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Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt Paperback – January 31, 2017

by Richard H. Wilkinson (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 938 ratings
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A comprehensive guide to the deities of ancient Egypt: their origins and their central role in the lives of the Egyptian people

Worshipped for over three-fifths of recorded history, Egypt’s gods and goddesses are among the most fascinating of human civilization. The lives of pharaohs and commoners alike were dominated by the need to honor, worship, and pacify the huge pantheon of deities, from the benevolent to the malevolent. The richness and complexity of their mythology is reflected in countless tributes throughout Egypt, from lavish tomb paintings and imposing temple reliefs to humble household shrines.

This book examines the evolution, worship, and eventual decline of the numerous gods and goddesses―from minor household figures such as Bes and Tawaret to the all-powerful deities Amun and Re―that made Egypt the most theocratic society of the ancient world, and made Egyptians, according to Herodotus, “more religious than any other people.”

Now available in paperback, with hundreds of illustrations and specially commissioned drawings, this title remains the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to the deities that lay at the heart of Egyptian religion and society.

338 illustrations
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Thames & Hudson
  4. Publication date
    January 31, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    7.7 x 0.9 x 10.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0500284245
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0500284247
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Offers a comprehensive and wonderfully presented organized survey of the religious beliefs of the time. Definitely a must for anyone―scholar or lay person―interested in the topic. The visuals (both photos and illustrations) are awe-inspiring and well chosen. Highly recommended."
― DIG

About the Author

Richard H. Wilkinson is Regents’ Professor of Egyptian Archaeology Emeritus and Founding Director of the Egyptian Expedition at the University of Arizona.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson; Reprint edition (January 31, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0500284245
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0500284247
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 0.9 x 10.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 938 ratings

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Richard H. Wilkinson

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
938 global ratings
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5 Stars
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This book is incredible! It is absolutely beautiful to look at and flip through and offers so much information and images. Highly recommend!
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Top reviews from the United States

sheila williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and informative
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2024
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Love this. Great informative work! Thank you!
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DP
5.0 out of 5 stars Expansive
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023
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I've always had an interest in Egyptian Theology and Mythology and that is what lead me to this book. I found it in the bibliography of a Ptah article I read. It's extremely well written, categorized and explanatory. It gives me an overview of the multiple deities of Ancient Egypt with a good reference for future learning.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Book in excellent condition and received it 3 days after ordering it!
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023
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Book in excellent condition and received it 3 days after ordering it! In much better shape than advertised and arrived far sooner than expected. Thank you very much!
One person found this helpful
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Stalones
5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of illustrations!
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
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This was received in an excellent condition. The book is informative and has many excellent illustrations some color some B&W. It is a proper textbook with citations and further reading. It is in a narrative format rather than a pure encyclopedia style.
4 people found this helpful
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Amadna Dempster
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive!
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2022
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This book is incredible! It is absolutely beautiful to look at and flip through and offers so much information and images. Highly recommend!
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Amadna Dempster
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive!
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2022
This book is incredible! It is absolutely beautiful to look at and flip through and offers so much information and images. Highly recommend!
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12 people found this helpful
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Michael Gunther
4.0 out of 5 stars A Plethora of Deities
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2004
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Richard Wilkinson's latest book (he has previously written "Reading Egyptian Art," "Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art," and "The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt") presents the reader with an impressive selection of all the major gods and goddesses, and many of the minor ones, of ancient Egypt. Although hardly "complete" in the technical sense (Wilkinson discusses "only" 500 of Egypt's 1500 or so deities, and much more could be said about the ones he does discuss), the book is fairly "complete" in a practical sense: most gods that most readers want to look up, will get at least a brief mention. For example, you will find here the 24 Hours of the Day and Night, 12 (of 21) Gates of the Underworld, all 42 Gods of Judgement, and all 42 (hmm... there's that number again!) Nome Deities.
The book begins with twelve brief essays (4-6 pages each) on Egyptian religion, covering such topics as creation myths, manifestations of divinity, temple and popular worship, and divine kingship. The essays are thoughtful, informative, and up-to-date with current scholarship. I wish they had been longer, because they deserve to be expanded at greater length than the book allocates to them.
The rest of the book, some 180 pages, is devoted to a "Catalogue of Deities," organized by biological shape (anthropomorphic male and female, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and inanimate objects). This is a great idea, but it could have been taken even further. A visual index of shapes would make lookup much easier, and would only take an additional page or two. A name index is, of course, provided. Why not give a hieroglyphic index as well?
Going to the individual entries, Wilkinson generally provides information about the mythology, iconography, and worship of each deity. The deities are generously illustrated, with line drawings and photographs. Again, I would wish that many of these entries could be expanded, both in terms of discussion and in terms of visual iconography. This is not a criticism of Wilkinson; it just reflects the practical limitations of the book.
To summarize, Wilkinson's "Gods and Goddesses" is a very well-written, thoughtful, accurate, beautifully produced and illustrated reference on the religion of ancient Egypt. In terms of coverage it is somewhere between a handbook and an encyclopedia. I am very glad to have it in its present form, and I only wish that it had been much longer, since it is clear that Wilkinson has more to say about this subject than could fit into the covers of the present book. I would gladly pay double the price to have a truly complete encyclopedia of Egypt's gods from this author.
205 people found this helpful
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Artemesia
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Read but Packed with up-to-date Details
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2007
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I agree with the other reviewers - beautifully illustrated, mostly in full color. It is comprehensive yet particularly the first half of the book is easy to read in it's entirety. The first part of the book covers general concepts of Egyptian Religion and the deities. The second covers individual deities in detail.

