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The Legendary Past

اسطور های مصری

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The rich panorama of ancient Egyptian mythology has survived through tomb paintings, temple inscriptions and papyri. This account begins with the creation legends of Heliopolis, Memphis and Hermopolis and illustrates the intellectual struggles of the Egyptians to explain the beginnings of the world.

106 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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About the author

George Hart

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George Hart was a British Egyptologist. He studied classics and Egyptology at University College London. He was a staff lecturer in Egypt and the classical world at the British Museum from 1973 until his retirement in 2004. In addition to his museum work, he also taught Egyptian hieroglyphs and lectured on cruises.

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Ahmad Sharabiani.
9,563 reviews722 followers
December 4, 2021
Egyptian Myths, George Hart

Useful read for researchers, the rich panorama of ancient Egyptian mythology has survived through tomb paintings, temple inscriptions, and papyri.

This account begins with the creation legends of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Hermopolis and illustrates the intellectual struggles of the Egyptians to explain the beginning of the world.

The myths that follow range from stories about the gods—the murder of Osiris and vengeance of Horus, Isis and the seven scorpions, Sakhmet and the virtual slaughter of mankind—to fables such as the Shipwrecked Sailor and the Enchanted Island.

Through these delightful and often amusing tales, we can appreciate more fully the beliefs and imagination of the ancient Egyptians.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش سال1996میلادی

عنوان: اس‍طوره‌ه‍ای� م‍ص‍ری‌� نویسنده: ج‍رج� (جورج) ه‍ارت‌� مت‍رج‍�: ع‍ب‍اس� م‍خ‍ب‍ر� تهران؛ نشر مرکز، سال1374؛ در106ص؛ مصور، نقشه، نمودار، چاپ دوم سال1377؛ چاپ سوم سال1382؛ شابک9643050971؛ چاپ چهارم سال1385؛ چاپ پنجم سال1388؛ چاپ ششم سال1391؛ چاپ هفتم سال1393؛ چاپ هشتم سال1396؛ چاپ دهم سال1400؛ شابک9789643050979؛ موضوع اساطیر مصر از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده20م

در این کتاب تصاویر، نوشتار و نقاشیهای مربوط به آرامشگاهها و پرستشگاههای «مصر باستان» گرد هم آمده اند؛ برخی از تصاویر نمایانگر تلاش اندیشمندان آن روزگارهای «مصر» برای بازنمایی چگونگی آفرینش این جهان هستند و برخی نیز ماجراهای خدایان را بیان میکنند

