(10) JOYCE TYDLESLEY –
PENGUIN BOOK OF MYTHS & LEGENDS OF ANCIENT EGYPT (2010)
“I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra…
‘Who was that
dog-faced man? ‘they asked, the day I rode from town…
Go get my eyelids of red paint.
Hand me my shadow,
I’m going into town after Set”
I’ll never tire of quoting Ishmael Reed’s poem when it comes to Egyptian mythology – or of Egyptian mythology itself.
What’s not to love about those funky animal-headed gods and those slinky goddesses? Especially the goddesses – lithe and svelte in their form-fitting dresses, with their golden skin and painted eyes, they would not look out of place as supermodels on a modern catwalk.
“Here acclaimed Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley guides us through 3000 years of changing stories and, in retelling them, shows us what they mean. Gathered from pyramid friezes, archaeological finds and contemporary documents…Lavishly illustrated with colour pictures, maps and family trees, helpful glossaries explaining all the major gods and timelines of the Pharaohs and most importantly packed with unforgettable stories”.
The table of contents effectively encapsulates Tyldesley’s guide to Egyptian mythology, starting with introductory sections on Egypt’s gods, the Egyptian world, and dating dynastic Egypt. It then opens, aptly enough, with Egypt’s competing creation myths, and everyone’s favorite Ennead, the nine gods of Heliopolis – whom we all prefer to the inferior Ogdoad or eight gods of Hermopolis. Lost yet? Hang on – Egyptian mythology is a wild ride of shifting sands, gods (or creations) that keep swapping out with each other as they rose and fell within the pantheon.
After creation comes destruction – a section on the death of Osiris, the most famous death in Egyptian mythology (and up there with the most famous deaths of mythology), “the contendings of Horus and Seth”, and the afterlife.
My favorite section is of course on the great goddesses, foremost among them Isis, “great of magic”, but also warriors, wise women and cobra goddesses
RATING:
A-TIER (TOP-TIER)