Osiris, Horus, Isis, Thoth, Anubis - these, and the many other Egyptian gods and goddesses, are strange and complex figures who seem to possess endless fascination. In this study of the ancient Egyptians' conceptions of god, Erik Hornung, one of the most distinguished Egyptologists of our day, bases his account on a thorough reappraisal of the primary sources. His book, now available for the first time in an English translation, is the most extensive exploration yet undertaken of the nature of Egyptian religion. Hornung examines the characteristics, spheres of action, and significance of Egyptian gods and goddesses, analysing the complex and changing iconography used to represent them, and disentangling the many apparently contradictory aspects of the religion of which they are a part. The two basic questions which concern him are: How did the Egyptians themselves see their gods? Did they believe there was an impersonal, anonymous force behind the multiplicity of their deities? He evokes the complexity and richness of the religion of the ancient Egyptians and of their unique view of the world. The book will be of special appeal to anyone interested in ancient Egypt, in ancient religion, and in the history of religion, as well as to students and scholars of ancient history, anthropology and archaeology. Translated by John Baines, Professor of Egyptology in the University of Oxford, this edition has been expanded and updated with an English-language readership in mind.

Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many

Hornung, Erik

Taylor & Francis Books Ltd

History of Ancient Egypt: Translated by David Lorton

This work offers a chronological history of the civilization of ancient Egypt from its foundation some 5000 years ago to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE. It includes a look at the nature and evolution of the Egyptians' at times iconoclastic relations with their complex deities, and the burial practices associated with them; their sophisticated government and administration; the building and import of the pyramids and temples; and their frequently warlike relations with the Hittites, Libyans, Babylonians, Syrians and Nubians.

History

Ancient Civilizations

Edinburgh University Press

This is a vivid chronological history of the civilization of ancient Egypt from its foundation some 5000 years ago to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE - effectively the first half of written human history. It is based on Professor Hornung's unrivalled knowledge of archaeological and documentary evidence, and provides as straightforward a story as the varied nature and extent of that evidence allows. The book opens with a consideration of the prehistoric origins of humans ettlement of the Nile valley. Following radical climatic change nomads, cattle-breeders and farmers, Africans and Asiatics, Semites and Hamites, came together in the two lands of the Upper and the Lower Nile. There the differentiated unity of ancient Egypt emerged and under the kings of the first two dynasties developed its characteristic high culture. Successive chapters are then devoted to the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, and to the late Period, in which the histories and varied fortunes of 28 dynasties are succinctly told. The author describes the nature and evolution of the Egyptians' at times iconoclastic relations with their complex deities, and the burial practices associated with them; their sophisticated government and administration; the building and import of the pyramids and temples; and their frequently warlike relations with the Hittites, Libyans, Babylonians, Syrians and Nubians. First published in German and long regarded as the most authoritative concise account, History of Ancient Egypt has been revised and updated by the author for the English edition.

History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction

From our vantage point ancient Egyptian civilization, with its strictly hierarchic organization, can appear static through its three-thousand-year history. In his concise and authoritative introduction to that distant culture, a renowned Egyptologist reveals the turbulent events beneath the rigid facade. Erik Hornung begins his account by taking a brief look at the prehistoric era in Egypt. He then focuses on political events during the period beginning with the reign of Menes and closing with the conquest by Alexander the Great. Building on insights drawn from the civilization's surviving texts and monuments, he also describes significant cultural developments, such as changes in burial customs and the building of the Great Pyramids and Sun Temples.
Originally published in German, this important and highly useful survey has been revised throughout for its publication in English. In addition, the English version features over fifty illustrations, an updated bibliography, a glossary, and a chronological table.

Religion & Spirituality

Cornell University Press

Ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in books that were to be discovered more than two millennia later in royal tombs. Erik Hornung, the world's leading authority on these religious texts, surveys what is known about them today.The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the Book of the Dead, which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the Books of the Netherworld. Hornung looks closely at these latter works, while summarizing the contents of the Book of the Dead and other widely studied examples of the genre. For each composition, he discusses the history of its ancient transmission and its decipherment in modern times, supplying bibliographic information for any text editions. He also seeks to determine whether this literature as a whole presents a monolithic conception of the afterlife. The volume features many drawings from the books themselves―drawings that illustrate the nocturnal course of the sun god through the realm of the dead.Originally published in German and now available in a fluid English translation, this volume offers an accessible and enlightening introduction to a central element of ancient Egyptian religion.

