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ANCIENT EGYPT: The Light of the World
With his earlier two series in Egyptology, Gerald Massey turned existing doctrine on its head to argue that not only had Egypt spawned human civilization, but that Egyptian mythology was the basis for Jewish and Christian beliefs. The culmination of his years at this particular intellectual pursuit, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World is Massey's crown jewel. In this, the most philosophical (in both tone and concept) of his Egyptological works, Massey, ever the intrepid escort, leads a tour through thousands of years of sociological, cultural, and spiritual development, all the while pointing, with dazzling reason and persuasive prose, to a distant, common, Egyptian origin. British author GERALD MASSEY (1828-1907) published works of poetry, spiritualism, Shakespearean criticism, and theology, but his best-known works are in the realm of Egyptology, including A Book of the Beginnings and The Natural Genesis.
680 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1907
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About the author
Gerald Massey
395 books52 followersGerald Massey was an English poet and writer on Spiritualism and Ancient Egypt.
Although now largely overlooked, during the mid-Victorian era Massey was considered a significant poet, both in Britain, where he achieved the distinction of being awarded a civil list pension, and in North America, where he was published widely in both books and periodicals.
He wrote poetry which was favorably noticed by established poets such as Browning and Tennyson.
He was born in abject poverty in England and earned a living by working in a factory from the age of eight. He was almost entirely self-taught; yet, he was able to write and lecture about several subjects with tremendous erudition and authority. Despite his lack of formal education, Massey could read several languages.
In his later years he published four large volumes in which he tried to trace the origin of language, symbols, myths, and religions. The work was reminiscent of Godfrey Higgins (1772-1833). His final product was not well received during his lifetime, the idea of Africa as the birthplace of mankind being quite unacceptable in Victorian England. Thus A Book of the Beginnings (1881) and his other texts were largely ignored or ridiculed until later archaeological discoveries provided more solid evidence in support of Massey's themes.
Although now largely overlooked, during the mid-Victorian era Massey was considered a significant poet, both in Britain, where he achieved the distinction of being awarded a civil list pension, and in North America, where he was published widely in both books and periodicals.
He wrote poetry which was favorably noticed by established poets such as Browning and Tennyson.
He was born in abject poverty in England and earned a living by working in a factory from the age of eight. He was almost entirely self-taught; yet, he was able to write and lecture about several subjects with tremendous erudition and authority. Despite his lack of formal education, Massey could read several languages.
In his later years he published four large volumes in which he tried to trace the origin of language, symbols, myths, and religions. The work was reminiscent of Godfrey Higgins (1772-1833). His final product was not well received during his lifetime, the idea of Africa as the birthplace of mankind being quite unacceptable in Victorian England. Thus A Book of the Beginnings (1881) and his other texts were largely ignored or ridiculed until later archaeological discoveries provided more solid evidence in support of Massey's themes.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 20, 2023
Massey, who wrote this book in 1907, was convinced that all religions and mythologies have a common origin. Based on this assumption, he thought it perfectly reasonable to compare vaguely similar concepts and words from cultures across the world—in the course of the book, he refers to cultures as far-flung as Scandinavia, South Africa, China, British Columbia, New Guinea, and Hawaii. Then, having effectively invented a new myth by conflating separate ones from different parts of the globe, he makes declarations about that myth's "true" nature. He also works under an assumption that is widespread among fringe interpreters of history: that if words have a similar sound and a similar meaning, then they are related, no matter how far separated they may be in time and space.
To give Massey some credit, he believed that Egyptian mythology contained deep, symbolic truths at a time when professional Egyptologists like Adolf Erman were contemptuously dismissing mythology as nonsense. But Massey's interpretations of myth are often badly misinformed. He says a lot of mythology is based on the zodiacal constellations, in an Egyptian astronomical tradition that goes back 10,000 years. Never mind that nobody can tell what Egyptian astronomy was like before writing was invented 5,000 years ago, or that the zodiac, a Babylonian invention, was only introduced to Egypt by the Greeks in the fourth century BC. Based on this jumble of half-truths and speculation, Massey argues that biblical stories are literalized versions of Egyptian myths.
