Ancient Egyptian Letters to the Dead

The Realm of the Dead Through the Voice of the Living
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-90-04-47231-0
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 15, 416 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 844 g

Reihe: Harvard Egyptological Studies

In Ancient Egyptian Letters to the Dead: The Realm of the Dead through the Voice of the Living Julia Hsieh investigates the beliefs and practices of communicating with the dead in ancient Egypt through close lexical semantic analysis of extant Letters. Hsieh shows how oral indicators, toponyms, and adverbs in these Letters signal a practice that was likely performed aloud in a tomb or necropolis, and how the senders of these Letters demonstrate a belief in the power and omniscience of their deceased relatives and enjoin them to fight malevolent entities and advocate on their behalf in the afterlife. These Letters reflect universals in beliefs and practices and how humankind, past and present, makes sense of existence beyond death.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hsieh, Julia

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Tod, Sterbehilfe: Soziale und Ethische Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte Religion des alten Ägyptens

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 What Are the Letters to the Dead?

2 What Can We Infer from the Letters to the Dead?

Part 1 The Senders

1 Orality and Intertextuality

1 Orality

2 Intertextuality

2 Where Were the Letters Composed, Performed, and Deposited?

1 Geospatial Indicators

2 The Use of Bowls and the mn??.t Vessel

Part 2 The Recipients

3 Characteristics and Abilities of the Akh

1 The Akh in the Letters to the Dead

2 Akh as Advocate

3 Adversaries and Malevolent Akh

4 Literacy in the Afterlife

Part 3 Textual Analysis of the Letters to the Dead

5 Transliteration, Translation, and Text Notes

1 Cairo Linen

2 Qau Bowl

3 Chicago Jar Stand

4 Letter N3737

5 Letter N3500

6 Hu Bowl

7 Boston Jar Stand

8 Stela of Nebetitef and the Misplaced Letter to the Dead

9 Louvre Bowl

10 Berlin Bowl

11 Cairo Bowl

12 Qubbet el-Hawa Bowl

13 Papyrus Berlin 10481 and 10482

14 Horhotep Ostracon

15 Oxford Bowl

16 Moscow Bowl

Conclusion

Supplementary Texts

Summary Chart of Extant Letters to the Dead

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Julia Hsieh, Ph.D. (2019), Yale University, has published articles on topics ranging from ancient Egyptian toponyms and grammatical constructions to vessel repair. Her research interests include the evolution of the Egyptian language, comparative religion, and bioarchaeology. She is the Assistant Editor of Near Eastern Archaeology, and Campaign Director & Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Yale School of Management.