Egyptian

Literature
 Ancient Egyptian literature tackled
almost all aspects of life.

Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a

wide array of narrative and poetic forms
including inscriptions on tombs, stele,
obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and
legends; religious writings; philosophical
works; wisdom literature;
autobiographies; biographies; histories;
poetry; hymns; personal essays; letters
and court records.

 Ancient Egyptian
literature, which is one of
the world's earliest, is an
important component of
Ancient Egypt's great
civilization, and a
representation of the
peoples' life, culture, and
beliefs.

Egyptian Heigrolyphics

Forms of
Heiratic symbol
Writings
Demotic
 The Egyptians first used
hieroglyphs exclusively for
inscriptions carved or painted
on temple walls. This form of
HEIGROLYPHICS
pictorial writing was also used
on tombs, sheets of papyrus,
wooden boards covered with a
stucco wash, potsherds and
fragments of limestone.

 Hieratic was a simplified form

of hieroglyphics used for
administrative and business HEIRATIC
purposes, as well as for SYMBOL
literary, scientific and religious
texts.
 Demotic, a Greek word
meaning "popular script", was DEMOTIC
in general use for the daily
requirements of the society.
COPTIC
Periods of

Egyptian

Literature
 Offering Lists
Autobiographies
OLD
Pyramid Texts KINGDOM
(2705-2213 BC,
Instructions in Wisdom Dynasties 3-8)

Classical age of Egyptian literature.

Middle Egyptian
MIDDLE
Pessimistic Literature
KINGDOM

The Dispute Between a Man and his Ba (soul),

The Eloquent Peasant, The Satire of the (1991-1668 BC,
Trades, The Instruction of King Amenemhet I Dynasties 12-13)
for his Son Senusret I, the Prophecies of

Neferti, and the Admonitions of Ipuwer.

The Lay of the Harper

MIDDLE
The most famous prose narratives in KINGDOM
Egyptian history - The Tale of the
Shipwrecked Sailor and The Story of (1991-1668 BC,
Sinuhe Dynasties 12-13)

 Age of Empire
During the New Kingdom these works
were largely hymns, prayers, instructions
in wisdom, praise songs, love poems, and NEW
stories.
An interesting aspect of New Kingdom KINGDOM
literature is its emphasis on the
(1570-1070 BC,
importance of the scribal tradition.
Dynasties 18-20)
The narrative structure of the prose work

of the time, and sometimes even plot

elements, will also be recognized in later

works. (Story of Truth and Falsehood)
The Prince Who Was Threatened by Three
Fates (also known as The Doomed Prince)
and The Two Brothers (also known as The
Fate of an Unfaithful Wife). NEW
The Contendings of Horus and Set
KINGDOM
(1570-1070 BC,
Dynasties 18-20)
The Book of Coming Forth by Day

Following the New Kingdom came the era

known as the Third Intermediate Period
(c. 1069-525 BCE) and then the Late
Period (525-323 BCE) and the Ptolemaic
Dynasty (323-30 BCE) after which Egypt
was annexed by Rome. Around the 4th
century CE Christianity rose to
prominence in Egypt and the Christian
Egyptians (known as Copts) developed
their own script, a kind of hybrid of
demotic Egyptian and Greek, and the old
texts of hieroglyphic and hieratic script
were forgotten.

Types of

Egyptian

Literature
Predominates in Egypt

RELIGIOUS
Funerary Literature
LITERATURE
Devotional Literature
 FUNERARY LITERATURE
These are the oldest texts, and most
extensively preserved.

1. The Pyramid Texts : Old Kingdom

2. The Coffin Texts : First Intermediate
Period & Middle Kingdom
3. The Book of the Dead : Second
Intermediate Period
4. The Netherworld (Duat) guides : the
Amduat, Book of Gates, Book of
Caverns, etc.
5. Special compositions : Mouth-
Opening Ritual, Litany of Re, Book of
the Heavenly Cow

DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE

Hymns
Prayers
Induction rituals.
 The wisdom literature can be found
throughout all periods of ancient
Egyptian history from the Old Kingdom
through to the New Kingdom.

The wisdom texts represent one special

WISDOM
category of literature because they look LITERATURE
at codes of behaviour and ethical values
of the ancient Egyptian society, what
they thought was right and wrong, and
how they taught people and passed on
moral codes.
The values recorded in these texts are
values that would stand up in any
society today; they express kindness,
moderation and the ability to make
good judgements.
WISDOM
The Wisdom of Ptahhotep LITERATURE
The Wisdom of Amenemope (Eighth
century BC)
The Wisdom of the Pharaoh Kheti
c2070 BC
 ‘Do not let your heart become proud because of what you know;
Learn from the ignorant as well as the learned man.
There are no limits that have been decreed for art;
There is no artist who attains entire excellence.

The
A lovely thought is harder to come by than a jewel;
One can find it in the hand of a maid at the grindstone.

Do not let your heart become swollen with pride

In case you may be humbled.

Wisdom
It is true that one may become rich through doing evil,
But the power of Truth and Justice is that they endure
And that a man can say of them: “They are a heritage from my father”. of

If you are resolute, acquire a reputation

For knowledge and kindliness. Ptahhotep

Follow the dictates of your heart.

Let your face shine during the time that you live…
It is the kindliness of a man that is remembered
During the years that follow …’
 The pessimistic literature shows
that the Egyptians contemplated
many of basic problems facing PESSIMISTIC
mankind. They were particularly
concerned with the origin of evil,
LITERATURE
the proper way to combat evil, and
the proper way to promote justice
in an insecure world.
 An interesting specimen of
this type is the dialogue of a
disappointed man with his PESSIMISTIC
soul, Dialogue of a Pessimist
LITERATURE
with His Soul and the
Admonitions of an Egyptian
Sage