I had been looking for a book on Ancient Egyptian religion and deities which was neither outdated in its ideas, nor sterile or boring, nor full of fluff, nor overwhelmed with dense detail, nor assumed detailed prior knowledge of anthropology, archeology or African/Near Eastern history and religion. This book is it. It is beautifully clear and explains how Egyptian views of each deity changed over time. It clearly presents for each deity what syncretism occurred (merging with other gods or the adoption of other gods' attributes) with time. It contains some of the most recent thinking on how the Egyptians might have viewed their own deities. My only minor negative would be that there are no references or footnotes in the text itself for the expert. However, within the body of the text, the author does mention which academics advanced which important concepts and coupled with the extensive and detailed bibliography arranged by subject matter at the end of the book, this minor gripe is assuaged.

The binding and quality of the book, its print, and illustrations are beautiful - it would make a lovely gift for someone.

Easy to read for both the beginner and the non-beginner in this area, but full of crystal clear detail for one who wants a good reference book even for more advanced students of religion.
103 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Chris G
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated book on Egypt...love it! Love it
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a very good quality beautiful book on Egypt. For anybody who's curious about the subject like myself, or planning to visit the country, this is a great pre-read. I keep it on my coffee table and occasionally look at it, it's just a very beautiful and well-presented book.
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Frere D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Très beau livre en anglais
Reviewed in France on November 7, 2023
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Très beau livre en anglais avec beaucoup d’illustrations
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Frere D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Très beau livre en anglais
Reviewed in France on November 7, 2023
Très beau livre en anglais avec beaucoup d’illustrations
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History guy
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
Reviewed in Germany on May 16, 2021
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Easy to read with many images to help you visualize. Highly recommend.
One person found this helpful
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Franz Fassbender
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book
Reviewed in India on April 17, 2019
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An interesting inexpensive book
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Steve Hammond
5.0 out of 5 stars A manageable listing of the gods.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2018
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I bought this book looking for a fairly comprehensive collection of Ancient Egypt's major deities. Ancient Egypt had some 2000 plus gods/demi-gods/supernatural beings so a true comprehensive list in a single book is nigh on impossible.

With that in mind this book is comprehensive as is sanely possible. I have known the major gods well enough (Anubis, Amun, Re, Thoth, Seth, Horus, to name a few examples) but wanted to know about much more minor gods which this book definitely delivered, it also includes those few foreign gods who became excepted into the Egyptian pantheon.

It has a great deal of information on Egyptian religious concepts (such as the underworld, the relationship between the king and the gods, the combination of gods into composite deities etc) and mythology but anyone buying this hoping to read complete mythological tales may be disappointed though relevant tales are alluded to for the appropriate deity. The books main concern is listing the gods.

Gods are listed into different categories based on their most common appearance. It is broken into Male Anthropomorphic gods, Female Anthropomorphic gods, Mammalian gods (cats, dogs, etc), Avian god, Reptile/amphibian/fish gods, invertebrate gods and finally inanimate objects. It also briefly talks about "demi-gods" such as "demons" and (as mentioned earlier) composite gods (Eg. Amun-re).

The book is lavishly illustrated with beautiful photos and drawings though I often found the minor gods were not usually illustrated which was my main frustration, luckily google usually helps out in that regard though even a small drawing of each would have been nice, though, I understand the need for space on the page.

If I were to have any complaints it would be the author's preference for Greek names of Pharaohs (Amenophis rather than Amenhotep) and some gods (Mnevis bull rather than Mer-Wer) if I am learning about Egyptian gods then I would rather know the Egyptian name than the Greek. Luckily Wilkinson does usually give the Egyptian name as well though I personally would have preferred it being the dominant reference.

Other than that I loved the book, it has opened up my understanding of Ancient Egypt even further. I still have far more questions than answers, such is the depth of Ancient Egyptian history and religion. I would recommend it to anyone with a sincere interest in the subject though for those whose interest is more casual they may find much of it overwhelming especially with no prior knowledge of Egyptian history.

I shall be referring to this book thoroughly in the future, I'm certain of that.
46 people found this helpful
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