As an example, Massey connects the Egyptian story of the Destruction of Mankind, in which fields are inundated with red-dyed beer (an allusion to the Nile flood, not the covering of all the earth with water) with Plato's story of Atlantis to prove that the Egyptians had a primordial flood myth like the biblical one. He connects it with the Aztec myth of Aztlan and the seven-chambered cave the Aztecs emerged from, and then says that because the Destruction of Mankind involves seven gods plus Ra, and Noah's Ark carried seven people plus Noah, the story of Noah's flood comes from the story of the Destruction of Mankind. Elsewhere, he relates the Tuatha De Danann, gods from Irish mythology who were said to have migrated to Ireland in the primordial past, with the Egyptian underworld, or Tuat (nowadays transcribed as Duat or Dat). And then, as nearly as I can understand it, he argues that the myth that the Tuatha De Danann migrated to Ireland and the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt are both based on the mythological movement of Egyptian gods out of the underworld, which itself is a piece of astronomical symbolism.
Of course, when people nowadays pay attention to this book, it's often because of the claim that Jesus is based on the Egyptian god Horus. Compared with what's gone earlier in the book, that allegation almost looks sober and rational. There are broad parallels in the miraculous birth, after all, or in the general theme of a king who will fix a world gone wrong—just as there are with many other hero myths across the Mediterranean. It's in the details where Massey's arguments break down. In his eyes, the cross is the djed pillar, King Herod (who we absolutely know was a real person) is the underworld "herrut" monster, and any set of seven things can be conflated with any other set of seven things.
To be clear, I think the current crop of Jesus scholars are too quick to reject claims that the basics of Christianity were drawn from any religion other than Judaism. But it is partly the exaggerated claims of people like Massey that caused scholars to develop that allergic reaction. If I were to buy a book about polytheistic influence on the Christian conception of Jesus, it would be Iesus Deus or something like it, something that carefully weighs the likelihood that similarities are the result of a direct influence. As for the rest of the book? There may be some 19th-century books that muddle world mythology even worse than this, but I haven't read them and hope I never do.
To give Massey some credit, he believed that Egyptian mythology contained deep, symbolic truths at a time when professional Egyptologists like Adolf Erman were contemptuously dismissing mythology as nonsense. But Massey's interpretations of myth are often badly misinformed. He says a lot of mythology is based on the zodiacal constellations, in an Egyptian astronomical tradition that goes back 10,000 years. Never mind that nobody can tell what Egyptian astronomy was like before writing was invented 5,000 years ago, or that the zodiac, a Babylonian invention, was only introduced to Egypt by the Greeks in the fourth century BC. Based on this jumble of half-truths and speculation, Massey argues that biblical stories are literalized versions of Egyptian myths.
As an example, Massey connects the Egyptian story of the Destruction of Mankind, in which fields are inundated with red-dyed beer (an allusion to the Nile flood, not the covering of all the earth with water) with Plato's story of Atlantis to prove that the Egyptians had a primordial flood myth like the biblical one. He connects it with the Aztec myth of Aztlan and the seven-chambered cave the Aztecs emerged from, and then says that because the Destruction of Mankind involves seven gods plus Ra, and Noah's Ark carried seven people plus Noah, the story of Noah's flood comes from the story of the Destruction of Mankind. Elsewhere, he relates the Tuatha De Danann, gods from Irish mythology who were said to have migrated to Ireland in the primordial past, with the Egyptian underworld, or Tuat (nowadays transcribed as Duat or Dat). And then, as nearly as I can understand it, he argues that the myth that the Tuatha De Danann migrated to Ireland and the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt are both based on the mythological movement of Egyptian gods out of the underworld, which itself is a piece of astronomical symbolism.
Of course, when people nowadays pay attention to this book, it's often because of the claim that Jesus is based on the Egyptian god Horus. Compared with what's gone earlier in the book, that allegation almost looks sober and rational. There are broad parallels in the miraculous birth, after all, or in the general theme of a king who will fix a world gone wrong—just as there are with many other hero myths across the Mediterranean. It's in the details where Massey's arguments break down. In his eyes, the cross is the djed pillar, King Herod (who we absolutely know was a real person) is the underworld "herrut" monster, and any set of seven things can be conflated with any other set of seven things.
To be clear, I think the current crop of Jesus scholars are too quick to reject claims that the basics of Christianity were drawn from any religion other than Judaism. But it is partly the exaggerated claims of people like Massey that caused scholars to develop that allergic reaction. If I were to buy a book about polytheistic influence on the Christian conception of Jesus, it would be Iesus Deus or something like it, something that carefully weighs the likelihood that similarities are the result of a direct influence. As for the rest of the book? There may be some 19th-century books that muddle world mythology even worse than this, but I haven't read them and hope I never do.
September 4, 2024
Gerald massey did a phenomenal job here with the facts.
February 8, 2025
such a masterpiece!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews