Gli Egiziani: Tre millenni di civiltà

Ancient Peoples and Places

by Cyril Aldred

The twin themes - the overwhelming importance of the Nile and the pharaoh - provide the unifying thread running through Cyril Aldred's classic text. Aidan Dodson has completely revised the book whilst carefully preserving its succinct and lucid qualities.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Egyptology, Africa, Ancient History, Historical

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Cyril Aldred was a British Egyptologist, art historian and author. He also served as the Keeper of Art and Archaeology for the Royal Scottish Museum.

Reviews

[Herald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely important culture!!! Will be delving into the progression of their theology following this read.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1961, this third edition was edited and augmented by Aidan Dodson and released in 1998. I do not know if it is typical in archaeological and ancient historical works for old books to be reissued with a little updating, but it's strange for other kinds of history books. Usually the date of a work provides a good indication of its relevance. Academic theories, methods and pet ideas change with some rapidity. So I prepared myself for something relatively fusty. The Egyptians is not, however, fusty. Aldred writes beautifully, definitely having taken a lesson from those fine old school narrative historians like Stephen Runciman. Probably a more accurate comment is that Aldred was a fine old school narrative historian - he predeceased Runciman by almost a decade. And if I had my guess, I would wager that Dodson devoured and adored Aldred's work as an undergraduate or graduate. His additions to the work are, stylistically, obscure and blend well with Aldred's voice. If I knew more about Egyptology I might be able to identify more modern interpretations of artifacts and decide how much altering Dodson actually did. In any case, this reads as a unified work of careful scholarship. Unfortunately, its date does tend to show in Aldred's moderate use of the word "primitive" as though it describes anything other than the writer's own cultural arrogance, and in blandly racist observations about how portrait statues of the Nubian pharaohs have more "Africanized" features (by which I take him to mean black), which according to Aldred makes them seem more stern and aggressive. I only regret Dodson didn't remove these few antiquated and offensive ideas. Otherwise an informative read and frequently an enjoyable one. When I wasn't rolling my eyes.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensively revised and updated third edition of Cyril Aldred's classic work, the Egyptians will appeal to a literate person with a genuine interest in Ancient Egypt on a very detailed and comprehensive level. This book is not for the faint of heart or indolent. The discussion of prehistoric Egypt in this book owes much to Aidan Dodson, revision and editing. The discussion of the Pharoah Hathsheptut is particularly valuable as it summarizes briefly and authoritatively what recent authors have spent whole books on with in many cases wild speculations

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice update to a classic book on ancient Egypt. It is a good book to get a basic background in the geography, archeology, and history of ancient Egypt from the earliest settlements to Alexander. It includes a complete king-list that is very valuable. It is easy to read and has lots of nice color and black and white plates.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

text book i utilized in class that i actually really enjoyed, would not read more than once though.

[Gracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Gli Egiziani: tre millenni di civiltà"