Ebook: Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great

A classic study of daily life in ancient Egypt, Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great is the masterwork of the dean of modern Egyptologists, Pierre Montet. Renowned for its accuracy, scope, and Montet’s work conveys in a warmly—sympathetic—though not kamen aleetmenes the richness and—complexity of ancient Egyptian life.

The book focuses on the era of the great builders at Karnak and Luxor, the Ramesside kings (ca. 1314-1090 B.C.), and surveys both upper and lower Egypt to give a comprehensive picture o pharaonic society. Montet combines studies of monuments and tombs with data from pictorial and literary sources, including papyrus documents, to depict the experiences of royalty, priests, urban artisans and professionals, peasants and slaves. Here, too, are colorful descriptions of dwelling places, seasonal activities, holiday observances, family life, travel, justice, warfare, and the rites of burial—all enhanced by Montet’s appreciation for the ancient Egyptian way of life. Specialist, student, and general reader alike will find this enduring work an invaluable and engaging reference.

Pierre Montet (1885-1966) was an archenlonin and professor of Egyptology at the University of Strasbourg. La Vie quotidienne en Egypte au temps des Ramses was first published in France in 1946.

David B. O’Connor is associate curator of the Egyptian section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum and associate professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.