ePub Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt by Robert A. Armour in History

Review

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful bookBy DellaI really enjoy this book quite a lot. It gives a good survey of some of the most popular/interesting stories of ancient Egypt along with some of the most well-known gods and goddesses of that pantheon. What I especially like about this book is it doesn't treat ancient Egypt and her stories in a disrespectful or dismissive manner; like some books unfortunately do.The binding on this particular edition does break apart a little too easily for my taste. But the book is still worth having on your shelf if you love ancient Egypt.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. alrightBy devgood stories but not as in depth as I was looking for when it came to certain myths. He blended multiple stories of the same myth together which made question how close it was to the actual myth. Still interesting and I know a little more then I started off with.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Reader-friendly but not very substantialBy DAJI know this book is meant as a readable popular introduction to Egyptian mythology; so I don't expect it to be as detailed as a more scholarly book on the same subject. But I can't help thinking that it could still have been more thoughtful than it is. For instance; when it retells a myth; it doesn't say which elements of the myth came from which sources—even in the classic example; the Osiris myth; where it's fairly easy to point out the large chunk of material that comes from Plutarch's retelling of the story rather than from the disparate Egyptian sources. Armour doesn't consistently explain the symbolism that lies behind so many of the strange events in mythology. When he does so; he's just as likely to use the outdated interpretations of early 20th century scholars as to cite those whose work was current when he wrote the book.The book is organized into chapters on particular major gods; in which Armour describes the myths surrounding each deity; with less consistent coverage of how deities were worshipped. As a result; it does give a good impression of the character of each deity. In that regard; it resembles another book that was published around the same time; The Gods of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Watterson. There are chapters on the Ennead; Ra; Osiris and Isis; Horus; the conflict between Horus and Seth; Hathor; the Memphite Triad (Ptah; Sekhmet; and Nefertum); the Theban Triad (Amun; Mut; and Khonsu); Thoth and Maat; Anubis; and three fertility gods (Hapi; Khnum; and Min). The end matter includes a more thorough catalogue of Egyptian deities and a useful list of further reading.