Mummies, Myth and Magic in Ancient Egypt

by Christine El Mahdy

Describes the origins and purpose of mummification, clears up misconceptions about mummies, and looks at recent scientific studies

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt, Egyptology, Archaeology, Reference, Egyptian Literature

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

Reviews

[DAJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may be the earliest of Thames & Hudson's informal series surveying broad aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (which I dub "The Complete X of Ancient Egypt", after the format used for many of the books' titles). While it covers all major aspects of Egyptian funerary customs, it's primarily focused on mummies, which means that other aspects of funerary culture are given rather short shrift.

The book includes an introduction with a (dated) description of afterlife beliefs and the evolution of funerary customs over the millennia. The chapters cover the history of Egyptology as it relates to mummies and burials, the mummification process, modern forensic analysis of mummies, burials and tombs, "magic" burial goods such as funerary texts and amulets, and animal mummies. Probably the most glaring oversight is the mortuary cult—people ritually interacting with the dead after burial—which receives less than a page of coverage here.

While the book is generally decent, a lot of superior books on that same topic have been published in the 36 years since then, and it suffers by comparison with them. The most similar book is Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt by John Taylor, which is somewhat longer and has more balanced coverage of the subtopics. If you want something mummy-focused, Mummies and Death in Egypt by Françoise Dunand and Roger Lichtenberg is good (and more up-to-date on the forensic analysis), and the most comprehensive source is Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity by Salima Ikram and Aidan Dodson. For mortuary cults, which Egyptologists increasingly realize have been under-studied relative to their importance to the Egyptians, the most general source is Living with the Dead: Ancestor Worship and Mortuary Ritual in Ancient Egypt by Nicola Harrington.

[Sakura · Rating 5 out of 5]

An older book but a good overview of all salient points of Egyptian mummies, their burial, their gods and the afterlife. The illustrations are well-chosen and fascinating.

The ‘Myth and Magic’ part of the title was probably picked for the pleasing triple alliteration and shouldn’t deter you. It mainly refers to the ancient Egyptian beliefs.
More recent myths (e.g. mummies as medicine and Tutankhamun’s curse) are mentioned but treated with skepticism.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good and accessible

[jason perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read, very informative.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures, good text. Thankfully, not much in the 'myth' part. I read enough of the Osiris, Horus, and Apis Bull stuff in my younger days and didn't find it terribly exciting then. Good material on the history of mummification techniques and modern analysis of the remains, much of which hadn't been done yet back in my Egyptophilia days.

[Meadow Frisbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will devour every book I can get my hands on about ancient egypt!

[Cheryl Carpinello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the details that El Mahdy included. An interesting read and an in-depth look at Ancient Egypt.

[Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book to read if you are interested in Egyptian mummification and its history and mythology. Easy and interesting to read. Wonderful photos, diagrams, and drawings.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift when I was a teen and it's one of my childhood treasures.