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Ancient Egyptian Literature:
Religious
Most major advances in Egyptian civilization were
first introduced to assist religion (particularly funerary
practices) before they were applied to secular needs. The earliest
examples of writing (hieroglyphs) are found in religious contexts.
This probably reflects the purpose for which they were first used,
but it must also be recognized that they may have survived because
they were carved on stone, whereas any secular writings of the same
date, even if they existed, would have been inscribed on perishable
materials such as papyrus and wood.
Old Kingdom The first extant important texts date to the Old Kingdom. They include the Pyramid Texts, Instructions in Wisdom, and creation myths, but in addition to these state or royal inscriptions there are also nonroyal or “private” examples. Inscriptions were used to identify and augment the pictorial content of the wall scenes in nobles’ and officials’ tombs. There were also the autobiography and offering list in the nonroyal tomb to ensure the status of the deceased owner in the next world and his eternal food supply. The autobiography recorded the owner’s official rank, titles, and details of family relationships so that he would continue to hold high office in the next world. It gave a summary of his life, emphasizing his virtues and high standard of behavior but omitting any details of his sins. The offering list, one of the earliest examples of a formal inscription, became an important element in the Old Kingdom tomb. It included a basic offering formula (the hetep-di-nesw meaning “a boon which the King gives”) that asked for food and other offerings through the agency of the god Anubis or the king’s bounty. It provided the deceased with a magical source of sustenance throughout eternity. This became a standard feature of the funerary equipment for hundreds of years. Later, it was often inscribed on a stela (a stone block); these were produced and set up by ordinary people as memorials. . Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom was the greatest period of literature, when the classical form of hieroglyphs, known today as Middle Egyptian, was developed. The literature of this era reflected the added depth and maturity that the country now gained as a result of the civil wars and upheavals of the First Intermediate Period. New genres of literature were developed including the so-called Pessimistic Literature, which perhaps best exemplifies the self-analysis and doubts that the Egyptians now experienced. The formal magico-religious funerary inscriptions continued, but because of the democratization of religious beliefs these were now used by many people across a much greater social spectrum. The Pyramid Texts, once the strict preserve of royalty and designed to ensure the king’s afterlife in the heavens, were now adapted for nonroyal use. Written on the coffins of all who could afford them, these now became the Coffin Texts. They incorporated spells and the offering list designed to ensure the continuation of the deceased in the next world. There were also new forms introduced into the wisdom literature. This, as well as the formal historical inscriptions, now emphasized the king’s role as an all-powerful human ruler who had reunited Egypt rather than his status as a god. In the Instruction of King Amenemhet I even the assassination of the king could be mentioned because royal power was again firmly established. In addition to this formal moral propaganda, the new vehicle of the short story designed to entertain public audiences was used to convey propaganda supported by the state. .
New Kingdom
New Kingdom literature, developed in a period when Egypt had founded an empire, displays a more cosmopolitan approach. This is expressed in texts that seek to promote the great state god, Amen-Re, as a universal creator and in the inscriptions carved on temple walls and elsewhere that relate the king’s military victories in Nubia and Syria. The walls of divine and royal cult complexes are covered in scenes with accompanying inscriptions depicting the rituals offered to the gods and kings and the great festivals as well as coronation and temple foundation and consecration ceremonies. These inscriptions also include hymns sung at the festivals. In the New Kingdom, deep rock-cut tombs replaced pyramids as royal burial places, and scenes within the tombs in the Valley of the Kings represent the dangers that the owner encountered and had to defeat in his journey to the next world. The accompanying inscriptions provide magical spells to enable him to overcome these barriers. In the tombs of courtiers and officials the wall scenes and accompanying inscriptions illustrate the daily existence of the owner, which he hoped to re-create in the afterlife. He was also supplied with a papyrus roll inscribed with the Book of the Dead (and sometimes other similar magical texts), which was intended to ensure his safe passage into the next world. These formed the final development of the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts now made available to many people. The Schoolboy Exercises from the late New Kingdom preserve wisdom texts, prayers, and hymns to gods, as well as a new genre model letters between teachers and pupils emphasizing moral and ethical standards. These texts sometimes form the only extant copies of important earlier works. In general both in the new wisdom texts and in votive hymns from the royal workmen’s village of Deir el-Medina there is greater personal awareness and humility in the relationship expressed between an individual and his god. During the Amarna Period at the end of Dynasty 18, the hymns to the Aten express the concept of solar monotheism that the king now attempted to introduce. They incorporate some earlier ideas but also express in an unprecedented way the idea of the Aten’s exclusive nature and role as a creative and caring universal deity. Passages in these hymns and in some other New Kingdom texts have been shown to have close associations with some biblical verses. .
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Later Periods
During the last millennium of Egypt’s history there was a complex pattern of conquest, decline, native resurgence, and final destruction and incorporation within the Roman Empire. These changes produced their own effects upon personal beliefs and attitudes; widespread uncertainty and personal distress replaced the old values and certainties, forcing people to seek new solutions and personal salvation. The idea that a virtuous life would ensure a blessed eternity was less readily accepted. Instead, people placed more reliance on obtaining divine help to attain happiness. In this uncertain world the literature reflects the widespread insecurity. On one hand there were nationalistic trends, such as the revival of earlier Egyptian forms in the art and literature under the native rulers of Dynasty 26. Scribes studied and faithfully reproduced the style and content of earlier texts, since it was believed that power and prestige could be derived from such works. Some monumental inscriptions were even written in Middle Egyptian. Under the Ptolemaic and Roman rulers existing Egyptian temples were refurbished, and new ones were built. These copied the wall scenes and inscriptions of New Kingdom temples so that the foreign kings could now claim that the Egyptian gods accepted them as legitimate rulers, thus allowing them to take advantage of the same rights and privileges. Because of their relatively late date these temple inscriptions are well preserved and provide extensive material about rituals, festivals, and other ceremonies, although some of the texts are written in Ptolemaic Egyptian, a late and specialized form of hieroglyphs that is still not fully understood. Many other earlier types of literature such as funerary autobiographies, historical accounts of decrees and military victories, and some Instructions in Wisdom survived into these later periods. The wisdom texts incorporated some new ideas and were now written in demotic. .
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Ancient Egyptian Literature: Religious
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