The History of Egypt

Ancient Fairytales (Part 2). Sometime in the 18th Dynasty, perhaps around the time of Akhenaten, a fairy-tale became popular in Egypt. The story spoke of a prince, forced to flee his home after a prophecy foretold that he would die from one of three fates - a dog, a snake, or a crocodile. Leaving Egypt, the prince went on many adventures - some quite familiar from our own fairy tales. Inevitably, though, the young man had to face his destiny, and confront the three fates which came for him... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.  Select Bibliography: Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume II: The New Kingdom, 1976. George Posener, “On the Tale of the Doomed Prince,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 39 (1953). JSTOR. William Kelly Simpson (ed.), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2003. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ancient Fairytales (Part 1). In the late 18th or early 19th Dynasties, a story developed in Egypt. It told of two siblings, Anubis and Bata, who contended with injustice and misfortune. Facing treachery, divine intervention and even the pharaoh himself, the two brothers overcame obstacles and sought to restore justice, against those who did them wrong. In this fairytale, we see how two (divine) beings contended with falsehood. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.  Select Bibliography: Susan T. Hollis, The Ancient Egyptian “Tale of Two Brothers:” The Oldest Fairy Tale in the World, 1990. Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume II: The New Kingdom, 1976. Thomas Schneider, “Innovation in Literature on Behalf of Politics: The Tale of the Two Brothers, Ugarit, and 19th Dynasty History,” Egypt and the Levant 18 (2008). Online. William Kelly Simpson (ed.), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2003. Pascale M. Teysseire, Portrayal of Women in the Ancient Egyptian Tale, PhD. Dissertation, 1998. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Akhenaten (Part 9): A Royal Son. By 1352 BCE, Akhenaten and his family were well ensconced in the palaces of Amarna. The pharaoh could enjoy the company of his Great Wife, Nefertiti, and his three elder daughters. He could also enjoy the pleasures afforded by his second wife and look forward to the eventual birth of his son, a prince who would become one of the most famous names in Egyptian history... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2012. Lyn Green, ‘The Royal Women of Amarna: Who Was Who’, in D. Arnold et al. (eds), The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt (New York, 1999), 7--16. Free download. Nozomu Kawai, Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun, PhD Diss., 2006. Preview. Barry Kemp, City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People, 2012. Arris Kramer, “Enigmatic Kiya,” in A.K. Eyma and C.J. Bennett (eds.), A Delta-Man in Yebu: Occasional Volume of the Egyptologists’ Electronic Forum, Volume I (2003): 48-64. Google Books preview. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. I: The Tomb of Meryre, 1903. Archive.org. William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995. William J. Murnane and Cornel van Siclen III, The Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten, 1993. Alain Zivie, La tombe de Maïa, mère nourricière du roi Toutânkhamon et grande du harem (Bub. I. 20), 2009. Alain Zivie, “La nourrice royale Maïa et ses voisins: cinq tombeaux du Nouvel Empire récemment découverts à Saqqara” Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1998): 33-54. Online edition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 1354 BCE (regnal year 8), Akhenaten took care to organise his new royal city. Among other things he expanded the agricultural domain which would serve Aten (the sun god), and he also appointed new priests and administrators to manage his temples. As the first decade of his rule came towards its end, Akhenaten's vision was finally starting to become reality... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2012. Barry Kemp, City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People, 2012. Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1984. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. I: The Tomb of Meryre, 1903. Archive.org. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. II: The Tombs of Panehsy and Meryre II, 1905. Archive.org. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. V: Smaller Tombs and Boundary Stela, 1908. Archive.org. William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995. William J. Murnane and Cornel van Siclen III, The Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten, 1993. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amarna (Part 5): Great Temples. When he established his new residence-city, Akhenaten made special provision for his god’s house. Two great temples, dedicated to the solar disc, rose on the east bank of the Nile River. Searching the archaeological remains, and scouring the artistic record of these temples, we can get a sense of how Akhenaten worshipped his god; and some of the symbols and meanings he used to express it... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2012. Barry Kemp, City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People, 2012. J.D.S. Pendlebury, The City of Akhenaten, Part III, Vol II, 1951. Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1984. Eric Uphill, “The Per Aten at Amarna,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1970. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. I: The Tomb of Meryre, 1903. Archive.org. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. II: The Tombs of Panehsy and Meryre II, 1905. Archive.