Christina Riggs

From ancient Rome to the present day, ancient Egypt has been a source of fascin--ation and inspiration in many other cultures. But why? Christina Riggs introduces the history, art and religion of Egypt from its earliest dynasties to its final fall to Rome - and explores the influence ancient Egypt has had through the centuries. Looking for a vanished past, she argues, always serves some purpose in the present. Often characterized as a 'lost' civilization that was 'discovered' by adventurers and archaeologists, Egypt has meant many things to many different people. Ancient Greek and Roman writers admired ancient Egyptian philosophy, a view that influenced ideas about Egypt in Renaissance Europe and the Arabic-speaking world. In the eighteenth century, secret societies like the Freemasons still upheld the wisdom of ancient Egypt. This changed when Egypt became the focus of Western military strategy and economic exploitation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The remains of ancient Egypt came to be seen as exotic, primitive or even dangerous, embroiled as they were in the politics of racial science and archaeology.The curse of the pharaohs, or the seductiveness of Cleopatra, seemed to threaten foreign dominance in the Middle East. Other visions of ancient Egypt inspired modernist movements in the arts, such as the Harlem Renaissance and Egyptian Pharaonism, fuelled by the 1922 discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Today, ancient Egypt is ubiquitous in museums, television documentaries and tattoo parlours - wherever people look for a past as ancient and impressive as they come.

In the ancient world the magicians of Egypt were considered the best. But was magic harmless fun, heartfelt hope, or something darker? Whether you needed a love charm, a chat with your dead wife, or the ability to fly like a bird, an Egyptian magician had just the thing. Christina Riggs explores how the Egyptians thought about magic, who performed it and why, and also helps readers understand why we've come to think of ancient Egypt in such a mystical, magical way in the first place. paragraph indentThis book takes Egyptian magic seriously, using ancient texts and images to tackle the blurry distinctions between magic, religion and medicine. Along the way, readers will learn how to cure scorpion bites, why you might want to break the legs off your stuffed hippopotamus toy, and whether mummies really can come back to life. Readers will also (if so inclined) be able to save a fortune on pregnancy tests by simply urinating on barley seeds, and learn how to use the next street parade to predict the future - or ensure that annoying neighbour gets his comeuppance.