این فراموشکار هرگزی «مصر» را ندیده ام، هماره دلم میخواست «اهرام» را ببینم، «مصر»، کشوری بوده و هنوز هم هست، که شمال شرق قاره ی «آفریقا» را، به خاورمیانه میچسباند؛ کهنسالی «مصر» به زمان فراعنه، یعنی سه هزار و یکصد و پنجاه سال پیش از میلادی میرسد؛ چشم اندازی پرشکوه از «اساطیر مصر باستان»، برای دیدار از نقاشیهای مقبره ها، کتیبه های پرستشگاهها، و پاپیروسهای باقیمانده است؛ همراه با افسانه های آفرینش «هلیوپولیس»، «ممفیس» و «هرموپولیس» آغاز، و تلاش فکری «مصریان» برای چگونگی آغاز این جهان را به تصویر میکشد؛ افسانه‌های� که در پی می‌آین� داستان‌های� درباره خدایان - «قتل اوزیریس و انتقام هوروس»، «ایزیس و هفت عقرب»، «ساخمت و کشتار مجازی انسان‌ها� - تا افسانه‌های� همانند «ملوان کشتی شکسته» و «جزیره طلسم شده» را شامل می‌شوند� با خوانش این داستانهای دل انگیز و سرگرم کننده، خوانشگر میتواند باورها و خیال و اندیشه ی «مصریان باستان» را بیشتر درک کند؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Profile Image for Kowsar.
118 reviews39 followers
May 9, 2019
برای من کمی گنگ بود، شاید مشکل از من هستش ک نتونستم باهاش خیلی ارتباط برقرار کنم انتطار داشتم کمی جزیی تر به اسطور های مصری بپردازه و این همه ارجاعات به موزه های مختلف وقتی دلیل چرایی رو نمیدونی فکر نمیکنم خیلی مفید باشه
Profile Image for Talie.
313 reviews46 followers
February 2, 2017
بخش هایی از کتاب که به اسطور ی آفرینش و پادشاهی و ایزییس و اسطور ی فاجعه
می پردازد خیلی مفید بود.
بخش سفر خدای خورشید به جهان زیرین که سفر خورشید پس از غروب را
نشان می داد؛ دارای توصیفات پیچیده ای بود و باید از شکل های بیشتری در
کتاب برای تسهیل فهم استفاده میشد.
یک مشکل دیگر کتاب به نظرم ارجاعات زیادی به منابع بود. مثلن پاپیروس فلان
برای یک خواننده ی مبتدی این توضیحات لزومی نداشت و بهتر بود در پایان کتاب
ذکر میشد.
Profile Image for Asilkan Var.
25 reviews3 followers
August 1, 2019
Yaratılış ve Krallık miti kısımlarını oldukça beğendim. Fakat diğer kısımları belli bir düzene göre olmaması akıcılığı etkiledi benim için. Yine de kaynaklardaki detaycılık ve resimlerle hikayelere destek olunması mısır mitolojisiyle ilgili hafif bir başlangıç yapmak isteyenler için önerilebilecek bir kitap yapıyor Mısır Mitleri' ni bana göre.
Profile Image for Andrew.
19 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2014
This book covers creation myths, Osiris and Seth, Sun's journey through the underworld and more. Don't listen to reviews of this book made by inpatient new agers who want everything handed to them on a silver plater. The study of ancient Egypt is the study of long forgotten tombs and fragmented papyrus. I love that this book always talks in detail about the source material and doesn't try to make up a simple narrative where there are in fact conflicting texts. This book is for anyone looking for a good introduction to the myths and pantheons of ancient Egypt.
Profile Image for Naomi Ruth.
1,637 reviews48 followers
November 24, 2011
I wasn't impressed, honestly. It was not engaging, and sometimes I felt like Hart was talking about the Egyptian Myth and culture in a mocking manner. Also, he obviously wrote this with a Western mind set instead of keeping in mind that the Egyptians have an Eastern mind set and don't *gasp!* think like him.

I've read other books about Egyptian Myths that were simply better written and more engaging, and dealt with the Egyptian culture and myths with more respect.
Profile Image for Andrea Renfrow.
Author3 books51 followers
July 16, 2016
I have now read this book twice. Good read both times, although the circumstances for this time around were less than swell: (I think last time I read it, I was getting my nails done...)
Profile Image for Sara.
157 reviews
November 11, 2012
I read this book because I was exploring several specific myths in ancient Egyptian culture. I found it to be a useful read for my research.
Profile Image for Mahir Şanlı.
Author8 books109 followers
June 8, 2020
Phoenix'in Dünya Mitleri serisinde severek okuduğum tek kitap diyebilirim.
202 reviews12 followers
July 7, 2023
Hart tries to cover the major points of Egyptian mythology in a fairly sophisticated way. For instance, he describes the sources for most of the myths or mythic episodes he discusses, rather than assembling disparate sources into a single story, as many of the simplest retellings of Egyptian myths do. But he's constrained by the format of the Legendary Past series, in which each book is only 80 pages long. There's a limit to how much he can analyze the significance of each myth when there's so much to cover and so little space. It doesn't help that a lot of the space is taken up by his descriptions of the source material (and, weirdly, quotations from T. S. Eliot). The book therefore summarizes episodes of mythology more than it retells them, so it's not very engaging reading, but it only patchily describes the symbolic meanings behind myths and how they related to Egyptian society and customs. It falls between two stools, not succeeding as storytelling or as analysis.

The first two chapters treat the creation myths and the myth of Osiris' death and Horus and Seth's struggle for the throne. Two much shorter chapters cover stories about Isis and the Destruction of Mankind by the Eye of Ra. The next chapter is about Ra's journey through the underworld, based on the Amduat, Book of Caverns, and Book of Gates. The last two chapters are on historical Egyptian figures who became the subjects of legend after their deaths, and some of the fantastical short stories in Egyptian literature.

