Reddit mentions: The best ancient egyptians history books

> 1.) How are the gods viewed? Extra-dimensional beings, intelligences of natural forces or something else? Are they part of our world or another one?

These small questions demand exhaustive responses, haha. It's difficult for me to condense it here, but I will try, and will more than likely end up elaborating in comments later on.

The Netjeru are viewed as Gods -- Gods with multifarious and complex natures. They're not archetypes. They're not mere "metaphors" for anything, and are by no means facile explanations for natural phenomena conconcted by "pre-rational" humans, as many Moderns who privilege promissory materialist philosophy and interpretations are so fond of and known to say.

Personification-deities -- like Ma'at, the embodiment of the concept of ma'at; Sia, the embodiment of Divine intellect, perception, prophecy, etc.; and Shai(t), the God Who manifests more often as male than as female, and embodies fate, destiny, prophecy, etc. -- are still literal Divine beings as all the rest, but are not ones which are personable and personally accessible to human beings, on human terms. Some are much more "humanly accessible" than others. There are many classes of deities, with many roles and functions each performs, both on an individual basis and as units.

Fair warning: One does not get very far with two-dimensional interpretations and approaches to Egyptian religion(s). Ancient Egyptian theo-logic is incredibly polyvalent, and is not comprised of nor dictated by a series of competitive and contradictory bivalent values.

Arguably, the majority of the Netjeru are both immanent (within the world) and transcendent (above/outside the material world but still affecting it). That said, there are Gods that specifically dwell in the Duat (the Unseen), and do not manifest in the Seen (the material world which we inhabit). These obscure legions of specialized Divinities and "demons" are primarily but not exclusively encountered in funerary religious material, including but not limited to the Books of the Earth.

We must account for differences between localities and time periods, too . . . there is simply no simple, short, sweet answer (or set(s) of answers) to such questions, I'm afraid. Nor should there be, for a religion (or rather, series of religions) so old and multiplex as those of Ancient Egypt.

>2.) What should I read first? Should I study the myths or read a 101 book?

>3.) What specific books do you recommend?

There is no one book, nor only a couple of "handy manuals," that will inform you even remotely satisfactorily on Ancient Egyptian religion(s) and/or ritual mechanics. Anything that focuses solely on "myth," as per the nature of the discipline of "Mythology" (which is the study of myth as literature, frequently to the exclusion of cultural and religious context, and without regard for the fact that not all myth corresponds to ritual, or vice versa), will inevitably be inadequate and piecemeal.

The easiest place for me to start is to advise you whose works to avoid. Rosemary Clark, E. A. Wallis Budge, Judith Page, Normandi Ellis, Jeremy Naydler, and Jocelyn Almond are among those on the "Do Not Read" list. They're all rife with interpretative and methodological faux pas and plain-old factual historical inaccuracies.

The not-so-easy place for me to go from there is whose I recommend. There are too many scholars and texts to recommend, and my advice and recommendations are most definitely colored by my formal education in Philo/Theo and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. There are some articles I would recommend before out-and-out textbooks, but I realize that not many people have ready access to them as I do.

Anyway, even the best "Western" scholars, such a Jan Assmann and John Baines and Dimitri Meeks and Stephen Quirke, have their own interpretative problems embedded in their best pieces of writing. That said, Stephen Quirke probably has the best (not to mention the most recent) introductory, survey text on Ancient Egyptian religion(s) to date. I absolutely do not recommend Garry Shaw's, which was published last year, for all his privileging of Modernity over "pre-rational" Ancient non-Greeks and refusal to view Egyptian religious material as anything other than "poor explanations of the physical world for people without recourse to particle physics" (paraphrasing, though "for people without recourse to particle physics" are among his exact words). Nor does Shaw say anything different or better than other scholars like Meeks and Assmann and Baines have already said years earlier, elsewhere.

Erik Hornung's Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt : The One and the Many is one of the most important books on the nature of Egyptian religion(s). While I have some issues with it, I highly advise people curious about Egyptian religion(s) read that text in particular. Definitely plan to read that one, and read it slowly and carefully. Many Modern Kemetics who have read it didn't particularly understand the material for whatever reasons, which I highly suspect had to do with, in no small part, speed-reading and no time taken for critical reflection.

Maulana Karenga composed the most extensive -- not to mention, fair -- study on the Egyptian concept of ma'at to date. He does a good job of pointing out some problems in other scholars' attempts at unpacking the issue over the last several decades, and he does a good job outlining what, precisely, ma'at entails morally-ethically through extensive analyses of diverse bodies of textual evidence from different periods of Pharaonic history. Ma'at, in case you and/or those reading don't already know, is the underpinning of the entire religion(s) and Kemetic worldview, and it's impossible to be a Kemetic without understanding what ma'at is, and making it the foremost part of one's daily life and the foremost goal of one's life.

Robert K. Ritner and Geraldine Pinch wrote texts addressing heka -- Ritner's are considered to be among the best, while Pinch's are considered adequate (she makes glaring citation mistakes in areas, for instance, i.e. in the sections she writes concerning the Seven Hathors. No spell in primary source material, from any period, exists where They perform as Pinch states They perform, on top of her not providing citation for what text she (mis)interpreted those sections from). J. F. Borghouts' Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts, although brief, is frequently cited and worth looking at. A PDF of it should be floating around the interwebs somewhere, if you're interested in that, since it's pretty expensive to acquire physical copies of and is, to my knowledge, since out of print.

James P. Allen's, Thomas G. Allen's, and Raymond O. Faulkner's translations of the most famous funerary texts are among the best. Adriaan De Buck's translations of the Coffin Texts are considered authoritative, but are considerably difficult -- especially for those outside Academia -- to gain access to. I should note that the funerary texts are only so important. They honestly do not play a major role in Modern Kemetic practice and belief, though Modern Kemetics do by no means totally ignore them. Important to know, not much practical use, in other words.

