynasties are usually referred to as the Middle Kingdom, which lasted from ca. 2030 to 1640 B.C. The Middle Kingdom was marked by the reunion of Egypt into one country, as well as the resumption of pyramid construction and documentation of civilization (Bleeker, 1964).  The fourteenth to seventeenth dynasties are often referred to as the Second Intermediate Period, which got characterized by the collapse of the Egyptian government, with a section of the country getting occupied by the Hyksos (Bleeker, 1964). The eighteenth to twentieth dynasties are often referred to as the New Kingdom, which lasted from ca. 1550 to 1070 B.C. The New Kingdom period occurred after a series of Egyptian rulers had driven the Hyksos out of Egypt (Caminos, 1952).

            The twenty-first to twenty-fourth dynasties are often referred to as the Third Intermediate Period, which lasted from ca. 1070 to 713 B.C. It was also marked my weak governance and disunity in the country (Geodicke & Casson, 1969). During the Third Intermediate Period, civilizations and cities across the Middle East got destroyed by Aegean people, and the loss of revenues and trade routes contributed to the weakening of the country’s central government (Geodicke & Casson, 1969). The duration between the twenty-fifth and thirty-first dynasties is usually described as the Late Period, which lasted from ca. 712 to 332 B.C. The 25th dynasty rulers were mostly Nubians (Bleeker, 1964).

            The Persians were driven out of Egypt in 332 B.C. by Alexander the Great before he incorporated Egypt into the Macedonian Empire (Caminos, 1952). Several Early Egyptian rulers descended from Ptolemy Soter after the death of Alexander the Great, and the last Ptolemaic ruler was Cleopatra VII (Caminos, 1952). In 30 B.C., Cleopatra VII committed suicide following her forces’ defeat at the Battle of Actium by Augustus, the Roman emperor. Egypt was merged into the Roman Empire after Cleopatra VII's death, and the Egyptians treated the Roman emperors as pharaohs (Caminos, 1952).

Representation of the Ancient Egyptian Culture in the United States

            Egyptian Americans form part of the latest groups to have moved or immigrated to the United States. The Egyptians, who form part of the most sedentary ethnic groups, started migrating to the United States in large numbers towards the end of the Twentieth Century (Cutter, 2015). Although most Egyptians moved to the United States for educational and economic reasons, some Jews, Copts, and conservative Egyptian Muslims immigrated to the U.S. due to political crises in Egypt (Cutter, 2015). The estimates of the population of Egyptian immigrants in the United States have been ranging between 800,000 and two million, with most Egyptian immigrants living in New York, Florida, New Jersey, California, Texas, and Illinois (Cutter, 2015).

Nature of the Ancient Egyptian Culture

            Ancient Egypt was a collectivistic culture, characterized by a long-term commitment to various member groups, such as the family and various forms of extended relationships (Geodicke & Casson, 1969). The collectivistic nature of the Ancient Egyptian culture was also evident through the society’s emphasis on loyalty, which overrode most other cultural regulations and rules. Additionally, the Ancient Egyptian society fostered strong relationships, and every member of the society had to take responsibility for other group members (Geodicke & Casson, 1969).

Artistic Contributions of the Ancient Egyptian Culture

            The Ancient Egyptian arts included paintings; drawings on ivories, jewelry, papyrus, and faience; as well as sculptures in stones, woods, and ceramics (Bleeker, 1964). The ancient Egyptian arts represented the early Egyptian society’s belief systems, as well as its socioeconomic status. Besides, the Ancient Egyptian art was both highly symbolic and stylized (Bleeker, 1964). Part of the surviving artistic contributions of the Ancient Egyptians relates to the monuments and tombs, which symbolize the culture's emphasis on the preservation of past knowledge and the belief in life after death (Bleeker, 1964).

Values of the Ancient Egypt Culture

            One of the values of the Ancient Egyptian culture revolved around the family, which was the top priority. The treatment of the members of the family translated into a comfortable public environment, and people had to conduct themselves in the most possible respectful and polite manner (Caminos, 1952). Also, the Ancient Egyptian culture valued public modesty in dressing and greetings preceded all other forms of social interaction (Caminos, 1952). Additionally, members of the younger generation were expected to exhibit respect and honor to their seniors and had they had no right to challenge their seniors (Caminos, 1952).

