"No land can lay claim to such a chronicle of mystical & occult thought as Egypt, the mother of magic," wrote Lewis Spence in his outstanding study of that ancient civilization's mysterious rituals & customs. His extraordinary work reveals to today's readers the significance of these rites & traditions, many of which have lived on long after the decline of ancient Egyptian culture. Spence's superb work covers a vast amount of scholarship—from the early origins of mystical observances & beliefs in immortality, to ideas about the transmigration of the soul, the rites of rebirth, & related philosophies in ancient Greek, Hindu & Roman rituals. Instructions for mortals on how to reach the Otherworld & prepare for a more exalted life after death are described, as are the mysterious rites practiced within Egyptian temples, the initiation ceremonies of the priesthood, the transplantation of these sacred beliefs to other cultures & their surviving vestiges. Scholars, students & interested readers of ancient Egyptian literature, language or culture will welcome this classic compilation.