As for Modern Kemetic works . . . nnnnot many exist which I could recommend in good conscience. The late Richard Reidy's Eternal Egypt is much acclaimed by many Modern Kemetics, though it does contain some errors. That's not to say that it's utterly useless, only that some of the rituals contained therein (such as those pertaining to Sekhmet) are predicated on erroneous information and mistaken interpretations. Tamara Siuda's Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook is, admittedly, only particularly handy if you're looking into becoming part of the Kemetic Orthodox Temple. It contains pointers on how to erect and dedicate shrines (in the Kemetic Orthodox way, that is); how to perform the Kemetic Orthodox rite of senut; "how to pray" and prayers in English; and snippets of introductory information about some of the most important Egyptian deities. Nothing super-heavy.

I hope this helps; and apologies for the length of my response.

Sure thing :)

So the first thing I would do is get a good grasp of Egyptian mythology. There are a number of different books that can explain the various myths. I started with this one, but this one might also be worth checking out. Knowing the myths is integral to understanding AE's religious systems.

The second book I might recommend is Jeremy Naydler's Temple of the Cosmos, it can be a little dense, but it does a great job of explaining how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the world, the importance of Ma'at, and the various religious concepts that were integral to... everything. Once you've got the symbology down, I would recommend you stick to book by Egyptologists, and make sure to avoid anything translated by E.A. Budge. Some of my favorites have included:

Magic in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch

Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt by Emily Teeter

Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt by Erik Hornung

And I definitely think it's worth reaching out to Thoth / Djehuty :) That's the best way to establish a connection with a Netjer in my experience -
the Ancient Egyptian deities are well known for being relaxed / understanding / welcoming to new-comers, so don't worry about doing anything fancy. Just sitting down somewhere quiet, lighting a candle, introducing yourself and talking about your interest in Him is sufficient to start with. Maybe offer the research you perform and books you read to Him as a devotional activity.

Here's a commonly recommended Kemetic starter guide worth a read:
https://thetwistedrope.wordpress.com/kemeticism/kemetic-starter-guide/

When I got started with more regular offerings, I based my ritual on this one: https://persebek.wordpress.com/practices/general-rites/general-solitary-kemetic-ritual/

If you find yourself wanting to know more, I recommend checking out the Kemetic Round Table.

I added some Achaemenid works to the r/askhistorians reading list a while back:

• From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire by Pierre Briant. From Cyrus to Alexander, written by the doyen of Achaemenid Persian studies, is the most comprehensive history of the Persian empire. Briant covers all aspects of Persian history in exhaustive detail in addition to addressing aspects of society like warfare and the structure and administration of the empire.
  
  
• Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550-330 BCE by Matthew Waters. Considerably shorter than Briant's book, this book provides a concise but comprehensive summary of Persian history. Waters does a good job of incorporating Greek sources in addition to Elamite and Persian texts.
  
  
• The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period by Amelie Kuhrt. An excellent companion volume to the histories of Waters and Briant, Kuhrt has provided a superb compilation of annotated translations for the major Persian texts and inscriptions as well as Greek accounts of ancient Persia.
  
  
• Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia edited by John Curtis and Nigel Tallis. This well-illustrated book is a very readable introduction to all aspects of ancient Persia, including history, language, palaces, food and dining, jewelry and clothing, religion, administration, and warfare.
  
  
• King and Court in Ancient Persia, 559 to 331 BCE by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. This is the best overview of the royal court of ancient Persia, including chapters on high officials, royal women, and daily life in the court. Each chapter is accompanied by a variety of translated primary sources drawn from Persian and Greek texts.
  
  If you're interested in Greek sources as well, see Ctesias'’ Persica in Its Near Eastern Context by Matt Waters and Ctesias' 'History of Persia': Tales of the Orient by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and James Robson.

If you enjoyed Origins and especially the Duat scenes, you might enjoy reading more about it. Eric Hornung’s The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife is a good starting point. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is also very good. It has photos of the papyrus with the translation in English. (Amazon links for convenience, try to find them at a library of course.)

Nefertiti’s afterlife is the most true to the Egyptian conception of the Elysian Fields. It perfectly captures what Egyptologists find captivating about this stuff. If it grabs you on a visceral level, you might be an Egyptologist at heart. Feel free to ask me for new or different sources.

Apologies. Pretty big classical history buff, so the Imperial succession is like knowing my own name. In terms of good books about the early Principate, hmm...a lot of my knowledge of the period comes more from university lectures and the like than anything else. Obviously contemporary (or near contemporary) historians like Suetonius are important, but then again their histories are more or less impossible to validate as being entirely truthful in every respect; they also have the tendency to, let's say, accentuate the negative about various figures (In spite of my earlier reference to Caligula and Nero being less than stellar rulers, the historiography about them remains quite murky). Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is, of course, a classic, but I feel its readability isn't all it's cracked up to be, plus it is written from the view of an 18th century English aristocrat with all of the biases that this entails. I must admit that I am not up to scratch on more modern works about the Ancient World, though I do remember absolutely loving the gargantuan Egypt, Greece, and Rome as a kid.

And if you're looking for some light reading, the I, Claudius series of novels by Robert Graves is great for getting absorbed into the world of early Imperial Rome, even if his story is based on a central ahistorical conceit. I adore them anyway.

The best books in my experience have been overviews of Aegean prehistory. There's an incredible amount of scholarship, so it's really just about finding a good overview and drilling down on specific topics/sites that interest you.

For advanced undergrads/early grads the standards are typically the Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, the Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, and Aegean Art and Architecture.

All of these can get a bit technical, especially with regards to chronology and such. Of those three Aegean Art and Architecture is probably the most readable. There are older monographs devoted to Crete specifically, but they tend to be older (like 1960's) and quite out of date.

Are you interested in a particular phase, site, or facet of the civilization? Because that would help narrow it down. Keep in mind that there are huge gaps in our understanding of the Minoans and their culture. You aren't going to find many specifics about their culture unless you go down the road of very shaky scholarship.

If your interested in the late Bronze Age collapse (which came some time after the peak of the Minoan civilization), check out the book 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. It's new and I haven't read it myself, but it's by Eric Cline, who wrote the Oxford Handbook, so it's bound to be well researched. Might be a nice overview of part of the Bronze Age in a more digestible format.

