Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194590 in Books
• Published on: 1969-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 548 pages

Customer Reviews

Please take all antique writings with a grain of salt.
Please take all antique writings with a grain of salt. I believe that one needs to view and interpret this book within the cultural milieu of 1900. I am not defending the ethnocentrism of that time or the occasional downright bigotry in this book. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Like it or not, all of Budge's works on Egyptology are vital historical records and treatises. He is the one turn of the century egyptologist who approaches the subject from a magical and mystical perspective. If you are looking for the most up-to-date information on Ancient Egypt, this book is not for you. But if you are looking for some books that capture the Magick of Egypt that influenced Hermetic traditions such as the Golden Dawn and A^A^, I think that this book along with its companion volume, as well as Egyptian Magic and The Egyptian Religion (both by Budge and available on Amazon), are four essential source documents.

Gods of the Egyptians
Published more than 100 years ago, it still appears to carry authority. Very detailed account of Egyptian deities. Needs concentrated reading; of interest to people with more than a passing interest in the topic. New edition. A second volume follows this.

Extensive
I disagree that Budge did not mention that Christianity came from Egyptian religion. He did mention, in one of the first chapters that both Judaism, Christianity and Islam all are rooted in traditional Egyptian religious practice. I found that statement highly enlightening. And although he does pay tribuite to the classical Western view that ancient Egyptians were "half savage," he does clarify that he disagrees with that statement. In Budge's opinion, the Egyptians are clearly complex in their religious beliefs depending on where they lived and no broad statements of condemnation can be made about what little we understand of them. I do think he holds a high opinion of the ancient Egyptians, and although I cannot read hieroglyphics I trust that what he writes is to the best of his knowledge (at the time) correct.