Religions of the Ancient Egypt Culture

            The Ancient Egyptians followed a polytheistic religion throughout much of the Ancient Egyptian history (Griffiths, 1955). The polytheistic religion got characterized by the veneration of several gods and goddesses (Griffiths, 1955). One of the famous gods was the underworld god (Osiris), and several shrines and temples were constructed at Abydos (Osiris’ cult center) in Osiris honor. The ancient Egyptians believed that the dead could have eternal life in a paradise after mummification (Griffiths, 1955).

Sex and Gender Role Differences in the Ancient Egypt Culture

            One of the differences in sex and gender roles among the ancient Egyptians related to clothing. The Ancient Egyptian men wore knee-length skirts, while the women wore light, ankle-length robes or dresses which covered or exposed their breasts depending on the fashion of the day (Geodicke & Casson, 1969). Also, the ancient Egyptians seemed to have no formal marriage ceremonies. Men had the responsibility of taking gifts to their intended brides and the acceptance of the gifts by the brides would mark the beginning of marriage (Geodicke & Casson, 1969). Additionally, the Ancient Egyptian men were the heads of their families, while the women acted as the heads of their homes, with the primary role of raising the children (Caminos, 1952).

What People Would Need to Know to Acculturate into the Ancient Egypt Culture

            One of the ways by which people could get acculturated into the Ancient Egyptian culture was through wars, which often resulted into peaceful moments, characterized by cooperation, peaceful cultural exchanges, and intermarriages (Bleeker, 1964). Another way by which people could get acculturated into the Ancient Egyptian culture was through trading with the ancient Egyptians on various commodities, such as copper tools, gold, stone vessels, faience, and pots among others (Bleeker, 1964).

            In overall, Ancient Egypt formed the center of Western Civilization, and it was already an organized society by 4000 BC. Ancient Egyptians got united by pharaoh Menes by 3100 BC. During the peak of the Ancient Egyptian culture, the Ancient Egyptians flourished in the Nile Valley (constructing huge pyramids, creating world-renowned art, establishing advanced writing systems, making scientific advancements, developing trade agreements with the Asian and Middle Eastern powers, as well as, building irrigation systems. However, the Ancient Egyptian Empire started decaying by 1085 B.C, which led to its re-division into lower and upper kingdoms. Several foreign forces then sought to conquer the Egyptian valley, including the Romans, Greeks, French, and the Turkish among others, all of which contributed to the enrichment and conservation of Ancient Egyptian culture. 

Bleeker, C. (1964). The Pattern of the Ancient Egyptian Culture. Numen, 11(1), 75. doi: 10.2307/3269300

Caminos, R. (1952). The Burden of Egypt. An Interpretation of Ancient Egyptian Culture. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 38(1), 134-135. doi: 10.1177/030751335203800121

Cutter, M. (2015). Multi-Ethnic "Literature" of the "United States": Thinking Beyond the Borders. MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of The United States, 40(1), 13-17. doi: 10.1093/melus/mlu086

Goedicke, H., & Casson, L. (1969). Ancient Egypt. Journal of The American Research Center in Egypt, 8, 98. doi: 10.2307/40000059

Griffiths, J. (1955). Ancient Egyptian Religion. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 41(1), 145-145. doi: 10.1177/030751335504100139

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Guest Essay

José Andrés: Let People Eat

By José Andrés

Mr. Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen.

In the worst conditions you can imagine — after hurricanes, earthquakes, bombs and gunfire — the best of humanity shows up. Not once or twice but always.

The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless or nameless. They are not generic aid workers or collateral damage in war.

Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damian Sobol risked everything for the most fundamentally human activity: to share our food with others.

These are people I served alongside in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza and Israel. They were far more than heroes.

Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. We do not ask what religion you belong to. We just ask how many meals you need.

From Day 1, we have fed Israelis as well as Palestinians. Across Israel, we have served more than 1.75 million hot meals. We have fed families displaced by Hezbollah rockets in the north. We have fed grieving families from the south. We delivered meals to the hospitals where hostages were reunited with their families. We have called consistently, repeatedly and passionately for the release of all the hostages.

All the while, we have communicated extensively with Israeli military and civilian officials. At the same time, we have worked closely with community leaders in Gaza, as well as Arab nations in the region. There is no way to bring a ship full of food to Gaza without doing so.

