Table of Contents

• List of Hieroglyphic Passages
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• The Poems
  • Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun
  • The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor
  • "Why, just now, must you question your heart"
  • "I love you through the daytimes"
  • "My love is one and only"
  • "Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond"
  • "Love of you is mixed deep in my vitals"
  • "I think I'll go home and lie very still"
  • Songs of the Birdcatcher's Daughter
  • The Instruction for Little Pepi on His Way to School
  • Longing for Memphis
  • "Oh, I'm bound downstream on the Memphis Ferry"
  • Rebuke Addressed to a Dissipated Scribe
  • Menna's Lament
  • Thc Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul
  • The Resurrection of King Unis
  • Prayer to the King to Rise Up
  • Hymn to the King as a Primordial God
  • Hymn to the King as a Flash of Lightning
  • Prayer of the King as a Star Fading in the Dawn
  • The Prophecy of Neferty
  • The Testament of Amenemhat
  • Two Spells
    • Spell for Causing the Beloved to Follow After
    • Power from the Four Winds of Heaven
  • The Greatness of the King
  • Prayer of King Ramesses II
  • For a Portrait of the Queen
  • Hymn to Osiris
  • Hymn to the Nile
  • Hymn to the Rising Sun
  • In Praise of Amun
  • Lament to Amun
  • The Tale of Sinuhe
  • From The Leiden Hymns
  • The Prayers of Pahery
  • From the Tomb of King Intef
  • The Harper's Song for Inherkhawy
  • From The Eloquent Peasant
    • The Peasant's Eighth Complaint
  • From The Maxims of Ptahhotep
  • The Instructionfor Merikarê
  • The Wisdom of Amenemopet
  • The Immortality of Writers (Epilogue)
• Chronology
• Glossary
• Sources of the Texts
• Bibliography

About the Author

John L. Foster was a Research Associate at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, where he studied, translated, and wrote about ancient Egyptian literature from 1966 until his death in 2011.

Reviews

This exceptional sampling of one of the world's most ancient literatures offers more than 40 hymns, stories, prayers, and songs revolving around religion, the Pharaohs, life, death, love, and more. The literary translation presents a critical reading of the ancient texts rather than a strict literal rendering. We do not know for certain how to pronounce the language as it was spoken 3000 to 4000 years ago, but Foster (research associate, Oriental Inst., Chicago) includes a number of poems in their original hieroglyphs, adding an exotic touch. The introduction to ancient Egyptian literature, as well as information about the authorship and chronology of each selection, helps to place the works in context. An excellent glossary explains many of the ancient concepts for the modern reader, who will discover that the splendor of Pharaonic visual art of which we know and see plenty has its parallel in literature. Highly recommended for all literary collections, this is also of interest to comprehensive collections of Egyptology, Near Eastern history, world literature in translation, and religion. Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.