The Religion of Ancient Egypt

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. In this concise 1912 publication, aimed at non-specialists, Petrie discusses the key aspects of ancient Egyptian religion and the philosophies that underpinned it. Beginning with an explanation of the ancient conception of deities, the text explores the various types of god in the Egyptian pantheon and the ancient theory of the afterlife. It also gives due attention to such structures of belief as ritual, priesthood and scripture. The book ends with an examination of the ways in which ancient Egyptian religion spread through the ancient world and how Egyptian ideas were reused and transformed by later religions, including Christianity. Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career, and a great many of his other publications - for both specialists and non-specialists - are also reissued in this series.