The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Following the format of other "Complete" books in Thames & Hudson's informal series, Wilkinson, director of the University of Arizona's Egyptian Expedition and coauthor of The Complete Valley of the Kings, pulls together a huge amount of data to give a clear and concise look at the development, rise, decline, and excavation of Egyptian temples. His coverage ranges from the earliest predynastic sites to Roman, Christian, and Islamic adaptations of the temples. When theories are in dispute (as they often are), Wilkinson says so and then explains his preference. The illustrations, elevations, plans, and reconstructions make even the most complicated temple plans clear. An indispensable work for a student of Egyptian life or architecture, this unique and excellent resource is essential for large high school and all public, academic, and specialized libraries.DMary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Laden with photographs ... this stunning reference reviews the construction, decoration, symbolism, and function of every surviving Egyptian temple."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 1St Edition edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500051003
• ISBN-13: 978-0500051009
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #145,422 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #94 in	Books > History > Ancient > Egypt

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Gazeteer, September 9, 2000

By	Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Richard Wilkinson has written one essential book - "Reading Egyptian Art" which belongs on the shelf of anyone who is interested in Ancient Egypt. "Temples of Ancient Egypt," although worthwhile, is not that book. Temples is a gazeteer, which is to say, a book that describes the essential sites in Egypt, arranged by geography. This is all very well, and competently done, but Baines and Malek ("The Cultural Atlas of the World: Ancient Egypt") have done it first, and better.

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Survey, July 7, 2000

By	"troytron" (Charlotte, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This book is worth half its price for the photgraphic survey of Egyptian temples alone. In this manner it maintains the quality of its predecessors, 'Complete Valley of Kings,' etc. However, from a scholarly standpoint, the book was a bit disappointing. For example, the title "Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt," is simply an overstatement. Many small but significant sites are completely left out (Kom Mer, El Qua'la, etc.) Further, the author frequently makes no attempt to mention which god or goddess owned the temples in his survey. For example, he could have noted that the great lost temple at Antaeopolis was dedicated to Antiwey...a Horus/Set fusion. He could have noted the Temple of Nephthys and Anukis at Kom Mir, etc. Indeed, in most of his articles, he merely skims over the temples without any depth (save for the most famous ones: Philae, Karnak, Edfu, etc.). I found the information to be very basic, and had been looking forward to greater scholarly detail about the history of each temple, the deity of each temple, and more obscure temples mentioned (which are often just as fascinating as the great sanctuaries). There are also a number of errors in the information. All in all, a lavishly illustrated book for the average Egyptophile, but not very satisfying to the advanced Egyptophile. If you're going to spend a great deal of money, I would recommend Stephen Quirke's absolutely fascinating 'The Temple in Ancient Egypt.'

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good pictures, Good information, and Good layout, December 28, 2002

By	O. B. Makhubela (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, this is definitely far better than the other book in this series, namely, the complete valley of the kings.

this book is quite extensive and tries to include a picture on each of the temples discussed, i.e. if the temple or its ruins are still there. It is also not full of black and white pictures - i understand the artistic value of these type of pictures but egypt is full of colour!

all the sites are accompanied by well written descriptions and a brief history. Again, i am always careful about what egyptology writes about ancient egypt since i still believe there is a lot of conjecture which tends to be presented as fact. for example: the symbolic nature of the temples seems to be covered well by the book but one should probably read such infor as logical hypothesis rather than reasonable fact - it is rare that authors say the infor comes from an ancient papyrus!

all in all, it is indeed a complete guide to the temples of ancient egypt and worth collecting!