Erik Iversen describes the powerful effect of the "myth of Egypt," particularly Egyptian hieroglyphs, on European literature, art, religion, and philosophy. This is the story of a creative misunderstanding: an erroneous interpretation of the traditions of ancient Egypt became a rich source of inspiration for Europeans from ancient times through the medieval and Renaissance periods to the Baroque era. The misguided notion that hieroglyphs were allegorical, and that they constituted a sacred writing of ideas, exerted a ...
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Erik Iversen describes the powerful effect of the "myth of Egypt," particularly Egyptian hieroglyphs, on European literature, art, religion, and philosophy. This is the story of a creative misunderstanding: an erroneous interpretation of the traditions of ancient Egypt became a rich source of inspiration for Europeans from ancient times through the medieval and Renaissance periods to the Baroque era. The misguided notion that hieroglyphs were allegorical, and that they constituted a sacred writing of ideas, exerted a dynamic influence in almost all fields of intellectual and artistic endeavor, as did conceptions of Egypt as the venerable home of true wisdom and of occult and mystic knowledge. The Baroque Piazza Navona in Rome, for instance, is only one of the many great public spaces that center on an Egyptian obelisk and an attempt to read its mysterious signs. Iversen begins by discussing the nature of Egyptian writing. Then he explains, in detail and with apposite illustrations and quotations, the ways in which Europeans tried to understand and use the hieroglyphs. A final chapter sets Jean Fran???ois Champollion's decipherment of the hieroglyphs into a vividly reconstructed historical context.
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Add this copy of The Myth of Egypt and Its Hieroglyphs in European to cart. $14.78, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Princeton University Press.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
Add this copy of The Myth of Egypt and Its Hieroglyphs in European to cart. $70.51, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Princeton University Press.
