The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

If you want to know about the Gods & Goddesses of ancient Egypt, this is the book! I could not believe how many there were. The book is very well researched and written. I found it easy to understand and gave me an idea of early Egypt. This is a great reference book on the subject and worth having in your library.

A great book for anyone interested in Ancient Egypt. It starts with a basic historical and cultural overview then switches to the "encyclopedia" part cataloging the different deities by type (mammalian, avian, reptilian, amphibian and more). As much as possible we are given information on eras of prominence, locality, deity attributes and worshipper practice. Egyptian religion comes up in different ancient conspiracy theories, so this is a good resource to have for basic fact checking. But maybe the best part are the photo and pictures - Egyptians worshiped cow goddesses and frog goddesses, crocodile gods and hawk-gods. The ancient Egyptian artists rendered all of them wonderfully, making this book a testament to Ancient Egyptian artistry and imagination.

Excellent overview and organized delivery of content. Must have encyclopedic representation.

A wonderful and informative book that is beautiful and demonstrates a fascinating culture with it's Pantheon of gods and goddesses. Reading the book makes me feel like Indiana Jones is my companion in this adventure of learning.

A fascinating deep-dive into the world of Ancient Egypt. The book is more of an illustrated encyclopaedia that a conventional history book, but arguably strikes a nice balance between the two.

Richard Wilkinson's latest book (he has previously written "Reading Egyptian Art," "Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art," and "The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt") presents the reader with an impressive selection of all the major gods and goddesses, and many of the minor ones, of ancient Egypt. Although hardly "complete" in the technical sense (Wilkinson discusses "only" 500 of Egypt's 1500 or so deities, and much more could be said about the ones he does discuss), the book is fairly "complete" in a practical sense: most gods that most readers want to look up, will get at least a brief mention. For example, you will find here the 24 Hours of the Day and Night, 12 (of 21) Gates of the Underworld, all 42 Gods of Judgement, and all 42 (hmm... there's that number again!) Nome Deities. The book begins with twelve brief essays (4-6 pages each) on Egyptian religion, covering such topics as creation myths, manifestations of divinity, temple and popular worship, and divine kingship. The essays are thoughtful, informative, and up-to-date with current scholarship. I wish they had been longer, because they deserve to be expanded at greater length than the book allocates to them. The rest of the book, some 180 pages, is devoted to a "Catalogue of Deities," organized by biological shape (anthropomorphic male and female, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and inanimate objects). This is a great idea, but it could have been taken even further. A visual index of shapes would make lookup much easier, and would only take an additional page or two. A name index is, of course, provided. Why not give a hieroglyphic index as well? Going to the individual entries, Wilkinson generally provides information about the mythology, iconography, and worship of each deity. The deities are generously illustrated, with line drawings and photographs. Again, I would wish that many of these entries could be expanded, both in terms of discussion and in terms of visual iconography. This is not a criticism of Wilkinson; it just reflects the practical limitations of the book. To summarize, Wilkinson's "Gods and Goddesses" is a very well-written, thoughtful, accurate, beautifully produced and illustrated reference on the religion of ancient Egypt. In terms of coverage it is somewhere between a handbook and an encyclopedia. I am very glad to have it in its present form, and I only wish that it had been much longer, since it is clear that Wilkinson has more to say about this subject than could fit into the covers of the present book. I would gladly pay double the price to have a truly complete encyclopedia of Egypt's gods from this author.

I agree with the other reviewers - beautifully illustrated, mostly in full color. It is comprehensive yet particularly the first half of the book is easy to read in it's entirety. The first part of the book covers general concepts of Egyptian Religion and the deities. The second covers individual deities in detail. I had been looking for a book on Ancient Egyptian religion and deities which was neither outdated in its ideas, nor sterile or boring, nor full of fluff, nor overwhelmed with dense detail, nor assumed detailed prior knowledge of anthropology, archeology or African/Near Eastern history and religion. This book is it. It is beautifully clear and explains how Egyptian views of each deity changed over time. It clearly presents for each deity what syncretism occurred (merging with other gods or the adoption of other gods' attributes) with time. It contains some of the most recent thinking on how the Egyptians might have viewed their own deities. My only minor negative would be that there are no references or footnotes in the text itself for the expert. However, within the body of the text, the author does mention which academics advanced which important concepts and coupled with the extensive and detailed bibliography arranged by subject matter at the end of the book, this minor gripe is assuaged. The binding and quality of the book, its print, and illustrations are beautiful - it would make a lovely gift for someone. Easy to read for both the beginner and the non-beginner in this area, but full of crystal clear detail for one who wants a good reference book even for more advanced students of religion.

This is exactly the information I needed to find the information I needed for my writing. Finding this book helped to improve some plot points that I was working on as it contains much more information about the gods and goddesses of Egypt than I have been able to locate online. This book has made me wish they made these kinds of encyclopedic books for all gods and goddesses for every mythology, religion, and dogma in the world. It would make researching the different aspects of divine beings so much easier. If you are a comprehensive book on Egyptian mythology, gods, and goddesses then this is exactly the book you need.

As title mentions it is a good read, and has some comprehensive (but still beginner basic) information regarding not only the Gods and Goddesses of A.E., but also some generalized history on their religious histories. Recommended read and great coffee table book.

Es la segunda vez que pido este libro, el primero lo tuvimos que devolver por estar dañado y el segundo también está dañado con las mismas manchas de líquido en su costado y en todas las hojas del libro.

Très beau livre en anglais avec beaucoup d’illustrations

Ich habe mir dieses Buch gekauft, um mehr über die ägyptische Mythologie zu erfahren, und bin begeistert. Es ist unglaublich interessant aufgebaut. Der Autor Richard H. Wilkinson schafft es, die riesige Anzahl an Gottheiten verständlich und spannend zu ordnen. Besonders gut gefallen mir die zahlreichen Illustrationen. Man lernt nicht nur die Namen, sondern auch, woran man die Götter auf Hieroglyphen oder Tempelwänden erkennt. Es ist kein Buch, das man zwingend von vorne bis hinten durchliest, sondern in dem man immer wieder blättert und neue, spannende Details entdeckt. Für jeden, der sich für das alte Ägypten interessiert, ein absolutes Muss!

La consegna è stata perfetto,il libro è arrivato in ottime condizioni ed ora...mi dedico alla lettura,grazie