My new book,
The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses, is now published and available worldwide.
246 pages packed with often obscure but always fascinating (and scrupulously researched) information about the greatest goddesses of ancient Egyptian religion. Also included: my own, original illustrations, maps, and other special features.
This book is indeed the product of over fifteen years of steady work, borne of a fascination at least twenty years older than
that.I am not a professional Egyptologist, and I make that quite clear in the preface of the book. As a professional researcher, however, I take pains to note the
incomparable contribution of those who have dedicated their lives to the exact science of Egyptology, slogging through years of work and unending piles of scholarly books in numerous languages, visiting the ancient Egyptian monuments themselves, and so forth.
I also take pains to note that
other, equally interested parties can also gain a unique measure of exactitude in regard to such study by (you guessed it!) slogging through unending piles of scholarly works in numerous languages, visiting the ancient monuments, and so forth.
Ancient Egypt and its heritage belong to the whole world, and not exclusively to an elite few, as Dr. Zahi Hawass has so rightfully noted. That being said, we need Egyptologists and we owe them the greatest of debts for their contributions.
Others can and do contribute, however, based upon hard work, intellect, and talent. I wrote this book from a probative research standpoint, utilizing only the most pertinent and exclusive scholarly sources emanating, primarily, from the French, German, English, and budding Spanish universities and "schools of thought" concerning ancient Egyptian mythology. These schools often disagree. Vehemently. There exists a vast "chasm of interpretation"--not about every single aspect of ancient Egypt, but about a great deal of it.
It was my goal, in this book, to gather, research, and assemble what can best be understood as the consensus of scholarly "facts" related to the scintillating goddesses of pharaonic Egypt. I also wanted to include, by virtue of deeper research efforts, information about the goddesses that is often overlooked, even in scholarly tomes. These are things that I, as a researcher and Egyptophile, wanted to know about:
Where, exactly, were these goddesses worshipped on the map of ancient Egypt?
How many temples did each have?
What influence did their cults have on the overall culture and economy?
In what way did their cults "compete" with those of the male divinities, etc.
In addition, I also wanted to include dozens of original illustrations--both interpretive and traditional, i.e. straight from the temple walls, as it were. And maps. And special surveys. The photographs in the book are mine, in addition to the illustrations.
Twenty years of persistent research went into this project, and I'm pleased to offer-it-up as the (hopefully) incisive popular work of a professional researcher, a proud
amateur Egyptologist, and an incorrigible Egyptophile. In such a context, research of this type can be quite complementary to the higher science, and Egyptology can benefit from the informed studies of those in the lay sector who might also, by virtue of unique perspectives and utilization of proper sources, fuel ongoing interest in ancient Egypt's wonders.
In this respect, I owe a debt of gratitude to a couple of fellow intrepid wanderers and authors named Kristan Lawson and Anneli Rufus.
Lawson and Rufus are writers who have had a great interest in ancient Euro-Mediterranean religious traditions. They're not specifically "professional" goddess-scholars (as I am not), but they
are highly professional researchers (like me) with experience and interest in the tracking-down of these matters...seekers of knowledge, and anyone can seek knowledge, and find it wherever it may be found. And then write about it.
Their book,
Goddess Sites, was published in the early 1990s by Harper San Francisco and I've rarely enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed that one. [I take that back: Rufus's
Magnificent Corpses was just as outstanding!] Lawson and Rufus crafted their book as a sort of ancient travel-guide, combining serious investigation of scholarly sources with extraordinary wit and beautifully accessible writing in their treatment of goddesses across Europe.
The book was, by turns, packed with fascinating, little-known facts, and hysterically funny, hip, and always dignified commentary.
That's what I appreciated most: the dignity on top of the humor on top of the excellent research of scientific sources, not to mention the pertinent sites themselves. The book by Rufus and Lawson was my inspiration for this new book in the sense that I said to myself, about fourteen years ago, "I want to write a book as well done and well researched and as funny as theirs, only about Egyptian goddesses, because Rufus and Lawson write like I write, and they've got my kind of smarts, my style of humor, and I like Isis better than Hera."
So I did it.
It took over fifteen years, but that's as it should be. The professional researcher of Egyptological data has far more to prove than the professional Egyptologist, which is also as it should be. Therefore, I hope that my work, like its inspiration--the excellent book by researchers Lawson and Rufus--will speak for itself. That's the way it
must be.
At $16.95 (US)
Intrepid Wanderer's Guide packs a punch, if I do say so myself (and I do!). Admirers of ancient Egyptian lore, history, culture, and religion will find much to savor that cannot easily be found in other books of this price and scope. That is my hope, at the very least.
This blog will be dedicated ot the book, but will also be home to an ongoing forum about ancient Egyptian religion in general. There'll be daily "fun facts" and any questions about ancient Egyptian religion will be welcomed and discussed in the comments section. I'll be checking quite often. Scholarly books and some of the better popular books about ancient Egypt will also be prominetly featured and discussed here. Feel free to join the discussion, no matter what level of interest you possess about the subject.
You can buy or order
The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses at any online bookstore (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Target, Best Buy, etc.) or from your local brick & mortar bookseller.
In the meantime, I look forward to hosting this blog and to hearing from any and all interested parties.
Best,
Zachary Gray
In the legends and spells that concern the Book of the Dead, a goddess named Ammut waited during the "Weighing of the Human Heart" for a less than desirable outcome. At the final judgment of the human soul in Duat, Anubis oversaw the scales that determined ultimate justice. If the feather of Maat (Truth) did not balance against the heart, the hapless deceased would find the goddess Ammut--with the mouth of a crocodile, spots of a leopard, and hindparts of a hippo--waiting to devour the soul.