Anyway let me know a bit more about your interests and maybe I can help a bit more. I can also dig out my old syllabi for more suggestions.

Ah, finally I meet someone (albeit on Reddit) who's followed Bob Brier on the incredible journey he takes the listener through, in his course. It is hard to believe that it has been nearly 17 years since the course first came out. I have followed Prof. Brier's course religiously over the last 16 years, and through his evocative, imaginative and illustrative language, rediscovered Ancient Egypt over and over again. In fact I find myself consulting my notes on his lectures from time to time. Needless to say, I am a huge fan of Prof. Brier, and visiting Egypt with him (on one of his tours) is on my bucket list.

That said, I too was in the same boat after having finished his course. What next? He did give some pointers in his last lesson on what to follow and where to go to get more information. Nowadays with the advent of Facebook, one can follow these channels their official Facebook pages. But that wasn't your question.

Personally, I found this book to be quite informative, and I would recommend it highly. Toby Wilkinson - Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. It is written in an easy to read format and I found that it filled in many gaps in Prof. Brier's telling of the story of Egypt, especially during the first and second intermediate periods. Coming from Prof. Brier's course, it really felt like the next logical step.

From there, it gets a little more difficult. Recent developments have been slow - owing to the unrest in Egypt. Off-hand, I am not aware of any significant compendium of recent knowledge that has emerged in our field of interest. There are bits and pieces to be found, and I find that the Subreddits do a good job of compiling the same.

That said, if someone does know of more recent books, please do enlighten me. Hope that helps!

This is actually really inaccurate according to all archaeological and historical (ancient or modern) data.

For starters the scale is out of whack. The city should not stretch all the way across the peninsula. Here is a map showing how big the Troad peninsula was, Troy only occupied a small portion of it, not this huge metropolis.

Another example showing the rivers and the famed Plain of Troy.

Here it is on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B057'27.0%22N+26%C2%B014'20.0%22E/@39.9575,26.238889,2792m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d39.9575!4d26.238889?hl=en

There is also zero evidence of that inner harbour/lake at Troy VIIh (the "Homeric Troy") or any of the other levels of Troy. The plain was fed by a pair of rivers that converged very near Troy and flowed into the inner bay. They could use and divert those rivers, but never in such a scale. The harbours used were the natural bay where the rivers debouched and a smaller one facing the Aegean. There were also none of those little artificial lakes around Troy.

The city was also very different. For starters there was no castle with a moat around it, the citadel was a complex of palaces and religious houses that looked the same as the lower city houses only were bigger, richer, and more opulent. This is a close up of what the citadel might have looked like (of which there is a lot of excavated ground): http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/images/MiddleEast/Anatolia/Troy_City_VIh_02_full.jpg

OP is correct in saying that the citadel was once believed to be all, but that recently more has been found. However, it's not as expansive as the illustration suggests. This is the boring archaeological diagram of what has been excavated so far, and you can see the outlines of an outer wall (called the Lower City wall). It's significant, and Troy was likely one of the biggest cities in the ancient Near East (with 5,000 to 10,000 people), and the way the city is set up basically proves that the culture was a lot more Hittite than Mycenean Greek or anything else. So a lot has been learned over the past couple of decades.

This is the best and most faithful representation of what Troy VII might have looked like: http://forum.boinaslava.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=26810&d=1413378933

I love that people can be excited about Troy as the real city that it was, not just the legend, and there's a lot to still discover about it, but I think it's important to be cautious about how it's portrayed. Especially in such a historical period where archaeology is so necessary, it's easy to take a little thing, a tiny piece of evidence, and blow it out of proportion; for example seeing any evidence of using river water for crops and jumping to the conclusion that Trojans were master canal builders - there's no solid evidence of the kind. It's easy to mythologize Bronze Age civilizations, especially Troy, but reality is, unfortunately, less glamorous; however, its complexities can still blow you away if you don't expect too much from a civilization that lived 3,500 years ago.

Source: Historian with extensive research knowledge of the Late Bronze Age Near East, including Troy.

EDIT: Well, since I've been gilded (thanks for that, by the way) I'll go the extra mile and give some book rec's for those who want to know more.

Disclaimer: Most of these are very academic-y, can be quite dense; unfortunately when it comes to this topic this is the norm, but I'll spare you guys the real dull ones. I'll start with one of the most accessible.

The Trojan War: A New History by Barry Strauss.

In Search of the Trojan War Paperback by Michael Wood.

The Trojans & Their Neighbours Paperback by Trevor Bryce.

1177 BC: The Year Civlization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline.

Greece in the Bronze Age Paperback by Emily Townsend Vermeule.

Life and Society in the Hittite World Paperback by Trevor Bryce.

It's always been a difficult area to write a single book on, because there are so many factors, such as understanding each empire of the time, and what the general atmosphere was regarding trade between empires.

It's funny that you ask though, because a really great book on the very topic recently came out, and it's called "1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed.".

The boldness of the author Eric H. Cline to attribute an exact year, to me, at first seemed ridiculous, but after reading the book, I'm convinced that he's right. It's a fairly short 200 page book, and I enjoyed every page of it.

One thing, if you haven't researched "The Sea Peoples", I would recommend having at least a small understanding of who and what they were and did. It's not completely necessary, but it's helpful. This is due to the fact that so many people like to attribute the collapse of the late bronze age to them, when in fact there are many factors that play into the "systems collapse" that occurred in the late 13th, and early 12th century B.C.

Here's an Amazon link for the book:

http://www.amazon.com/1177-B-C-Civilization-Collapsed-Turning/dp/0691140898/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398200849&sr=1-1&keywords=1177+b.c.+the+year+civilization+collapsed

Here's a wikipedia link to the "Sea Peoples".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_peoples

The entire topic of the collapse of the bronze age, is one of the most fascinating that I have encountered. What's even more incredible is that so few people know it ever happened.

I've spent a lot of time researching, and studying the topic, and if you have any questions at any time, feel free to ask.

