Magic in Ancient Egypt
1994
First Published
3.98
Average Rating
192
Number of Pages
The Egyptians were famous in the ancient world for their knowledge of magic. Religion, medicine, technology, and what we would call magic coexisted without apparent conflict, and it was not unusual for magical and "practical" remedies for illness, for example, to be used side by side. Everyone resorted to magic, from the pharaoh guarding his country with elaborate magical rituals to the expectant mother wearing amulets to safeguard her unborn child. In this book, Geraldine Pinch examines the connections between myth and magic and the deities—such as the goddess Isis, and the protective lion-demon Bes—who had special magical importance. She discusses the techniques of magic, its practitioners, and the surviving magical texts, as well as the objects that were used in figurines, statues, amulets, and wands. She devotes a chapter to medicine and magic and one to magic and the dead. Finally, Dr. Pinch shows how elements and influences from Egyptian magic survived in or were taken up by later societies, right down to our own century.
Avg Rating
3.98
Number of Ratings
126
5 STARS
32%
4 STARS
40%
3 STARS
22%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
1%
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Author
Geraldine Pinch
Author · 3 books
Geraldine is a British author and Egyptologist. She taught Egyptology at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and has written books on Ancient Egypt for adults and children. Her latest book, `The Diary of a Woman Scorned' is a dark comedy about divorce, murder and flower-painting. She also writes Fantasy Fiction under the name of Geraldine Harris.
