Some of the once-abundant erotic works of ancient Egypt, many of which have been lost or destroyed over the centuries, are presented here in words and images. The ancient Egyptian erotic world comes alive in fragments of poetry and literature and in magnificent color pictures and detailed drawings of sculptures and etchings. Discussed is the period of dynastic rule in Egypt, when the deified pharaohs delighted in erotic escapades that rivaled those portrayed in India's Kama Sutra and Persia's One Thousand and One Nights.
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About the Author
El-Qhamid is a librarian who has been studying the exquisite treasures hidden in the archives of Egyptian museums for years. Joseph Toledano is an archeologist for UNESCO who organizes rescue digs in the Mediterranean region. He is the author of Egyptian Magic.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Many good parts,
By wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
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This review is from: Egyptian Erotica: The Essence of Ancient Egyptian Erotica in Art and Literature (Essence of Erotica series) (Paperback)
This varied collection pulls together little-known material from the classical Egyptian era, a span of more than 3000 years. They were an agricultural people so fertility had profound meaning for them. And, like us, they were vividly aware of the many meanings of human sexuality. Those concerns and delights both had their place in the writings and visual art that have come down to us.
This presents many samples from that long-lived civilization. Those include pictures from many papyri and other sources, from rough and iconic (p.123) to the more polished. I was especially impressed by the statuary and carvings, whether sensual and restrained (p.33, 102), comically bawdy (p.27), or functional as a lady's toy (p.39). The writings cover much the same range, including a Cinderella story where the glass slipper is replaced by a tuft of pubic hair! Despite the enjoyable parts of this book, it suffers systematic flaws. Many of the photos are out of focus, and many modern line drawings are interspersed with the original images. I found them annoying until I realized that they were tracings of originals, possibly ones that had been rendered almost illegible by the ravages of time. A caption or two would have helped the modern drawings to make sense. That leads to my biggest problem with this book: it's lack of attributions. As the authors point out, the classical period of Egypt lasted longer than any other civilization by thousands of years, and went through many cycles of cultural change during that time. Despite that, almost none of the artworks or writings are tied to any particular era or area. The resulting image of the people's beliefs about sex and sexuality has been torn into kaleidoscopic pieces and scattered throughout the book. Because there are no attributions or bibliography, the authors make it impossible for me to piece that history together on my own. This is OK as a coffee table book, despite the many flaws in the way it presents its images. It will disappoint any more serious reader, especially those who want a coherent picture of historical trends. //wiredweird
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
There are better books out there.,
This review is from: Egyptian Erotica: The Essence of Ancient Egyptian Erotica in Art and Literature (Essence of Erotica series) (Paperback)
This book is lacking in direct references to the most of the works reviewed. In fact, there are serious errors in what is said. Specifically, they quote the Erotic Papyrus of Turin and the Satirical Papyrus of Turin. They erroneously state that the two are not on exhibit and you have to get a special pass to see them. I have to wonder if they even researched this because when I was in Turin last year, they were hanging side-by-side on the wall for all to see.
In addition, when editing this book, they completely missed that the images on pages 62 and 63 are clearly reversed and the text is on the wrong page. Aside from that, there are numerous graphics which have nothing to do with ancient Egyptian erotica but are all simply available for anyone to see on the internet. Lastly, this book is also full of contextual errors. It states both that the Egyptians did and did not bath regularly. It makes the assertion repeatedly, both of their own knowledge and quoting other ancient societies that Egyptians didn't bath regularly. Many resources have stated quite emphatically that the Egyptians were keenly aware of cleanliness and even lowly peasants had bathing rituals and facilities they used regularly. Don't bother with this book. If you want a reliable book on Ancient Egyptian sexuality, get a copy of "Sacred Sexuality in Ancient Egypt: The Erotic Secrets of the Forbidden Papyri." I got mine at a school of Egyptology so you can be assured that it is a worthy book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What Happens When Amateur Scholars Get Book Deals.,
By Chris Renada "X" (Anytown, USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Egyptian Erotica: The Essence of Ancient Egyptian Erotica in Art and Literature (Essence of Erotica series) (Paperback)
The authors of this book, according to the back cover, are an archaeological librarian from Cairo working on his doctorate--btw, it also mentions he's single, ladies!--and a field archaeologist. Neither of them have the Piled high and Deep (PhD) letters by their names, and the lack of credentials show in their work. In short, this book is what happens when amateurs land book deals.
Half of the color illustrations are "stock" photos of Egyptian murals and artifacts, many of which have nothing to do with the text and some of which don't even have proper attributions. Since this is a book on erotic art and literature, I was expecting to find various pictures of Min statues, or the mural in Hatshepsut's temple depicting her mother's union with Amun. Neither of those were to be found. I can excuse the lack of good pictures of the Turin papyrus--although the interpretations of images were rather lacking--but not the half-hearted assemblage of stock imagery. A couple of pictures even looked "Photoshopped" to play up certain details, which is inexcusable. Also academically inexcusable is the lack of a bibliography or proper citations of sources. Not a single excerpt includes proper reference for the original publication or museum file from which it was taken, and if this is a librarian writing this book, he should know citation formats in his sleep. Without a way to trace back where he got his material, none of his claims can be validated. In the end, this means that readers can't be sure of what he's stating, so there's no point in even reading the book. I'd be halfway willing to entertain his contention that Egyptian prostitutes found their way into India via Greek trade routes, if the authors could provide other material in print to back them up. Otherwise, they're merely speculating. The final nail in this book's coffin comes from the one partial citation they do give, which is to the work of Margaret Murray. Another lower-level Egyptologist (she assisted Sir Flinders Petrie in the University of Manchester unwrapping mummies), Murray's work has been shredded by serious scholars since the 1920's. She was accused of doctoring source information to agree with her position for her thesis on "Witch Cults in Western Europe"; with sources like that, how can we be sure _Egyptian Erotica_ is any more faithful? Typically I hang on to all the books I pick up about Egypt, but this one shall be an exception. I'd give it away, except that I want to recoup what I spent on it out of principle. Spare yourselves the trouble.
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