I can answer your question when it comes to Xerxes' invasion of Greece but I don't know anything about Chinese history.

Modern historians don't think Xerxes had nearly 1,000,000 men, and the biggest estimate of his forces is 300,000. Many historians think he had significantly less, as low as 60,000, and the consensus is definitely less than 400,000. His army was also supported by a large fleet that moved along the coastline supporting the army. The navy was made up of 600 triremes or less, each of which would require around 200 men, so that would have been another up to 120,000 men. Sources give the Persian fleet at 1200, though it was likely at least a little smaller. Even so every trireme would have had 200 men manning it so even 300 ships means 60,000 more men.

The Persian Empire at this was the largest empire Europe and and the Near East had ever seen at this point, and Xerxes was able to raise and support such a large force by channelling manpower and supplies from across the empire. For example many of the ships came from Phoenicia and the cities on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. The army also would have foraged extensively as they moved which would have helped mitigate supply problems. I don't know any more than this about the logistics of ancient armies, so hopefully someone else can add to this as I'd love to know too.

The source for the larger figures is the ancient historian Herodotus, who wrote a very Greek centric account of events, and was not at the battle. He is the source for the 2,700,000 troops and 1200 ships. It says something that later ancient historians who were very economical with the truth regarded Herodotus poorly and as a liar, but his account is still a useful source despite its setbacks.

My source for this is undergrad history courses and Egypt Greece and Rome by Charles Freeman.

EDIT: See below for more corrections thanks to TheJucheisLoose.

You're brother-in-law sounds like he has excellent taste in books! I too have read Serpent in the Sky, and can confirm that it is exactly how you describe it, which is not surprising considering that West drew much of his material for it from Schwaller de Lubicz's work. It is also written in a considerably more accessible style than the writings of Schwaller de Lubicz. I would also point out, for the benefit of any who are interested in this topic but don't have the $150 to spend on de Lubicz's magnum opus, that there are a number of his other volumes available much more cheaply:

The Temple in Man: Sacred Architecture and the Perfect Man

Symbol and the Symbolic: Ancient Egypt, Science, and the Evolution of Consciousness

Sacred Science: The King of Pharaonic Theocracy

A Study of Numbers: A Guide to the Constant Creation of the Universe

The Egyptian Miracle: An Introduction to the Wisdom of the Temple

Esoterism and Symbol

Nature Word

All of these, which are also much shorter than The Temple of Man, may be purchased via Amazon for between $10 and $20, and no doubt may be found even more cheaply secondhand.

Hmm ... The names were always of Arabic origin for me. Alnilam, Mintaka, Alnitak.

And it was always curved somewhat ... an arc of sorts.

Ancient Islam actually had very advanced astronomy and named so many of the stars and constellations. That was before the dark ages and all of that. Not exactly a history expert (but working on this) so I'm not sure of the exact terminology or timeframes, but you get what I mean. From early civilization to medieval times to Romantic times to now. Or something like that.

I am somewhat of an amateur astrophotographer and astronomer as well, and I particularly focus on Orion, and Sirius in Canis Major, and Aldebaran and the Pleiades in Taurus, because of their relevance and mention in the ancient mysteries -- The Sirius Mystery, The Dogon people in Africa, and The Orion Mystery. The Great Pyramids at Giza align with the belt. I believe Graham Hancock mentions this variously in his works like The Message of the Sphinx and Fingerprints of the Gods.

Egyptian Mythology: a guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt.

https://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245

Also if you have an audible account/ are interested in audiobooks or online learning Audible has free audiobook versions of The Great Courses Plus lectures on mythology. They’re great lectures.

Ps. If you’re unaware there’s a fun podcast for the casual myth fan called Myths and Legends. Personally I love Jason’s work — it’s a bit trivialized sometimes but it’s good fun. He has a way of crafting narrative out of an amalgamation of varied stories from myth and folklore.

This was a pretty good book.

also look into coral castle (ed leedskanin) for a modern attempt at their type of tech, although its still a mystery how he did it to us, but he has left numerous clues.

also something I came across from tibetian sources here which fits well with Bruce Cathie's energy grid explanation of antigravity effects.

many rabbit holes, enjoy :)

Edit: almost forgot this gem from recent science, which sounds like a very simple setup of what was going on in the pyramids (i.e blasting water flow near crystal)

After doing enough research of ancient civilizations and taking one class on all of them, these are the best books in my opinion that give a general overview to start with when researching, depending on the civilization you are researching. Then once you have these and look through them, you can make a good library of least 350 books about the ancient world like I have. I hope this helps and if you want help picking books, just ask. Also these books are written by the authorities in their subjects so they will be good research materials.

Ancient Rome: Christopher Mackay’s Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History

Ancient Greece: Sarah Pomeroy’s Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History

Ancient Mesopotamia: Marc Van De Mieroop’s A History of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt: Marc Van De Mieroop’s A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC

Ancient Phoenicia: Maria Aubet’s The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade

Ancient Carthage: Dexter Hoyo’s The Carthaginians (Peoples of the Ancient World)

Ancient Hellenistic World: R. Malcom Errington’s A History of the Hellenistic World: 323 - 30 Bc

Ancient Silk Road Area: Xinru Liu’s The Silk Road in World History (The New Oxford World History)

Ancient Persia: Maria Brosius’ The Persians (Peoples of the Ancient World)

Ancient Hittites: O.R. Gurney’s The Hittites

Unfortunately some of Egypt's abilities and knowledge have been vastly exaggerated. They had strong rivals to the north for much of the periods where the empire was the strongest. In later periods Pharaohs ruled for shorter periods of times. In many of the ruling eras there was massive civil and political unrest. Keeping the country together and under control seems to have been more of a priority. This is especially true during periods where the Nile didn't flood properly and you had famine and drought. I strongly recommend if you are interested in the intricacies you read The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt I don't think there is one nail in the coffin answer to your question. The Eqyptians after the unification definitely had designs on conquering lands further to the north. However each time they were met by strong adversaries and a myriad of circumstances that prevented this from occuring.