If you want a book that covers ancient Egyptian legends and fantastical works of fiction as well as mythology, Joyce Tyldesley's is far more substantial, though the best introduction to the complexities of Egyptian mythology is .
85 reviews
January 26, 2025
Une introduction fort bien faite à la mythologie de l'Égypte antique (en la matière, on trouve tellement de publications bâclées et approximatives !). Le souci pédagogique et le style narratif facilitent la lecture, sans renoncer à la rigueur scientifique. Celle-ci se révèle dans la présentation des sources qui précède systématiquement l'exposé du mythe. Elle permet d'apprécier la valeur et de comprendre la complexité des récits qui nous sont accessibles. Le livre inclut beaucoup d'extraits des textes originaux, un bon moyen de ressentir leur mystère et leur poésie. Ceci permet aussi d'approcher la mentalité des Égyptiens de l'Antiquité, pour autant que cela soit possible.
Profile Image for Laura.
53 reviews
June 10, 2018
A mítoszok nagyon érdekesek voltak, bár a forrás ismertetését néhol már túl soknak találtam, a többi magyarázatot (pl. térkép, dinasztiák idővonala stb) pedig kevésnek éreztem. Kicsit olyan, mintha valahol a tudományos ismeretterjesztés és a "mítoszok röviden" közt vacillált volna a szerző és ez elvett a könyv élvezeti értékéből. Az utolsó átváltozás történet viszont mindenért karpótolt....
Profile Image for Anisa.
114 reviews
Want to read
January 7, 2021
قشنگ بود اون سی صفحه... امیدوارم یه روزی پیداش کنم و بقیشو بخونم!😂 باور کنین جن بردش😕
Profile Image for Ofelia.
124 reviews6 followers
August 1, 2021
mam wrażenie, że temat został potraktowny bardzo pobieżnie, a sam styl pisania miał nieco zbyt kolokwialne momenty co może być kwestią tłumaczenia
Profile Image for César Muela.
Author2 books6 followers
May 29, 2022
Me parece difícil hacer la mitología egipcia aburrida, pero el autor lo ha conseguido.
Profile Image for Anna Brondolo.
134 reviews1 follower
September 10, 2021
Un libro interessante ed avvincente. Vengono raccontati in maniera comprensibile i fondamentali capitoli della mitologia egizia, che viene analizzata in tutte le sfaccettature che si sono avvicendate nell'arco dei secoli.
Profile Image for R.
188 reviews31 followers
February 17, 2010
Es un libro interesante sobre mitología egipcia, pero aparte de breve, es algo farragoso y aburrido.

No logra enganchar al lector, que si es un no iniciado en la mitología e historia del Antiguo Egipcio puede sentirse muy perdidos con las diversas menciones a diversos papiros y las someras descripciones de los dioses. Por otro lado, los ya iniciados pueden encontrarlo simplón. No queda muy claro a qué público está dirigido y creo que no convencería a ninguno. Tampoco incluye mapas para ver dónde están ninguno de los templos o lugares a los que hace mención, y las láminas son en blanco y negro.

Además, los mitos y leyendas son contadas como resúmenes en los que la autora vierte su opinión personal tras una introducción, lo que hace que en vez de leer la narración de una historia, leas un resumen un tanto insulso.

En definitiva, una lectura pasable, pero creo que hay libros mejores que aborden este tema.
Profile Image for Ευθυμία Δεσποτάκη.
Author29 books233 followers
November 6, 2015
Επιτέλους κατάλαβα τι σκ#τά είχαν στο κεφάλι τους οι αρχαίοι Αιγύπτιοι. Αν και κάποιες απορίες έμειναν (κυρίως σχετικά με τις υποστάσεις του ανθρώπου, μπα, κα και δε συμμαζεύεται), η κοσμοθεωρία τους επιτέλους μου έγινε κατανοητή. Πολύ καλό ανάγνωσμα, για όποιον θέλει να γράψει κάτι σχετικά με τους Αιγύπτιους.
Profile Image for vlthm.
22 reviews
April 16, 2013
Very very good book, very synthetic for those who want to look at Egypt in a way that connects to other mythology, not the way it stands out. The complete book is quite original I have to say and felt to touch the right details.
January 30, 2024
It's certainly not an introduction to Egyptian mythology, so I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. I loved it though, because it really got me into Egyptian theology and the true meaning behind every myth that used to seem a simple tale.
Profile Image for Sophie.
731 reviews
December 30, 2015
Je ne m'attendais pas à découvrir les fondements de cette religion, plus sur le développement des divers dieux et mythes.Ce fut tout de même plaisant !
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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