hilippe Germond, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Geneva, has created An Egyptian Bestiary, highlighting, in 280 lavish color illustrations, the Egyptian perception of animals as representations of divine creativity, from the secular and mundane world of craftsmen to the sacred realm of priests, pharaohs and gods. The ancient Nile Valley boasted a diverse, sometimes bothersome and even dangerous array of wildlife and domesticated animals. Though the Egyptians used animals for labor and nourishment, they also viewed them as "the visible signs of primeval forces that it was necessary... to propitiate."
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Animal-headed gods, scarab beetles, mummified cats, crocodiles, and bulls are ubiquitous in Egyptian life. An amazing number of birds, monkeys, fish, and insects can be easily identified from their detailed portrayals in tomb reliefs, sculpture, or manuscripts. In addition to the animals they encountered in their daily lives, Egyptians worshiped a large, mostly animal-headed pantheon ("Who was that baboon-headed god, anyway?"). Mirroring the distinction in Egyptian life, Germond (Egyptology, Univ. of Geneva) divides the book into the secular and sacred sections. Within those sections, he groups animals by species, discussing waterfowl in one section and ibis-headed gods in another. It is Livet's photographs, though, that grab the reader. Most are life-sized, with meticulous and stunning detail. For the quality of the illustrations alone, the book is a worthy addition to most collections; Germond's text raises it to the level of a critical addition to any but the most limited of Egyptian collections. And the baboon-headed god is usually Thoth, patron of writers. Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
