Idle Expectations

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Posts tagged with "egyptology"

Only the sleeper sees the dream

- The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant (c. 1600 BC)

sekhemkare replied to your post: Hi—I love your blog, and reading about your…

This is a really great list! Though I’d add Hornung, “The One and the Many” s essential reading on religion, myself. :)

There you go, anon!

I haven’t read that one myself yet, going to pick it up when I’ve money to spend again. :3

Hi--I love your blog, and reading about your experiences as an egyptology student is sooo interesting! As someone who hopes to be in your shoes in a few years--are there any books you would recommend?

Anonymous

Oh, why thank you! There are quite a few good books out there that cover a lot of the basics if you’re interested. Here are some of my favourites:

Art

The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt - W. Stevenson Smith
Egyptian Art - C. Aldred 
The Principles of Egyptian Art - H. Schäfer (I love this one in particular, though it’s less of an introduction and more of an in-depth work!)

Archaeology

An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt - K. Bard
Mummies and Death in Egypt - F. Dunand & R. Lichtenberg (A particular favourite of mine because of the interdisciplinary nature of the work.) 

Culture, Religion, etc.

Gods and Men in Egypt - C. Zivie-Coche & F. Dunand (All time favourite, period.)
Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many - E. Hornung (suggested by Sekhemkare)
Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization - B. Kemp
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt  - Baines & Malik (suggested by Thatlittleegyptologist, and I really have no excuse for forgetting this because it’s amazing!)

Literature & Hieroglyphs

Ancient Egyptian Literature (vol. I-III) - M. Lichtheim
Egyptian Grammar - A. Gardiner (The standard work any aspiring Egyptologist needs.)
Middle Egyptian (An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs) - J. Allen
A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian - R. Faulkner (also suggested by Thatlittleegyptologist)

There are so many more good books, but these should get you started!

Darling fellow Egyptologists, which texts from the Urkunden I should I read to adequately prepare myself for my end term Old Egyptian?

I’ve done Weni, Harkhuf, Neferseshemre, Rewer’s accident, Djau (Abydos), Nyankhsekhmet and Snofru (Dahshur). 

May 9
  • Me: Ah yes, it's Howard Carter's birthday today.
  • Mike: Who?
  • Me: ...
  • Me: You're kidding, right.
  • Mike: No, who?
  • Me: Only the single most famous archaeologist, no one special.
  • Marieke: How unseemly of an Egyptologist's boyfriend, Michael.
  • Mike: ...
  • Me: Tutankhamun doesn't ring a bell?
  • Mike: Oh.

Question: do I have any right to complain about the following situation?

Because my professor had a mental breakdown, Old Egyptian classes were taken over by another prof. As it was halfway through the semester, it was difficult to find an empty spot in my roster, so Old Egyptian got moved to the same time as a minor subject of mine (note: Old Egyptian is a second year’s subject, and I’m a third years, hence the roster trouble). I made an agreement with my professor that I would attend classes every other week. So one week OEg, the other week minor, etc. 

The new prof changed the course somewhat, and told us that the midterm we had been given would not count for the final grade. Now, I was sick two weeks ago, so I missed my bi-weekly OEg class. Today, during class, I heard that we were going to get a midterm next week, because the system is such that a final grade needs to be a compound of a midterm and an endterm.

Apparently, this information had been known to the others (i.e. the second years with whom I’m following the course, so not actually my classmates) for at least one week - perhaps two, and maybe even three, since I hadn’t been present for three weeks. No one has told me, so now I have a very short time to prepare for the midterm. 

So my question is, could I have known that this would happen, having been told that the initial midterm would not count, but keeping in mind the university expecting a great amount of independency and responsibility? Do I have any just cause to complain?

Cannibal Hymn, fuck yeah.

Darkening stars and skies pouring water and shit.

thatlittleegyptologist replied to your post: I’m not sure whether honesty hour wants me to be…

You should look up a two part series by Joann Fletcher. It’s called Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings. That one is supposed to be semi serious. I rage quit both of them. We just get “bad” docs all the time and it’s not cool :/
Also: F-YEAH CAT PICS!!

That…does not sound promising. I’ve been in the mood for torturing myself lately though, so I’ll check it out, if only to have something to tear into hehehe.

Look a cat pic!

But yeah, I don’t see how documentary makers still get away with it. It appeals to the lowest common denominator, I guess? I mean *we* know where to find the proper stuff, and we don’t watch History or Discovery channel, so those docs aren’t made for us. They’re made for the laymen who want something exciting other than a doc that gives the bare essentials. 

Even then, I’ve seen some really good BBC4 docs and it just makes me weep because why can’t they all be like that? ;-;

dwellerinthelibrary:

The god Sokar, looking cheery, from the 11th Hour of the Amduat in the tomb of Thutmose III.

dwellerinthelibrary:

The god Sokar, looking cheery, from the 11th Hour of the Amduat in the tomb of Thutmose III.

Mike is having a lot of fun reading through my Old Egyptian grammar. He’ll giggle and go ‘oh it looks like these birds jumped on those cakes!’

thatlittleegyptologist:

Because I just saw this post for Anthro/Paleo/Osteo students I thought I’d create one for Egyptology (we have no cool shortening of ours :( ) 
Our motto works though….
You can make them here.

A thousand times this!

thatlittleegyptologist:

Because I just saw this post for Anthro/Paleo/Osteo students I thought I’d create one for Egyptology (we have no cool shortening of ours :( ) 

Our motto works though….

You can make them here.

A thousand times this!

dwellerinthelibrary:

2008_0605_153237AA Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden by Hans Ollermann on Flickr.

Aaah it’s Mery Mery’s stela. It’d be my worst nightmare if I got this stela for my epigraphy paper. x_x

dwellerinthelibrary:

2008_0605_153237AA Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden by Hans Ollermann on Flickr.

Aaah it’s Mery Mery’s stela. It’d be my worst nightmare if I got this stela for my epigraphy paper. x_x

ancientpeoples:

Two Chicago professors writing in ancient Egyptian and Hittite.

Professor Theo van den Hout writes a letter in Hittite cuneiform, while Prof W. Raymond Johnson copies out part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead in cursive hieroglyphs.

(Source: Oriental Institute, Chicago,YouTube channel)

I wish I could do this all day, oh my God.

I take back every bad thing I ever said about Harkhuf. I love you and your trips to Yam.

So my Old Egyptian exam was an excerpt from Harkhuf’s bio which I almost know by heart. So. Fucking. Lucky. My grammar has improved, too (or rather my ability to parse Classical Egyptian, while I can translate parsing is always a bit of a weak spot as I translate on instinct or something?). Pfew.

Suddenly feeling a lot more positive! Film & lit went well enough too. Bring it, second block of the semester. I can have you.

ancientpeoples:

Double ka-statue of Maya and Merit 
Limestone 
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1325 BC (Pharaoh Tutankhamun)
Double ka-statue of Maya (the man) and Merit (woman) . Maya was director of the treasury for Tutankhamun and partly responsible for Tutankhamuns’ tomb. His wife was priestess in the temple of Amun as musican and/or singer, she is “true of voice”. Statue was left unfinished when placed inside their tomb. 
(Source: The Leiden Museum of Antiquities)

Favourite statue, together with the single statue of Merit. She’s so beautiful. <3

ancientpeoples:

Double ka-statue of Maya and Merit 

Limestone 

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1325 BC (Pharaoh Tutankhamun)

Double ka-statue of Maya (the man) and Merit (woman) . Maya was director of the treasury for Tutankhamun and partly responsible for Tutankhamuns’ tomb. His wife was priestess in the temple of Amun as musican and/or singer, she is “true of voice”. Statue was left unfinished when placed inside their tomb. 

(Source: The Leiden Museum of Antiquities)

Favourite statue, together with the single statue of Merit. She’s so beautiful. <3