Here is a book that simplifies our understanding of a complex and fascinating aspect of the Ancient Egyptian culture Wilkinson, Richard (2005) The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt , American University in Cairo Press, Cairo Richard H Wilkinson's The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt lifts the layers of myth and ritual to present the first fully illustrated and systematic survey of the deities of Ancient Egypt, their evolution, different manifestations, worship, rituals and festivals. It is a book which, moreover, outlines the lasting legacy of Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. Many books have been written on the deities of Ancient Egypt, but none quite like this. The Complete Gods and Goddesses provides a comprehensive catalogue of Egyptian deities, their worship from early Pharaonic times to the Roman period, and the book is enhanced with beautiful and appropriate photographs as well as newly- commissioned drawings of tomb paintings, statues and temple reliefs. It is part of the "Complete" series and, in my opinion, the most needed, because while The Complete Pyramids, The Complete Royal Families, The Complete Temples, The Complete Tutankhamun, provide more of the same on each subject, Gods and Goddesses does more. Richard Wilkinson, professor and director of the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition, has written about "the lives and hoped-for afterlives of the Egyptians" in a manner that is both informative and entertaining. Part I covers the genesis of the Egyptian gods, which goes far back to prehistoric times, and covers their birth, rule, and decline -- because gods did, in fact, grow old and die. Part II presents the different forms of the divine, manifestations of the gods, and includes the 19th century debate among Egyptologists as to whether the Ancient Egyptians believed in one god, or many -- a debate which, incidentally, continues to this day. "Popular religion and piety" is covered in Part III, which is one of the most interesting chapters because, although the common people played little or no active part in the formal rituals conducted by the officials cults, pious visitors did go to temples. They donated perishable objects such as food, drink or flowers as well as finely carved objects including painted statues and votive stelae. Among the latter are what is known as 'ear stelae' on which pairs of ears are carved or painted in order that the divine being to whom the deceased addresses his prayers is sure to hear them. Part IV includes kingship and the gods, and the deceased and the divine. Wilkinson points out that there is little doubt that even today, in the 21st century, many of Egypt's gods and religious symbols continue to exist -- sometimes unbeknown to their perpetuators and sometimes unknowingly. "Through the Mediterranean sailors still paint an eye on the prow of their boats for protection and to 'see' their way ahead without realizing they continue a custom begun by the ancient Egyptians with the Eye of Horus," writes Wilkinson, who also points out that, "In Egypt, local women desiring to have children still occasionally visit the crypts of Hathor's Temple, as that goddess retains a reputation for granting fertility almost two millennia after her cult was overthrown". Strangely, an important section of the book, and one that would be of particular interest to local and expatriate readers in Egypt, has been relegated to the very end. It appears on page 242, just before the Bibliography. There we find an Epilogue entitled "The Lasting Legacy", which should more appropriately have been placed before The Catalogue of Deities. "Long before the ancient Egyptian civilization reached its end, it exerted enormous influence on its neighbours, trading partners and even its enemies," writes the author in this easily overlooked section of his book. "The old ways and old gods would prove to be the seeds from which new religious ideas would continue to grow ... Other later religious and even secular philosophies have likewise been affected by the deities of Egypt. Greek accounts of Egyptian myths continued to influence Western cultures during the Medieval and Renaissance periods ... The philosophy of Neo-Platonism and various forms of the Hermetic mysteries all contained ideas which were essentially Egyptian ... and as late as the 17th century, the German Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher argued that the goddess Isis was an emanation of the queen of heaven of Roman Catholic belief". Why, one is tempted to ask, is there such a concerted effort among scholars to stress the gap between pagan and Christian when, as Wilkinson admits, there is vast modern interest in Ancient Egypt which focuses on the civilization's gods and goddesses, "ranging from the detached study of scholars of comparative religion to the fervent efforts of latter day pagans who desire to resurrect the ancient cults"? Why, indeed, do so many scholars who have filled in blanks of ancient history, and revised their thoughts on many different aspects of Egypt's ancient culture, shy from taking the last step -- that of acknowledging evidence of 'a lasting legacy' -- as outlined by Wilkinson in his Epilogue. The Epilogue, incidentally, is illustrated with two images that are worthy of note. One is a ritual stela of the goddess Isis, shown in typical Graeco-Roman manner with the diminutive horns and sun disk atop her head directly betraying her Egyptian origin and identity, the other is a bronze statue of the god Horus in the dress of a Roman soldier. The Complete Gods and Goddesses is a delight to handle, to read, and to absorb. By Jill Kamil
