The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses

My new book, The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses, is now published and available worldwide.

About the new book: 246 pages packed with often obscure but hopefully 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 great men and women 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 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 Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, 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. 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 can exist a vast "chasm of interpretation"--not about every single aspect of ancient Egypt, but often 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" (if at all) 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.

In reality, many 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 research 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. Rufus and Lawson 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--Anneli Rufus's Magnificent Corpses was just as marvelous. Buy it on Amazon!]. Lawson and Rufus crafted their goddess-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 female deities across Europe.

Their 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 actually 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 seem intrepid, they write like I write, they've got my style of humor, and I like Isis better than Hera."

So there you have it.

It took some time to finish the book, 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 Rufus and Lawson--will speak for itself. That's the way it must be.

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 desire, at the very least. My blog will be dedicated to the book, but will hopefully be an ongoing forum about ancient Egyptian religion in general.

On the book's official site/blog, there'll be "fun facts" and any questions about ancient Egyptian religion will be welcomed and discussed in the comments section therein. 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.

Feel free to join the discussion, no matter what level of interest you possess about ancient Egyptian goddesses.In the meantime, I look forward to hosting this blog and trust that readers will enjoy The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses.

Best,

Zachary Gray

DID YOU KNOW? Taweret the Mighty

The goddess Taweret, in her hippopotamus-form, was one of Ancient Egypt's most popular goddesses. The people of the Nile recognized the protective power of the wild mother-hippo for her offspring and believed that such power could be harnessed via worship of Taweret. As a result the goddess was beloved by human mothers, invoked against the dangers of childbirth and household crisis.

This goddess was not only revered in the home; Taweret owned a cult-temple from at least Dynasty XXIII in the Fayyum Region (Wilbour Papyrus) and, as "Opet," she was an important Osirian goddess in her little temple near the 'House of Khonsu' at Karnak.

To learn more about this goddess and other greats, order The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses from Amazon...click on a book cover-link to the right.

The Intrepid Wanderer's Guide to Ancient Egyptian Goddesses

~Ancient Egypt's 21 Most Important Goddesses, Fully Profiled and Examined

~A Comprehensive Survey of the Chief Goddess Cult-Centers of Ancient Egypt

~Dozens of Lavish, Original Illustrations and Photographs~Illustrative Maps of the Goddess-Territories

~Temple Customs, Rites, and Locations Explored

~A Gallery of Other Chief Egyptian Goddesses

~Isis, Hathor, Mut, Serqet, Wadjet, Nekhbet, Tefnut, Nephthys, and many more!

~What The Ancient Goddesses Represent TODAY

246 pages

$16.95

Order Now from Amazon By Clicking Appropriate Cover-Link to the Right