Synopses & Reviews
Everyday life in the Egypt of the Pharaohs: From Cheops, Ramses and Tutankhamun to the world of labourers and craftsmen What do we really know about our ancestors? Not about the rulers and generals, but about laborers, farmers, soldiers and families. Egypt is a perfect case in point, almost a blank slate for most of us as it regards details of their everyday life. This useful and informative book attempts to set the record straight by offering a distinctive take on that most mythologized of epochs.
Who would have guessed, for example, that the first strike in recorded history took place in 1152 BC during work on the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings, a protest by construction workers against delayed deliveries of oil and flour? Two fairly banal commodities maybe, but essential: oil protected the skin against the savage desert climate, whilst flour was the base ingredient for thirty different kinds of nutritional cake.
It is this detailed examination of the evidence that distinguishes this volume, with chapters on everything from relationships to leisure activities, the role of women to the manufacture of mummies. And just like the mummies, “fragile as eggshell but solid as a statue” and magically able to transcend death, both people and country are brought alive for us again.
Synopsis
Behind the pyramids: Everyday life in Ancient Egypt
How much do we really know about Ancient Egypt? The pharaohs and pyramids are familiar history fodder, but what about the farmers, the soldiers, the laborers, and the families that made up the vast majority of this much mythologized civilization?
With a thrilling spread of visual references, this TASCHEN adventure attempts to set the record straight by offering a distinctive everyday take on Ancient Egypt. Like a piece of published excavation, the book explores the many layers of this ancient society, digging down from the sacred or grandiose to the daily experiences and ordinary individuals.
The democratic approach bestows this distant era with exciting vitality and relevance for all the family. As we explore everything from family arrangements to leisure activities to labor movements, we not only uncover the different experiences of this ancient land but also parallels and precedents to our own societies. With a bounty of visual references to document this distinct social history, the result is a particularly vivid encounter with an ancient age and with some of our most ingenious and influential forebears.
Synopsis
How much do we really know about Ancient Egypt? The pharaohs and pyramids are familiar history fodder, but what about the farmers, the soldiers, the laborers, and the families that made up the vast majority of this much mythologized civilization? With a thrilling spread of visual references, this TASCHEN adventure attempts to set the record straight by offering a distinctive everyday take on Ancient Egypt. Like a piece of published excavation, the book explores the many layers of this ancient society, digging down from the sacred or grandiose to the daily experiences and ordinary individuals. The democratic approach bestows this distant era with exciting vitality and relevance for all the family. As we explore everything from family arrangements to leisure activities to labor movements, we not only uncover the different experiences of this ancient land but also parallels and precedents to our own societies. The result is a particularly vivid encounter with an ancient age and with some of our most ingenious and influential forebears.
About the Author
Rose-Marie Hagen was born in Switzerland and studied history, Romance languages and literature in Lausanne. After further studies in Paris and Florence, she lectured at the American University in Washington, D.C.Rainer Hagen was born in Hamburg and graduated in literature and theatre studies in Munich. He later worked for radio and TV, most recently as chief editor of a German public broadcasting service. Together they have collaborated on several TASCHEN titles, including Masterpieces in Detail, Pieter Bruegel and Francisco de Goya.