Morthy's Demands:

Tea for an old posh Englishman. I would no doubt ring a bell to have a serving wench bring it to me though. Yummy Goodness WL

Think these would show under a shirt? I would still never be seen in public with them! NSFW WL

Phallic-ish Kitchen wants and needs WL

Akeleie Demands:

Most geeky item. As a grown woman, I still want this! Books: Glorious Books WL

Help me achieve a personal goal of learning all the Egyptian dieties I've always been fascinated by ancient Egypt and want to really delve into their deities. Books: Glorious Books WL

Binoculars would be handy on a deserted island. Keep a watch out for passing ships! Wish I may, Wish I had WL

Thanks for the fun contest!

I simply had an altar set up, and had been offering to him devoutly for a couple weeks. Initially, I usually offered water or mullein incense, but I started offering water with alchemical elixirs in it. I made these elixirs some time ago and spent a lot of time with them, so I think this made a big difference in the way I received him.

I posted the altar here a while back. Before this altar though I read some of the Emerald Tablets, and had been reading Rene Schwaller's Sacred Science, which shifted my understanding of the Neteru quite a bit.

That's it, really. I was literally just offering like any other day, and he told me to sit down for this. I just meditated and tried to transcribe everything the best I could. It definitely surprised me.

I was looking through a book (not mine, college library's) called "Religion in Ancient Egypt:Gods,Myths, and Personal Practice", and found this in "Ancient Egyptian Cosmogonies and Cosmology" by Leonard H. Lesko.

>The rather objective description of the cosmos reflected in Egyptian lexicography was in some ways consistent with the mythological descriptions of the heavenly cow and of the sky goddess Nut. The great Cow of Heaven, who might also be identified with the goddess Hathor, stood supported by gods who held each of her legs. She gave birth to the sun as Ihy every day, and the sun traversed her belly to be swallowed by the goddess at night. In another mythological tradition, Nut gave birth to the sun god Re, who passed below her arched body during the daylight hours, was swallowed by her at sunset, and passed through her body at night. (pg. 118)

I see! You should definitely read atleast one sort of "basic" Egyptian mythology book, if only so you have a good base. I started with this book and it did the job. If you want any other recs in general for Egyptian religion and magic, just let me know (or look through my posts!). Something else to keep in mind while you learn- Pharonic culture existed for thousands of years, and AE religion and their conceptions of the nature of the gods shifted during that time, so some of the "mystic" texts one can find might treat Set or Djehuty very differently than how they were viewed in the 3rd Dynasty, which is different than the 17th, which is different than during Hellenistic times. Good luck!

One of my favorite books about the history of engineering is Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague De Camp. One of the things he points out (that is at odds with anecdotal & popular opinion but, I think, appreciated by most historians) is that the amount of knowledge "lost" during the "dark ages" was actually quite small when you look at engineering know how. (Compare the churches of the 11th and 12th c. vs. early Roman churches, for instance.) Certainly, advances in science did not progress quickly (especially in the very poor regions of Europe), but then they didn't progress quickly before the dark ages either. Mostly, the dark ages are considered "dark" because we don't have a lot of documentation about them. The Romans, especially during the late Republic and Early Imperial periods were wonderful bureaucrats and wrote down lots of stuff. (Well; they wrote down a lot of things like "so many tons of rice were imported from Egypt on the 12th day of Augustus' Month in the fifth year of Vespasian's rule" and such things.)

Oh, I read a fantastic book on the History of Egypt, Greece, and Rome., very dense but very good. My copy of Big Book of Conspiracies, got much love too.

I really enjoyed Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. It probably isn't the most detailed book on the topic, but it DOES go through all of Ancient Roman history.

If you enjoyed ancient Rome, I'm sure ancient Egypt would be up your alley. For that, I would recommend The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt.

Hi there! I will recommend three books, each of them with different goals. First, Pierre Briant's From Cyrus to Alexander is the history of the Persian Empire right now. It is meticulous, detailed, thorough, and dense. Thus, the book is not for everyone. Also, the visuals are disappointing, so if you're looking for glossy photos or excellent maps, this is not the book.

For a book with excellent photos, however, find John Curtis and Nigel Tallis's Forgotten Empire. The editors are renown scholars at the British Museum, and with such resources at their hands, they have published a magnificent and beautiful book. High quality photos of Persian artifacts, architecture, ceramics, etc. are to be found here.

Lastly, if you want a book that focuses on the primary textual sources of the Persian Empire, you must go to Amelie Kuhrt's The Persian Empire. She is a well-respected scholar who has meticulously translated nearly all of the ancient documents written both by and about the Persian Empire. The book is physically huge, but if you want to read the words of Persian kings themselves (in English), then this book is a must-read.

> Idolatry primarily means the legitimization of the state in terms of divine representation. The state presents itself in its images, symbols, and ceremonies as a representative of the divine. From the viewpoint of the Bible, this is idolatry. From the viewpoint of Egypt, however, it is precisely for this that the state was created. As we have seen the Egyptians believed the gods to be remote and hidden, having withdrawn from earth and made themselves invisible. In lieu of their corporeal presence, they installed the state on earth to represent them in the form of kings, images, and sacred animals. The most important task of the state was to ensure divine presence under the condition of divine absence and to maintain a symbiotic relationship between man, society, and the cosmos. In the Egyptian text from which I quoted earlier, the king acts as representative of the creator, installed on earth “for ever and ever” in order to establish “Ma’at” (true order and justice) and to expel disorder. The king depends on god, whom he imitates and represents, and god depends on the king for maintaining the order of creation on earth among the living. God created the king “in his image,” so to speak, and “image of god” is, in fact, one of the most common royal epithets.