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1983, Philip Glass debuted his opera Akhnaten, a bold musical exploration of the pharaoh, his reign and his legacy. Now, Akhnaten returns in a new run. Akhnaten by The Metropolitan Opera, in New York, is running from November 8th to December 7th, 2019 and will be broadcast worldwide in cinemas; find tickets here Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Precursors to Atenism.The god Aten has a long history; and in the 18th Dynasty, many Egyptians were praising the sun god in a variety of forms (Ra, Atum, Horakhty, Aten, Khepri etc). Akhenaten's reforms were radical, but they have some obvious roots. Looking at several religious texts, side by side, we can see how the sun god became a major, universal deity at this time... Date = 1400-1360 BCE King = Akhenaten Queen = Nefertiti Location = Thebes and Amarna Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com Sistrum by Hathor Systrum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7pYdPOS4yw.  Select Bibliography: Jan Assmann, Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom, 1995. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. IV: The Tombs of Penthu, Mahu and Others, 1906. Online edition at Archive.org. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. VI: The Tombs of Parennefer, Tutu, and Aye, 1908. Online edition at Archive.org. Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014. Jean Saint Fare Garnot, “Notes on the Inscriptions of Suty and Ḥor (British Museum Stela No. 826),” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 35 (1949): 63-68. James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & The Origins of Monotheism, 2015. Erik Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, 1999. Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 1976. William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995. OIP, The Tomb of Kheruef, 1980. Online edition at University of Chicago. Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten the Heretic King, 1987. Online edition at Archive.org. H.M. Stewart, “A Possibly Contemporary Parallel to the Inscription of Suty and Hor,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 43 (1957): 3-5. Stephen Quirke, The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt, 2001. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Akhenaten (Part 7): The Great Hymn to Aten.In 1356 BCE, Egypt sweltered under the heat of Aten's rays; the god's servant, King Akhenaten, glorified the deity above all. We see this in some remarkable prayers and hymns which survive in the hidden tombs of Akhenaten's city. In these sepulchres, we find glimpses of the King's beliefs and how he expressed them... Date = c.1356 BCE King = Akhenaten Queen = Nefertiti Location = Akhet-Aten / Amarna Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Aten Hymn Translation: UCL Website Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten King of Egypt, 1988. Jan Assmann, Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom, 1995. Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. VI: The Tombs of Parennefer, Tutu, and Aye, 1908. Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014. James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & The Origins of Monotheism, 2015. Erik Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, 1999. Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2, 1976. William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995. William J. Murnane and Charles van Siclen III, The Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten, 1993. Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten the Heretic King, 1987 Stephen Quirke, The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt, 2001. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amarna Tales (Part 1). East of Akhet-Aten (Amarna), a walled-village hides among the hills. This "East Village" is a well-ordered, secluded community. It seems to be the new home of pharaoh's tomb builders. Originally, they lived at Deir el-Medina in west Luxor. But when Akhenaten founded his new royal city, the tomb-builders left their homes and came here. Today, archaeologists have uncovered a vast amount of material. Homes, animal pens, chapels, and countless artefacts shed light on daily life and family organisation in ancient Egypt. From homes to chapels, guard-houses to water depots, the East Village offers fantastic insights. It even includes traces of Tutankhamun, before he abandoned Amarna...Episode details: Date: c.1355 - 1340 BCE. Location: Akhet-Aten (el-Amarna). Kings: Akhenaten, Neferneferuaten, Tutankhaten/Tutankhamun. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Logo image: A battle standard or soldier's emblem, with a sigil of Wepwawet (Kemp 2012). Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Music by Bettina Joy de Guzman www.bettinajoydeguzman.com. Music interludes by Luke Chaos https://twitter.com/Luke_Chaos. Select Bibliography: Read reports on the East Village and other aspects of Amarna's archaeology free, at The Amarna Project. M. Bierbrier, The Tomb-Builders of the Pharaohs (1982). A. H. Bomann, The Private Chapel in Ancient Egypt: A Study of the Chapels in the Workmen’s Village at El Amarna with Special Reference to Deir el Medina and Other Sites (1991). B. G. Davies, Life Within the Five Walls: A Handbook to Deir el-Medina (2018). B. Kemp, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People (2012). B. J. Kemp, Amarna Reports I (1984). Free at The Amarna Project. B. J. Kemp, ‘The Amarna Workmen’s Village in Retrospect’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 73 (1987), 21–50. T. E. Peet and C. L. Woolley, The City of Akhenaten, Volume I (1923). Available free at Archive.org. A. Stevens, Private Religion at Amarna. The Material Evidence (2006). A. Stevens, ‘Private Religion in the Amarna Suburbs’, in F. Kampp-Seyfried (ed.), In the Light of Amarna: 100 Years of the Nefertiti Discovery (2012), 95—97. A. Stevens, ‘Visibility, Private Religion and the Urban Landscape of Amarna’, in M. Dalton et al. (eds.), Seen & Unseen Spaces (2015), 77—84. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Story So Far... We've covered a lot since Amunhotep IV / Akhenaten appeared on the throne of Egypt. Today, we take a breather to sort it all out and summarise what we've seen so far. This will put us on a good footing for even more drama in the years to come... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices