First published in 1973, this anthology has assumed classic status in the field of Egyptology and portrays the remarkable evolution of the literary forms of one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Beginning with the early and gradual evolution of Egyptian genres, it includes biographical and historical inscriptions carved on stone, the various classes of works written with pen on papyrus, and the mortuary literature that focuses on life after death. It then shows the culmination of these literary genres within the single period known as the New Kingdom (1550–1080 B.C.) and ends in the last millennium of Pharaonic civilization, from the tenth century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era. An introduction written in three parts by Antonio Loprieno, Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert, and Joseph G. Manning completes this classic anthology. “Miriam Lichtheim’s three-volume set is the most complete compilation; it is accessible to the general reader and simultaneously useful to the scholar; its critical apparatus is excellent.”— World Literature Today   “This is an admirable and valuable book. For the scholar it presents thoroughly reliable translations, with commentary and documentation. For the amateur of literature it presents a comprehensive selection of prose and poetry, felicitously put into English.”— Cambridge Review of Middle East Studies   “The new collection of ancient Egyptian literary masterpieces in English translation from the pen of Miriam Lichtheim is both representative and up to date. It is a literary masterpiece in itself, a landmark in the translation of ancient texts, and a scholarly achievement of outstanding excellence.”— Journal of Near Eastern Studies   “Miriam Lichtheim’s three-volume set is the most complete compilation; it is accessible to the general reader and simultaneously useful to the scholar; its critical apparatus is excellent.”— World Literature Today   “This is an admirable and valuable book. For the scholar it presents thoroughly reliable translations, with commentary and documentation. For the amateur of literature it presents a comprehensive selection of prose and poetry, felicitously put into English.”— Cambridge Review of Middle East Studies   “The new collection of ancient Egyptian literary masterpieces in English translation from the pen of Miriam Lichtheim is both representative and up to date. It is a literary masterpiece in itself, a landmark in the translation of ancient texts, and a scholarly achievement of outstanding excellence.”— Journal of Near Eastern Studies   For thirty years Miriam Lichtheim (1914–2004) was Near East Bibliographer and Lecturer at University of California, Los Angeles. She retired in 1974 to devote herself to Egyptological research and later moved to Jerusalem where she taught at Hebrew University.  Ancient Egyptian Literature By Miriam Lichtheim UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2019 The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-30584-7 Contents VOLUME I: THE OLD AND MIDDLE KINGDOMS, Preface, Chronology, Abbreviations and Symbols, Foreword by Antonio Loprieno, Introduction, Literary Genres and Literary Styles, PART ONE. THE OLD KINGDOM, 1. Monumental Inscriptions from Private Tombs, 2. A Royal Decree, 3. From the Pyramid Texts, 4. A Theological Treatise, 5. Didactic Literature, PART TWO. THE TRANSITION TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, 1. Monumental Inscriptions from Private Tombs, 2. The Prayers of a Theban King, 3. The Testament of a Heracleopolitan King, PART THREE: THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, 1. Monumental Inscriptions, 2. A Spell from the Coffin Texts, 3. Didactic Literature, 4. Songs and Hymns, 5. Prose Tales, VOLUME II: THE NEW KINGDOM, Preface, Chronology, Abbreviations and Symbols, Foreword by Hans-W. Fischer-Elfert, Introduction, PART ONE: MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS, 1. Inscriptions from Private Tombs, 2. Inscriptions from Royal Monuments, PART TWO: HYMNS, PRAYERS, AND A HARPER'S SONG, The Great Hymn to Osiris, Two Hymns to the Sun-God, Hymns and Prayers from El-Amarna, A Prayer and a Hymn of General Haremhab, Three Penitential Hymns from Deir el-Medina, Prayers Used as School Texts, A Harper's Song from the Tomb of Neferhotep, PART THREE: FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, Chapters 23, 30B, 43, 59, 77, 105, 109, Chapter 125, PART FOUR: INSTRUCTIONS, The Instruction of Any, The Instruction of Amenemope, PART FIVE: BE A SCRIBE, Papyrus Lansing: A Schoolbook, The Immortality of Writers, PART SIX: LOVE POEMS, From Papyrus Chester Beatty I, From Papyrus Harris 500, From the Cairo Vase 1266 25218, PART SEVEN: TALES, The Destruction of Mankind, The Doomed Prince, The Two Brothers, Truth and Falsehood, Horus and Seth, The Report of Wenamun, VOLUME III: THE LATE PERIOD, Preface, Chronology, Abbreviations and Symbols, Foreword by Joseph G. Manning, Introduction, PART ONE: TEXTS IN THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE, 1. Biographical Inscription