> Biblical political theology is the exact reverse. From this perspective, it is precisely the category of representation that points up the falseness of Pharaonic politics with respect to religion in its most obvious and abhorrent form, namely, the sphere of kings, images, and sacred animals. The prohibition against images means, in the first place, that the “living God” (Elohim hayim) must not be represented. Images contradict the real presence of the divine implied by the idea of the covenant. The latter is a form both political and “living” reflecting God’s turning toward the world. Images are media of a “magical” representation of an absent divine power and therefore imply or presuppose the idea of divine absence. The “living God” hides and reveals himself as he chooses and forbids any attempt at a magical summoning of his presence. This is the political meaning of the prohibition against images. The Golden Calf was meant to replace Moses and was the only form in which God had allowed himself to be represented. The Israelites, who believed Moses dead, wanted to replace the representative of God by his representation. The function of the Golden Calf was clearly political, meant to serve not as a cult image but as a political symbol of leadership in the same way that Moses himself did in leading his people out of Egypt. The destruction of the Golden Calf put an end to these attempts at political representation. Images were artificial gods, and the relationship with “other gods” (elohim aherim) was forbidden. An alliance was formed with a single overlord. The political meaning of monotheism in its early stage did not deny the existence of other gods. On the contrary, without the existence of other gods the command to remain faithful to the Lord would have been pointless.These “other gods”were not nonexistent, like the gods whose worship Akhenaten abolished, but they were forbidden.

• Of God and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism

With all due respect to those who've suggested so, E.A. Wallis Budge is a terrible place to start regarding the Egyptian religion. His work (being more than a century old) is outdated, his theories are biased, and his translations are seldom (if ever) used in academic Egyptology today.

The only reason so many people still turn to Budge's work is that it belongs to the public domain, and can therefore be printed royalty-free.

Better works to consult are:

- Religion in Ancient Egypt by Various Authors
- Ancient Egyptian Religion by Stephen Quirke
- Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt by Erik Hornung
- The Search for God in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assmann
- Ancient Egyptian Magic by Geraldine Pinch

If you're looking for translations of texts, try:

- Various Translations by RO Faulkner

If you're interested in the language, try:

- The VYGUS Dictionary
- The Demotic Dictionary
- The Middle Egyptian Dictionary

Much of this material isn't available for free, but that's because modern Egyptology is a career, and those who continue to enlighten us regarding the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians shouldn't be expected to do so while living in squalor.

Faulkner looks pretty good.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Egyptian-Book-Dead-Going-Forth/dp/0811864898

Thanks!

my ability to explain it is subpar to all the places i've read about it. if you wish to read about it, the books i'd point you to would be The Giza Powerplant, http://www.amazon.com/The-Giza-Power-Plant-Technologies/dp/1879181509 & Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt: Advanced Engineering http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Technologies-Ancient-Egypt-Engineering/dp/1591431026/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

if you google a bit, you can find the epub/pdf/mobi versions of these books easily enough, and read them to make your own oppinion. But once you read these books, be prepared to roll your eyes each time some 'fact' about egypt is brought up. Its infuriating. And quite amazing to believe this tech existed.

As someone who routinely uses both Egyptian and Java, I can say categorically -- I like Egyptian a lot better. :)

If you're just writing games, you don't necessarily need the most current research -- anything in the last few decades is fine for your purposes. Unfortunately, there's a tremendous amount of material being printed still that goes back to the 19th century in Dover reprints that needs to be avoided at all costs. Also, remember that you're talking about almost three millennia of religious belief -- the differences between Old Kingdom and Roman period are far far greater than the differences between Upper and Lower Egypt.

In any event, here's a modern translation of the Book of the Dead (not Budge!):

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Book-Raymond-Faulkner/dp/0760773092/

The BotD isn't the greatest intro to the theogeny you may be looking for, but it's well known.

These are both current, but I don't know them:

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Gods-Goddesses-Ancient-Egypt/dp/0500051208

Avoid anything not written by an actual academic in the field -- there's way too much 'Egyptology' that's actually modern spirituality misusing ancient texts, and as noted, lots of reprints of Budge and Petrie that are now way out of date.

Last thoughts: If you're looking for thematic ideas for a game, there may be some good mythology childrens books that will hit the points and iconography you want (but will lack some of the more anatomically correct aspects of Egyptian divinity), and if you can, go through a real book store rather than Amazon :) If you're near Boston, Schoenhof's may have some of these.

It does seem that the Osirians may have been foreigners who brough Osiris with them. The foreigner aspect of the story will be addressed further, I just didn't know how to extend this part without it ending up too long. Here are some of the best sources.

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/188597227X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467504778&sr=1-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Don+Webb&dpPl=1&dpID=51WiKFwVruL&ref=plSrch
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1885972075/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1467504778&sr=1-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Don+Webb&dpPl=1&dpID=51i4ILgBltL&ref=plSrch
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FGMZAI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Tradition-Ancient-Egypt-Esoteric/dp/1567181295
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Michael-A.-Aquino/e/B01GEWRIMU
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OFQ3QOW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUU5F26/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Seth-God-Confusion-Egyptian-Mythology/dp/9004054022
  
  
• http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/translation.html

>I've googled that and came up with nothing reliable I'd definitely be very interested in your source

I'm always willing to bet my academic and personal integrity as an ANE historian.

>>From a past reply on the problems with the Exodus Narrative

>The Exodus and actual Egyptology.

>In Search of 'Ancient Israel': A Study in Biblical Origins

>Biblical History and Israel S Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History

>The Oxford History of the Biblical World


>The section in the third link just below where I've had it link too about difficulties placing Egypt within the Exodus narrative is also fun.

I would also recommend to you two of Marc Van De Mieroops works:

A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC, 2nd Edition and A History of Ancient Egypt

Both are fairly accessible college entry level works on ANE and Egyptian history.

I was interested in the Vikings and Scandinavian history a few years back. I read a selection of things that were Viking histories and English histories that pertained to the Vikings. As far as Egyptian history I read a few egyptian history book my university has and I also read a book called Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David. It traced the history of Egyptian faith practices from the civilization's beginning through its growth into an empire and its later years as a Roman province. And for the Latin American Civilizations and feudal japan i cant help you there. Also, check out the History subreddit's reading list https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist

Vikings: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Wolves-History-Vikings/dp/1909979120/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836520&sr=8-2&keywords=vikings+book

https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836584&sr=8-10&keywords=vikings+book

Egypt: https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Magic-Ancient-Egypt-Rosalie/dp/0140262520

No problem, but make sure you check out the reading list here and the one on AH, they do a much better job then I or any of the links could, of particular relevance to your purposes are The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, The Religion of Ancient Egypt, Hellenistic Egypt, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, and The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt.

