Egypt: Pharaonic Period (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Egypt: Pharaonic Period Judith Lynn Sebesta Alessia Fassone and Enrico Ferraris. Egypt: Pharaonic Period. Dictionaries of Civilization. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007. Pp. 384. $24.95 (pb.). ISBN 978-0-520-25648-4. Written by two Egyptologists, this volume is a beautifully illustrated pocket reference for the traveler. Its compact size makes it very easy to pack for a day outing. The dictionary would also provide useful background information to college students in a course on the history of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, or, perhaps, in a course on women in antiquity or ancient literature that includes a unit on Egypt. Covering the pharaonic period through the last dynasty (Dynasty 30) of Egyptian kings, its contents are arranged under the headings of "People," "State and Society," "Religion and Science," "Daily Life," "The World of the Dead," "Sites and Monuments," and "The History of Egyptology." Each of these seven categories contains a number of entries. Each entry has a short introductory text about 250 words long; a sidebar giving more in-depth information or chronology, bibliography, and related entries; and a number of illustrations, with statements that identify the work of art or architecture and its location. These illustrations frequently have brief "callouts" connected by "arrows" to specific details of the illustration. For example, the section "State and Society" has entries on the pharaoh, names of the king, symbols of power, priesthood, scribes and officials, soldiers and the army, foreigners, and court artists. The topic "Pharaoh" is illustrated by three photos. The third of these, showing the sphinx, has three callouts; one identifies the Dream Stele of Thutmose IV, the second paraphrases the stele's inscription, and the third points out the significance of the role of the king's acts of restoration in terms of cosmic harmony. [End Page 126] As this dictionary is a summary, it does not go into details of the changes in Egyptian culture over the millennia. The entry on "Women" points out the legal rights that women possessed, but does not go into detail about the different religious roles women had in the Old Kingdom, as compared to the role of the god's wife of the New Kingdom and later periods. Nonetheless, the book covers many topics of Egyptian life; for example, under "Daily Life," in addition to the entry on "Women," it covers village organization, agriculture and peasants, commerce, livestock, animals and plants, hunting and fishing, food, servants, home and family, artisans, eroticism and seduction, entertainment, aesthetics and style, and glass and faience. All illustrations and diagrams are reproduced clearly. Though this is a thick book, its binding allows the reader to press the book flat enough to see all details of an illustration that covers two pages. While a number of illustrations are of objects frequently included in exhibition catalogues and other volumes on Egypt, there pictures of some objects not so frequently illustrated, e.g., a frieze showing symbols of power, storehouses from the funerary temple of Ramses II, and a wall painting of a sem priest. The last section of the book, "References," contains maps of Egypt, a chronology through Dynasty 30, a short glossary, a descriptive list of world museums with major Egyptian holdings, a general index, a bibliography, and a list of photographic references. The bibliography contains recent texts that are easily available, but also older articles and books that still offer valuable information. While the general index lists each entry of the seven categories, it does not list any of the symbols, mentioned in the glossary, that were important in Egyptian art and culture. For example, it would be helpful to know where in this volume a uraeus or pylon is illustrated. Visually appealing, inexpensive, and extremely portable, any traveler to Egypt should carry this vade mecum. [End Page 127] Judith Lynn Sebesta The University of South Dakota Copyright © 2009 The Classical Association of the Atlantic States, Inc.