EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Objectives:
1. Characterize Egyptian Literature
2. Trace the historical background of Egyptian Literature
3. Enumerate and identify the different forms of Egyptian Literature
4. Discuss religious literature
5. Find pleasure in reading their literary pieces
INTRODUCTION
Egypt
Official Name : Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital : Cairo
Population : 54.6 million (2001)
Currency : Egyptian Pound
Official Language :Arabic
Occupying the northeast corner of Africa, Egypt is bisected by the highly fertile Nile
valley which separates its arid western desert from the smaller semi-arid eastern
desert. Egypts 1979 peace treaty with Israel brought security, the return of the Sinai,
and large injections of U.S. aid. Its essentially pro-Western military-backed regime is
now being challenged by an increasingly influential Islamic fundamentalist movement.
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
The religious literature of ancient Egypt includes hymns to the gods, mythological and
magical texts, and extensive collection of mortuary texts. The range of secular
literature includes stories; instructive literature, known as wisdom text; poems;
biographical and historical texts; and scientific treatises, including mathematical and
medical texts. Notable also are the many legal, administrative, and economic texts and
private documents such as letters, although not actually literature.
The individual authors of several compositions dating from the Old Kingdom and the
Middle Kingdom were revered in later periods. They came from the educated class of
upper-level government officials, and their audience was largely educated people like
themselves.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A. Old Kingdom- Very few literary texts survived from the Old Kingdom. Among the
most important works of the period were: Pyramid texts which include nonliterary
and highly poetic spells; Cannibal texts , a vivid bits of poetry representing the dead
King attaining power in the afterlife by devouring the gods; and the Proverbs of
Ptahotep, a book of sound but worldly advice.
B. Middle Kingdom- This is the classic age of Egyptian literature which saw the
flourishing of works which became popular for hundreds of years. Among these are:
Tale of Senuhe, which relates the flight of a refugee courtier, Sinuhe, from Egypt to Syria
for political reasons, his life in exile and his homecoming; the Shipwrecked Sailor, a
simple folk tale of a sailor who meets an old fatherly serpent on an island; and King
Cheops and the Magicians, several folk tales given in a frame work story.
C. New Kingdom- During this period, the style of writing changed and the language of
the day was used, which brought forth a more natural manner of writing, replacing the
artificialities of the Middle Kingdom. Among the famous writings of this period were:
The Story of King Apohis and Sekenenre, which concerns war expelling the Hykos;
Voyage of Wenamon, a tale of an official sent to Lebanon for cedar wood; The Tale of
the Two Brothers; The Enchanted Prince; Hymn to the Sun, to name a few. The new
Kingdom saw increased concern over the dangers after death and many spells and
rituals were composed for use of the dead.
D. Late Period- The literature of the late period differs greatly from that of the earlier
times because it was written in demotic, the simplified egyptian language of that time.
Works like The Lamentations of Isis and Nephtys and Setna and The Magic Book
were popular during this period.
TYPES OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
Most of the Egyptian writings fall into one of the five types:
Wisdom literature, religious literature, tales, love lyrics,
and pessimistic literature.
RELIGIOUS LITERATURE
Religious literature predominates in Egypt. This is always the case when the
priest are the only persons who can write and make records and it is rare that
any secular literature survives from an early period. In Egypt, the earliest body of
texts that can be called literature is entirely religious and comprises a series of
hymns and spells sculptured on the walls of the burial chambers in the pyramids
of the five kings of the sixth dynasty.
These are known as the pyramid text. They have clearly been copied and
recopied so many times that often the language is too corrupt to be
comprehensible. It is however, possible to translate the greater part of the
inscription though many of the allusions are baffling.
The Pyramid Texts consist of hymns and spells for the benefit of the dead, and as
they are the earliest literary liturgy and exposition of religion in the world, they
throw a great light on the primitive beliefs and official creeds.
The knowledge of them was handed down undoubtedly by words of mouth
till the time of the 12th dynasty when many of the texts appear on the printed
and sculptured coffins of the period. These we now call the Coffin Texts. The
early spells occur in the interesting compilation to which the misleading title of
the Book of the Dead was given by early Egyptologists.
SOME OF THE SURVIVING LITERARY PIECES OF THE
EGYPTIANS
There are several books by E. W. Budge about this papyrus. But Faulkner's version is
better and more beautiful. And, considering the page after page of beautiful color pictures,
this paperback version is amazingly inexpensive. You may find yourself just sitting and
marveling at it for hours and hours, maybe years and years.
The Book of the Dead, the ceremonies, rituals and magic were all done in the hopes
that one could reach the Land of the West and a happy afterlife, filled with good things.
To live forever with the gods. To, once more, come forth by day as a living man would
awaken with the sun.
END