I can't speak to that book, but I really enjoyed this one: https://smile.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Ancient-Egypt-ebook/dp/B004FGMZAI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504038274&sr=8-2&keywords=ancient+egypt+history

I read this one many years back, and was entertained and impressed. The author was an aeronautical engineer, and a famous writer of science fiction.

If you're still looking, I've got a copy of the book mentioned above. It's this one: http://www.amazon.com/The-Egyptian-Book-Dead-Integrated/dp/0811864898

It's gorgeous, and it's fairly huge, kind of a coffee table book. You'll get full-color illustrations included along with translations and some bonus materials, but you won't get transliterations, just the pictures and the English text.

Read Graham Hancocks book about it, great read!

Here are a handful of books along the lines youre looking for. They hold a wealth of knowledge that should give you some direction on how to proceed.


https://www.amazon.com/Institut-Bocuse-Gastronomique-step-step/dp/0600634175/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046182&sr=8-1&keywords=institute+paul+bocuse

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Good-Cooking-Illustrated-Cookbooks/dp/1933615982/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046072&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Science+of+Cooking

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046072&sr=8-2&keywords=The+Science+of+Cooking

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Cooking-Understanding-Biology-Chemistry/dp/1118674200/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046072&sr=8-5&keywords=The+Science+of+Cooking

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Spices-Herbs-Discover-Understand/dp/1623156289/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046139&sr=8-1&keywords=essential+spices+and+herbs

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America/dp/0470421355/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498046163&sr=8-1&keywords=the+professional+chef

There are three things mixed up here. One is the valid ritual use of symbolism. That Iamblichus book somebody else mentioned the other day is explicit that all this is in the most ancient written texts in Sumeria and Babylon. The symbol communicates what is inexplicable in our everyday human language.

There are a number of eye glyphs in Wallis Budge's Gods of the Egyptians to cite the most obvious example of this.

The second thing is the cottage industry of illuminati books where masons or the jesuits or the jews supposedly have the power to manipulate us into buying a billion Beatles records, 99.9% of which is fiction although a small amount, such as the work of Texe Marrs you cite is fascinating.

The third thing is purely mindless mass market fad and fashion like Lady Gaga. They do what works and gets attention and the world's greatest marketers (like this guy) are unanimous that nobody understands what works and it is ALL hit and mostly miss.

I read this book for an independent college study course, and loved it. It goes very in depth into the religion and magic of ancient Egypt without getting preachy about anything.

The Apis Bull was a bull seen as a Devine mediator between the gods and man. It was chosen at birth, and selected for having a whole list of features: it had to be a certain color, have certain markings, born at a certain time, etc. They kept it in its own sanctuary where it could be watched by the priests, and it’s movements and actions were seen as portents and messages from the gods. When these Apis Bulls died they were given a state funeral and mummified in their own tombs. It was a very old tradition, with Apis bull mummies found from the Old Kingdom, all the way to Ptolemaic Egypt. Alexander the Great is said to have met with the bull that was alive during his time.

Full disclosure, I have no clue if that’s what this bull is. I just finished a book on ancient Egypt and remembered that part.

Cool! My Sister got me a copy of "Of God and Gods".

Well among other things, the weathering patterns on the sphinx indicate that its over 10000 years old, when the sahara was not a desert. There are power tool and saw marks on various stonework pieces where the pyramids were built, the the Egyptologists insist that they were built with stones and rods.
In addition, the Egyptians were unable to replicate the atomic levels of build accuracy of the great pyramids. The desert is dotted with attempted reproductions that were unsuccessful. You dont build a car and then the next model you produce doesnt even start.

Take a look at Graham Hancock and Robert Bauvel's work. Years ago I read this book which start my questioning of the official historical account of the pyramids.

A good book on the subject is 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed.

Any book written by Herve This or Harold McGee. The Science of Cooking is also a good food science book.

Just to make things easier for othes:

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Egyptians-1-Wallis-Budge/dp/0486220559

Would You Like to Know More?!

Though awesome, the Book of the Dead is focused more on ritual spells associated with preparation for the afterlife. There's also a number of different versions, none "canonical." This book, Egyptian Mythology by G. Harris, seems to cover the basics of Egyptian myth, and includes more "Gods and Godesses" type stories:

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Might be worth checking out this which looks roughly at Egypt then Greece then Rome including tracing links from each to the next. Actually starts with brief look at near Eastern civilisation more generally to contextualise Egypt so slightly broader than it sounds!

https://www.amazon.com/Egypt-Greece-Rome-Civilizations-Mediterranean/dp/0199263647

Books which may interest, especially for beginners (The first three are highly recommended)

Magic in Ancient Egypt: Revised Edition

Eternal Egypt: Ancient Rituals for the Modern World

Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred

Following the Sun: A Practical Guide to Egyptian Religion, Revised Edition

Circle Of The Sun: Rites And Celebrations For Egyptian Pagans And Kemetics

The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Featuring Integrated Text and Full-Color Images (This book isn't much of a "for beginners"-- it's just a translated funeral text. Still a great read for Kemeticists, though.)

The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook (Just a contemporary prayerbook which may interest)

The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, by Richard H. Wilkinson

The Egyptian History Podcast, by Dominic Perry.

Haven't read this yet. Bu tI can only imagine you will find it relevant.

1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H Kline

I'm not the OP, but he/she may have been refering to Eric H Cline's 1177 BC: the year civilization collapsed which came out recently and does a good job summing up the textual and archeological evidence surround the Bronze Age Collapse

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History)

If you want to learn about early civilization, this is a good book.

I recommend reading the book 1177 B.C., about the bronze age collapse. It seems that its aftereffects were a bit slow to get to other places in Europe, like this Ireland case, so the process was actually gradual, but indeed that collapse was something to think about; a sort of global economy, a resource base being depleted, climate hardships, global unrest and wars...

