Customer Reviews

Cult of the Sun: Myth and Magic in Ancient Egypt

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While the title would lead one to believe that this work covers worship of the sun, alone, it is a rather thurough study of the whole of Egyptian religion, albeit through its effect on sun worship. The worship's impact on the pharaohs of all periods is examined, in particular the priesthood and its power. Many delightful ancient texts are quoted, among them the Arguement Between a Man and His Ka. The plates are fine, although some of the figures in the last chapter are poorly drawn, but that's forgivable since the last chapter contains a superb essay on Akhenaten. Overall, Cult of the Sun is a wise addition to your library even if only for the sake of the last chapter

There is a common mistake made by authors who take on ancient Egypt and it is often due to the authors inability to seperate his or herself from the modern world and then tackle their subject with an open mind. This book and the author are no different. The book title breeds hope and potential but quickly falls into the aforementioned trap of viewing an ancient civilization through modern eyes. In so doing any hope that a true account on the subject matter will be presented falls away. Mrs David tries to apply the morals and social standards of modern Western culture with its pre-occupation with social and economic pecking orders to a time and place where there was no currency "it was latter invented as a method of paying foreign mercenaries." What Mrs., David ignores is the fact that trade was carried out within the frame work of the village setting which means bartering. She also tends to make assumptions on the racial makeup of the ancient Egyptians which further details her ignorance in terms of the subject. Anytime an author makes a statement and ends the sentence with "Lack of written evidence limits our knowledge, the reader knows he or she is in trouble." This is a sloppy poorly written effort which is more a coalition of prior works of other authors than a ground breaking expose of a Sun Cult or religious practices in Ancient Egypt or Africa.

As Mrs. David should note, at the heart of the Sun Cult are indigenous practices which detail a complex and advanced understanding of the healing and protective properties of the Sun. Therefore when you see the early Sun God identified as RA it should come as no surprise that in viewing an Electromagnetic Spectrum you find RA detailed in relation to visible light, gamma rays, ultra-violet rays, X-rays etc. So inviewing the ancient Egytians across the ages credit should be given for their recognition of the importance of the Sun as a generator of life on earth. So it should be noted that as with the understanding of the relationship between God and creation, if the Sun ceases to shine then all living organisms would soon cease to exist.