That’s how we served more than 43 million meals in Gaza, preparing hot food in 68 community kitchens where Palestinians are feeding Palestinians.

We know Israelis. Israelis, in their heart of hearts, know that food is not a weapon of war.

Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli government needs to open more land routes for food and medicine today. It needs to stop killing civilians and aid workers today. It needs to start the long journey to peace today.

In the worst conditions, after the worst terrorist attack in its history, it’s time for the best of Israel to show up. You cannot save the hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this war by starving an entire population.

We welcome the government’s promise of an investigation into how and why members of our World Central Kitchen family were killed. That investigation needs to start at the top, not just the bottom.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said of the Israeli killings of our team, “It happens in war.” It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces.

It was also the direct result of a policy that squeezed humanitarian aid to desperate levels. Our team was en route from a delivery of almost 400 tons of aid by sea — our second shipment, funded by the United Arab Emirates, supported by Cyprus and with clearance from the Israel Defense Forces.

The team members put their lives at risk precisely because this food aid is so rare and desperately needed. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative, half the population of Gaza — 1.1. million people — faces the imminent risk of famine. The team would not have made the journey if there were enough food, traveling by truck across land, to feed the people of Gaza.

The peoples of the Mediterranean and Middle East, regardless of ethnicity and religion, share a culture that values food as a powerful statement of humanity and hospitality — of our shared hope for a better tomorrow.

There’s a reason, at this special time of year, Christians make Easter eggs, Muslims eat an egg at iftar dinners and an egg sits on the Seder plate. This symbol of life and hope reborn in spring extends across religions and cultures.

I have been a stranger at Seder dinners. I have heard the ancient Passover stories about being a stranger in the land of Egypt, the commandment to remember — with a feast before you — that the children of Israel were once slaves.

It is not a sign of weakness to feed strangers; it is a sign of strength. The people of Israel need to remember, at this darkest hour, what strength truly looks like.

José Andrés is a chef and the founder of World Central Kitchen.

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Texas Launches AI Grader for Student Essay Tests But Insists It's Not Like ChatGPT

K ids in Texas are taking state-mandated standardized tests this week to measure their proficiency in reading, writing, science, and social studies. But those tests aren’t going to necessarily be graded by human teachers anymore. In fact, the Texas Education Agency will deploy a new “automated scoring engine” for open-ended questions on the tests. And the state hopes to save millions with the new program.

The technology, which has been dubbed an “auto scoring engine” (ASE) by the Texas Education Agency, uses natural language processing to grade student essays, according to the Texas Tribune . After the initial grading by the AI model, roughly 25% of test responses will be sent back to human graders for review, according to the San Antonio Report news outlet.

Texas expects to save somewhere between $15-20 million with the new AI tool, mostly because fewer human graders will need to be hired through a third-party contracting agency. Previously, about 6,000 graders were needed, but that’s being cut down to about 2,000, according to the Texas Tribune.

A presentation published on the Texas Education Agency’s website appears to show that tests of the new system revealed humans and the automated system gave comparable scores to most kids. But a lot of questions remain about how the tech works exactly and what company may have helped the state develop the software. Two education companies, Cambium and Pearson, are mentioned as contractors at the Texas Education Agency’s site but the agency didn’t respond to questions emailed Tuesday.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) was first introduced in 2011 but redesigned in 2023 to include more open-ended essay-style questions. Previously, the test contained many more questions in the multiple choice format which, of course, was also graded by computerized tools. The big difference is that scoring a bubble sheet is different from scoring a written response, something computers have more difficulty understanding.

In a sign of potentially just how toxic AI tools have become in mainstream tech discourse, the Texas Education Agency has apparently been quick to shoot down any comparisons to generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT , according to the Texas Tribune. And the PowerPoint presentation on the Texas Education Agency’s site appears to confirm that unease with comparisons to anything like ChatGPT.

“This kind of technology is different from AI in that AI is a computer using progressive learning algorithms to adapt, allowing the data to do the programming and essentially teaching itself,” the presentation explains. “Instead, the automated scoring engine is a closed database with student response data accessible only by TEA and, with strict contractual privacy control, its assessment contractors, Cambium and Pearson.”

Any family who’s upset with their child’s grade can request that a human take another look at the test, according to the San Antonio Report . But it’ll set you back $50.

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