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife

Americas

Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, was king of Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty and reigned from 1375 to 1358 B.C. E. Called the "religious revolutionary," he is the earliest known creator of a new religion. The cult he founded broke with Egypt's traditional polytheism and focused its worship on a single deity, the sun god Aten. Erik Hornung, one of the world's preeminent Egyptologists, here offers a concise and accessible account of Akhenaten and his religion of light.
Hornung begins with a discussion of the nineteenth-century scholars who laid the foundation for our knowledge of Akhenaten's period and extends to the most recent archaeological finds. He emphasizes that Akhenaten's monotheistic theology represented the first attempt in history to explain the entire natural and human world on the basis of a single principle. "Akhenaten made light the absolute reference point," Hornung writes, "and it is astonishing how clearly and consistently he pursued this concept." Hornung also addresses such topics as the origins of the new religion; pro-found changes in beliefs regarding the afterlife; and the new Egyptian capital at Akhetaten which was devoted to the service of Aten, his prophet Akhenaten, and the latter's family.

Akhenaten and the Religion of Light

Alchemy, astrology, and other secret sciences have Egyptian roots, and films, popular fiction, and comic books frequently draw upon Egyptian themes. Rosicrucianism, Mormonism, and Afrocentrism all share Egyptian-derived elements. Modern-day esoteric endeavors find an endlessly renewable intellectual reservoir in ancient Egyptian culture, Erik Hornung believes, and are almost inconceivable without Egypt. Although such persistence assures Egyptosophical ideas an extraordinarily widespread impact, the field of Egyptology has largely overlooked this phenomenon.
In The Secret Lore of Egypt, Hornung traces the influence of the esoteric image of Egypt, especially as it is manifested by the god Thoth, on European intellectual history since antiquity and finds it reasserted even today in the United States. From Gnostic writings and Romantic poetry to Freemasonry and the Theosophist movement, Egyptian deities re-emerge in ever-surprising guises. Since ancient times, Egypt has been associated with esoteric practices and beliefs and regarded as the source of all secret knowledge―an association that, Hornung says, is only loosely connected with historical reality.

The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West

Osiris, Horus, Isis, Thoth, Anubis - the many strange and compelling figures of the Egyptian gods and goddesses seem to possess endless fascination. The renowned Egyptologist Erik Hornung here studies the ancient Egyptians' conceptions of god, basing his account on a thorough reappraisal of the primary sources. His book, now available in English for the first time, is the most extensive exploration yet undertaken of the nature of Egyptian religion.
Hornung examines the characteristics, spheres of action, and significance of Egyptian gods and goddesses, analyzing the complex and changing iconography used to represent them, and disentangling the many seemingly contradictory aspects of the religion of which they are a part. He seeks to answer two basic questions: How did the Egyptians themselves see their gods? Did they believe there was an impersonal, anonymous force behind the multiplicity of their deities? Throughout, he attempts to evoke the complexity and richness of the religion of the ancient Egyptians and of their worldview, which differs so greatly from our own.
A work of extraordinary distinction, Hornung’s book will appeal to anyone interested in ancient Egypt, in ancient religion, and in the history of religion, as well as students and scholars of ancient history, anthropology, and archaeology. Sensitively translated by John Baines and with a new preface by the author, this edition has been amplified and updated with an English-language audience in mind.

Ancient Egyptians held a rich and complex vision of the afterlife and codified their beliefs in books that were to be discovered more than two millennia later in royal tombs. Erik Hornung, the world's leading authority on these religious texts, surveys what is known about them today.
The contents of the texts range from the collection of spells in the Book of the Dead, which was intended to offer practical assistance on the journey to the afterlife, to the detailed accounts of the hereafter provided in the Books of the Netherworld. Hornung looks closely at these latter works, while summarizing the contents of the Book of the Dead and other widely studied examples of the genre. For each composition, he discusses the history of its ancient transmission and its decipherment in modern times, supplying bibliographic information for any text editions. He also seeks to determine whether this literature as a whole presents a monolithic conception of the afterlife. The volume features many drawings from the books themselves―drawings that illustrate the nocturnal course of the sun god through the realm of the dead.
Originally published in German and now available in a fluid English translation, this volume offers an accessible and enlightening introduction to a central element of ancient Egyptian religion.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hornung, Erik. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hornung, Erik

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hornung, Erik. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many

History of Ancient Egypt: Translated by David Lorton

History of Ancient Egypt: Translated by David Lorton

History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife

Akhenaten and the Religion of Light

The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West

Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many

History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction

The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife