Ulteriori informazioni
The ancient Egyptians were firmly convinced of the importance of magic, which was both a source of supernatural wisdom and a means of affecting one's own fate. The gods themselves used it for creating the world, granting mankind magical powers as an aid to the struggle for existence. Magic formed a link between human beings, gods, and the dead. Magicians were the indispensable guardians of the god-given cosmic order, learned scholars who were always searching for the Magic Book of Thoth, which could explain the wonders of nature.
Egyptian Magic, illustrated with wonderful and mysterious objects from European and Egyptian museum collections, describes how Egyptian sorcerers used their craft to protect the weakest members of society, to support the gods in their fight against evil, and to imbue the dead with immortality, and explores the arcane systems and traditions of the occult that governed this well-organized universe of ancient Egypt.
Sommario
A present of the gods
From wisdom to the black arts
The battle of good and evil
Principal parts
The magicians of Egypt
Witches and sorcerers
High school for magicians
The premier league
Surfing through the cosmos
Cosmic internet
Search for the laws of nature
Knowledge is power
Sacred writing
The practice of magic
Showing one’s colors
Knowledge of commodities
The right time and place
Knotty points
Books of magic
A magical toolbox
Tracking down Khaemwas
An end and a new beginning
The Egyptian insurance system
Women and children first
Doctor for invisible ailments
Home insurance
Foul and fair
The vigilant authorities
Battle at the temple gate
Sports and leisure
Spontaneous generation
Sex and violence
A magical funerary policy
Troublesome deceased
Going out by day
The body as a microcomos
The daily bread
Eternal life
Fighting evil
Free travel
At the weightwatchers’
The quest for enlightenment
Changing world
Eastern wisdom
A Christian varnish
Jinns and buried pearls
European Enlightenment
From witchcraft to Egyptomania
Moses and the sting-fish
Good chemistry
The rediscovery of Thoth’s book of magic
Info autore
Maarten J. Raven is curator of the Egyptian Department of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (the Netherlands). He has organized numerous exhibitions on pharaonic culture.
Riassunto
The ancient Egyptians were firmly convinced of the importance of magic, which was both a source of supernatural wisdom and a means of affecting one’s own fate. The gods themselves used it for creating the world, granting mankind magical powers as an aid to the struggle for existence. Magic formed a link between human beings, gods, and the dead. Magicians were the indispensable guardians of the god-given cosmic order, learned scholars who were always searching for the Magic Book of Thoth, which could explain the wonders of nature.
Egyptian Magic, illustrated with wonderful and mysterious objects from European museum collections, describes how Egyptian sorcerers used their craft to protect the weakest members of society, to support the gods in their fight against evil, and to imbue the dead with immortality, and explores the arcane systems and traditions of the occult that governed this well-organized universe of ancient Egypt.
Prefazione
Objects and artwork from an exhibition in the Netherlands, along with explanatory text, on various aspects of ancient Egyptian magic, sorcery, superstitious beliefs and the occult
