Behind Closed Eyes: Dreams and Nightmares in Ancient EgyptDreams and nightmares have long puzzled and fascinated, yet this is the first book to explore such visions in the Ancient Egyptian world. The author traces the evidence from the first half of Egypt's long history, the Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom, a time-span of over 1,000 years. The book is arranged thematically, with chapters devoted to the literary use of dreams, to the political use of divine visions, to the technology used to ward away terrorizing nightmares. It also explores the Ramesside Dream Book, a unique text that reveals the desires and anxieties that could inspire an Egyptian's dreams, with images of sex and power, of gods and the dead. All the relevant passages are conveniently translated in an appendix. |
Contents
Theories of dreams | 1 |
The dream phenomenon | 15 |
Literature and politics | 41 |
Copyright | |
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afterlife Amenhotep Amenhotep II Amun ancient Egypt ancient Egyptian appears Assmann attested awakening bad dreams Borghouts Černư Chester Beatty Coffin Text context couplet cultures dead deceased Deir el-Bahri Deir el-Medina deity demons described discussion divine dream Djehutiemhab Dream Book dream eating dream image dream interpretation dreamer Dynasty earth Egyptian dreams enemies evidence example farworld father funerary Gardiner suggests goddess gods Groll Hannig Hathor headrests Heni hieratic Horus incubation indicate individual Intermediate Period Ipuy king lacuna letter lexeme literary magic Majesty means Merneptah Middle Kingdom Neferhotep night nightmares non-royal Note oracular amuletic decrees Osiris papyrus Parkinson passage perception of dreams perhaps personal piety pharaoh phrase Posener possible Ptahhotep Qenherkhopshef Ramesseum Ramesside Dream Book reference to dreams relationship Ritner ritual role royal rsw.t seen sem-priest Seth Sinuhe sleep sleeper specific spell stela temple term Third Intermediate Period Thutmosis tomb translation verb Volten waking word