I just finished the audio book version of this book and can't recommend it highly enough. It covers the Bronze Age collapse along with a number of theories as to its cause.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691140898/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_6brsub0YM09VW

That tattoo is of "Ouroboros." It is an incredibly telling detail, as it comes from Egyptian iconography depicting a serpent consuming itself.

This book covers the "Ouroboros" in precise detail (book link here: https://www.amazon.com/Conceptions-God-Ancient-Egypt-Many/dp/0801483840) about Ouroboros representing the amorphous disorder that perforates and envelops our "orderly" world and, in a perverted twist of duality, also represents the perpetual renewal of our world. How? It is built upon consuming ourselves through self-destruction and how that happens in a dynamic variety of ways, manners, and forms.

BONUS: Lena says to her class...

>"The cell we're looking at is from a tumor. Female patient, early thirties, taken from the cervix. Over the course of the next term, we will be closely examining cancer cells in-vitro and discussing autophagic activity."

The term "autophagy" comes from the Ancient Greek "αὐτόφαγος/autóphagos", which translates to "self-devouring." What else have we discussed that self-devours? An interesting question, but I slightly digress.

This is not to imply that the Egyptians knew of other worlds or life forms. It's to imply this self-consuming infinite cycle is unbreakable and almost feels tangible when looking at the world from a certain angle.

And looking from a certain angle is this film. It's an intrinsic and tangible portion of us (cancer, failed relationship, a daughter's passing and the blame shouldered, a woman seeking to fill an existential void...) and our unique self-destruction that the aliens are replicating at their peak function. It's why the Bear is screaming in Sheppard's voice. It captured her final cries from her voice box, as opposed to her brain. This choice is intentional. It demonstrates that our tendency to existentially implode is hard-wired in an almost hereditary manner.

Everyone shares some tragedy or internal crisis that propels us toward our own annihilation. We struggle to feel worthy of existence itself and that is so strong, it is passed onto a life-form capable of manifesting it with literal and objective corporeality.

In the very end, bullets cannot challenge the adapting creature's existence because it is mimicking humanity. It only falls after it takes it's own life and it's own submissive existence is forced to expunge itself unto Lena. It tries aggressively and cannot succeed. It only succeeds when it gives into it's own destruction and "perfectly adapts", so to speak.

To summarize? It essentially adapts flawlessly, as it is a clearly advanced species, but it adapts to a part of our humanity, which can only be expressed with physical distinction, that is the absolute worst flaw.

>Ventress: Then, as a psychologist, I'd say you're confusing suicide with self-destruction. Almost none of us commit suicide... and almost all of us self-destruct. In some way, in some part of our lives, we drink, or we smoke. We destabilize the good job. Or the happy marriage. These aren't decisions, they're... they're impulses. In fact, you're probably better equipped to explain this than I am.

>Lena: What does that mean?

>Ventress, after scoffing: You're a biologist. Isn't self-destruction coded into us? Programmed into each cell?

The sound of a loud, brief, and sharp interruption is heard in the distance...

>Lena: What was that?

>Ventress: Don't know.

Look at the answers from anyone potentially influenced by the Alien. They offer that they "don't know" or show doubt when discussing what has happened, from a soldier to a qualified biologist. Is Ventress? I don't know but her understanding leads to the alien coming closer to the realization that self-destruction is humanity's strongest internal (and perhaps repressed) drive so it takes several transfers, duplications, and even assimilation to finally reach this conclusion and it profoundly changes the alien and normalizes it into the human hierarchy. It has adapted to our instinctual low-humming of how we must expire with finality to inch forward to do it once more.

The alien effectively becomes a living, breathing, and physically existing manifestation of self-destruction. The movie argues that perhaps we are as well, which is why everything is normal at the end (When Kane and Lena reunite and are totally unsure of their own identities) except for "shimmers" (yeah, heard "shimmer" before?) in the eyes of both Kane and Lena. We, as people, "don't know" because Lena encounters a mimicking shadow of ourselves that refuses to let her leave even though it mimics her. No, not mimics her... It's her self-defeating effigy. That instinct to collapse within ourselves comes full circle and the serpent eats once more.

Amor fati, my friend. Just my two cents.

BONUS: Absolutely enormous allegorical moment when Lena reads The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks within the film in a flashback. A hint is "HeLa cells." ;)

Hello! Sorry if I killed your buzz about the book. :(

Sadly, Budge is horribly outdated. He was outdated back in his day already, to be quite honest. I'm talking about all aspects of his work, especially the linguistic/theological sides, which are arguably the most important when it comes to interpreting Egyptian sources. Much of his translations aren't careful or precise. He left much interpretation to his own biases, for instance, when translating the negative confessions, which is a part of the book where the deceased affirms that he did not commit certain acts which were unworthy of his going to the afterlife. For instance, something along the lines of (sorry, haven't for the reference books with me atm) translating "I have not coupled with a woman-boy" as "I am not a homosexual". The Egyptian views were almost always completely different from our own, and his translation reeks of his own english morality. It's just...fishy.

Budge was a head figure from the times when European archaeologists would go to Egypt and steal as much as they could. He damaged invaluable pieces in order to smuggle them.

Not just his character as a cheater, he was also such a prolific writer that much of his work went bad even as he wrote it. The quantity of books he wrote is unbelievable; the quality leaves to be desired, probably greatly due to the fact he was more interested in becoming famous and selling as much as he could. His methods were flawed from research on.

He does have a merit in popularising Egyptology, though. I don't hate him or anything, and you can read his book without worrying of remaining completely ignorant about Egypt (I mean, it's still something, even if outdated), but rest assured much of his info will have been corrected by now. Just know you're dealing with outdated material. That is especially so if you're in a more academic setting, which probably isn't your case, if you picked it up as a hobby thing.

If I may, as I'm hoping to correct myself from the buzz kill, I'd like to suggest this translation instead (sorry for lack of formatting, I'm on mobile): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811864898/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1405885789&sr=8-1 :)