The Pyramid Texts, which were carved on the walls of the pyramids of the kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties to guide the dead king through the Netherworld and protect his welfare there, constitute the oldest corpus of religious and funerary texts and, as such are, of fundamental importance for the students of Egyptian religion. This translation, completed in 1969 by a leading authority on these texts, is one of the most accessible, scholarly and complete available, and this reprint should be useful not only to ...
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The Pyramid Texts, which were carved on the walls of the pyramids of the kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties to guide the dead king through the Netherworld and protect his welfare there, constitute the oldest corpus of religious and funerary texts and, as such are, of fundamental importance for the students of Egyptian religion. This translation, completed in 1969 by a leading authority on these texts, is one of the most accessible, scholarly and complete available, and this reprint should be useful not only to Egyptologists but also to those interested in the history of religion and the occult.
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Faulkner's translation of The Pyramid Texts is a classic, and should be in the library of any serious student of Egyptology.
The Pyramid Texts are the first in a series of funeral spells and texts of Ancient Egypt, and date to the 4th-5th Dynasties. Those that follow are The Coffin Texts and The Book of the Dead. Essentially these are spells and offerings that the dead may invoke to speed their journey to The West. While not 100% understandable in a modern context, they offer fascinating insights into the spirituality and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. This translation is very useful to scholars and lay persons interested in the topic. It updates what has been learned about the language of hieroglyphics since the original translations of Wallace Budge. I highly recommend it.
mattkurtz2012
Apr 2, 2007
A good look into Egyptian thought
This book consists of inscriptions in the form of utterances to protect the pharaoh on his journey to the afterlife. The texts in the main speak on the Eye of Horus which is also spoken on in the later Spells. There are roughly 759 Utterances. To the first reader constantly changing, ex. something edible, a crown, perfume, fire, heart, unguent, so on, but with symbolic meaning intended. With Egyptian literature, most gods/stories have that same meaning. To try and understand why the Egyptians built such amazing monuments try and see how they viewed the world from a naturalistic standpoint. The writings, date to approximately 2350B.C. The Encylopedia Britannica states: " The texts, inscribed on the walls of the inner chambers of the pyramids, are found at Saqqarah in several 5th- and 6th-dynasty pyramids, of which that of Unas, last king of the 5th dynasty, is the earliest known. "
