Bøger af Ezra Ivanov

THE PYRAMID TEXTSThe king offers an offering! Anubis gives the offering! From the highlands come to thee your thousand young antelope with bowed heads. What a gift!Anubis gives this offering! Thank you for your thousand loaves! Thank you for your thousand beers! From the palace hall, you sent forth a thousand incenses! Everything pleasant in thy thousand! There are a thousand cattle in your herd! Everything thou eatest you eat in a thousand, on which thy desire is set!In addition to his work on the Berlin dictionary, Sethe's most significant contribution to Egyptology was an edition of hand-copied hieroglyphs, translations, and commentaries of all texts engraved in pyramids at the time. Sethe's edition has been the foundation of virtually every discussion of the readers of the pyramids: he is, in fact, the one who first named those texts, collectively, 'Pyramidentexten' - Pyramid Texts.For each verse of the pyramids' texts in Maspero's Les inscriptions des pyramides de Saqqarah, he provided a translation of its meaning based on his understanding of the funerary texts of later ages since there was nothing else with which to compare them. Due to their mysterious nature, Maspero's work was quite subtle, but one which he readily acknowledged was primarily based on intuition derived from extensive studies of ancient Egypt and its religion.

SPHINX OF GIZAMany mysteries surround the Sphinx. Many tourists are confused by the Giza sand as they trudge through it. They wonder why there is such a big fuss about this dusty knoll. Many Egyptologists agree with this statement since, unlike the three enormous pyramids that stand upon the plateau above and where the tombs of pharaohs are. The Giza Sphinx is not known to have a function. This lion with a man's head was a powerful image in its day. Sphinxes and temples adjacent to the Sphinx at Giza were visited for prayers. As millennial models for later, more miniature sphinxes, the pose, workmanship, eye and ear shapes, proportions of its face, and headdress can be found on this statue. It was freed from drifting sands, and its eroding stone was restored at the command of pharaohs, emperors, and kings. Its outline was also written - a rare occurrence - on stelae upon which it was placed within a sort of hieroglyphic landscape: a great cat standing 240 feet high at the desert's edge, flanked by the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre and tended by phalanxes of priests. Later, after several millennia, the monstrous feline evolved wings and flew onto Dr. Freud's Hampstead desk via ancient Greece and neo-classical Vienna.In temples near the Great Giza Sphinx, hundreds of small stelae were dedicated by princes, courtiers, scribes, and their families. Approximately two feet high, it is sculpted from fine white limestone.

There are a lot of stories connected to ancient Egypt among the many nations of this world. Indeed, the history of this great nation contains many exciting elements, but what provides a better insight into ancient Egypt and its incredibly imaginative inhabitants is the mythology.At the center of ancient Egyptian culture, sacrifices and rituals were dedicated to enthralling gods in Egyptian mythology. Horus, Isis, and Osiris are but a few. With their far-reaching trade links, Egyptians could export their great religion and culture.The mythology in this eBook provides an insight into prehistoric Egyptian society, including the deities, the pharaohs, rites, sacrifices, and the mysterious "Book of the Dead."

As every growth of seed from seed is followed by destruction, so every birth of living flesh is followed by its death, and all that decays is regenerated by the measured courses of the gods circling in the heavens.-Hermetica: Libellus III, 4Spiritual practices are founded upon a liturgy that articulates their cosmology, philosophy, and metaphysical goals. The spiritual tradition of Egypt provides us with hundreds of examples of prayers, invocations, and litanies that were carefully recorded to be used in the Temple and tomb. In addition to these writings, the rubrics (instructions or rules) also explain how the liturgy should be used.In the extended history of ancient Egypt, liturgical programs rarely changed. They were honored for their veracity, correctness, and power, as the ceremonial acts performed in temples and tombs were said to date back to antiquity. According to this belief, the walls of each temple record the liturgies, the daily, and seasonal festivals, and the historical antecedents or founding events of each individual Neter's sanctuary.At Edfu, the legendary Imhotep, a sage and healer in Dynasty 3, presided over the founding ceremony of the Temple. A morning litany is also inscribed in the hall of appearances, sung by the kheneru each day to open the Temple. Holy days are recorded on calendars at Karnak, Esna, and Abydos to be observed. Overall, the timing, location, and acts responsible for spiritually maintaining the Temple determined its activity throughout the ages.Using the solar calendar in conjunction with the following liturgy can create an annual cycle of twelve ceremonies (lru). The monthly observances are based on an orderly solar cosmogony of Heliopolis. Each Neter comprises twelve different rites (Khesu) that reflect the ancient Temple's proper protocol. Consequently, they contribute to developing a conscious, vital interface among the human, divine, and natural realms. Each of the Iru ceremonies includes the standard Khesu rites.In addition, each ceremony includes a festival to honor the specific powers of the Neter of the season (Hebu). Depending on the time and resources available to the modern Temple, these observances may be tailored to fit the occasion.