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The Tale of Sinuhe: and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 B.C. (Oxford World's Classics) 1st Edition

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 132 ratings

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Drawing on recent advances in Egyptology, R. B. Parkinson's new translations bring to life for the modern reader the golden age of Egyptian fictional literature, the Middle Kingdom (c. 1940-1640 BC). The book features The Tale of Sinuhe, acclaimed as the masterpiece of Egyptian poetry, which tells of a courtier's adventures after he flees Egypt. Other works include stories of fantastic wonders from the court of the builder of the Great Pyramid, a lyrical dialogue between a man and his soul on the nature of death and the problem of suffering, and teachings about the nature of virtue and wisdom, one of which is bitterly spoken from the grave by the assassinated king Amenemhat I, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty.
A general introduction discusses the historical context of the poetry, the nature of poetry, and the role of literature in ancient Egyptian culture., while a full set of notes explicates allusions, details of mythology, place-names, and the like. Parkinson's book provides, for the first time, a literary reading to enable these poems to entertain and instruct the modern reader, as they did their original audiences three-and-a-half thousand years ago.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Editorial Reviews

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"Classicists interested in the development of ancient lyric and epic will find plenty to enjoy in Parkinson's elegant and subtle collection of translations of the principal Egyptian literary texts dating to the period known as the Middle Kingdom ... His beautiful translations and thorough, informative yet unobtrusive commentaries work together to convey strongly the poetic qualities of the Egyptian originals ... Parkinson has produced a book of lasting value here, whose high quality and easy yet authoritative presentation will make these too-long-obscure poems accessible to a wider audience in comparative literary studies, and (I hope) beyond." --Dominic Montserrat, The Classical Review 09/06/1999

About the Author

R. B. Parkinson is Assistant Keeper in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (May 15, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199555621
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199555628
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1160L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 0.7 x 5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 132 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2017
    These compositions make the ancient Egyptians seem more life-like than any other literature by or about them that I have ever read. Whereas the slightly later "Egyptian Book of the Dead" seems distant, formal and impersonal, these Middle Kingdom compositions are full of humanity and humour, and the yearnings and misery and occasional happiness of real people.

    The humanity of these compositions is communicated despite their very, very laconic structure. I suspect this may have had something to do with the cost of papyrus at that time. I'll just make a few points here about what I got out of some of these 13 or so works.

    1. The tale of Sinuhe.
    This showed the very close connections between Egypt and the Levant at that time. Of course, there is much evidence of this elsewhere, and some recent research announced just today suggests that ancient Egyptians were much more closely related to people of the Levant area than to the rest of Africa at that time. It is still very interesting to see how Syria could be regarded as a kind of safe haven for refugees from Egypt.
    The statements of Sinuhe about the motivations for fleeing Egypt are full of introspection and deep thoughtfulness of a very sophisticated kind. And most important of all for me was the topmost motivation for returning to Egypt, to have a proper tomb to have an opportunity of a good after-life. This is, I think, essential background reading to understand the Egyptian book of the dead.

    2. The tale of the eloquent peasant.
    I actually heard about this first from a BBC radio program. The story is very modern in tone. It sounds very much like the complaints modern people have against injustice. One very amusing part of this story is line B2 112-115 (page 74).
    "The accuser becomes wretched,
    more wretched than when a pleader,
    and the opponent becomes a murderer.
    Look, I am pleading to you, and you do not hear---
    I will go and plead about you to Anubis."

    Readers of the Egyptian book of the dead will know that Anubis is the jackal-headed god who weighs the evil in a person's heart soon after they die to determine if they can proceed to the later stages of examination for possible eternally blissful life. So going to plead to Anubis is some kind of euphemism for ending one's life.

    4. The tale of King Cheops' court.
    This story is so scandalous, it is almost X-rated. So I won't comment on the details of this saucy story! (There is the fascinating expression "making holiday" to mean you-know-what.) However, I think it's interesting that the story is set in the Old Kingdom in the time of Khufu (also known as Cheops), whose huge pyramid would still have been shiny and white at the time of composition of this work. This shows that stories were given greater gravitas by putting them in the past, a bit like Shakespeare setting his plays in the past.

    5. The words of Neferti.
    This is a long rant about what is wrong with Egypt, and prophesy of very much more horrible times to come in future. In particular, he complains about the Syrian immigrants taking over the country on page 136.
    "Destroyed indeed are those things of happiness---the fish pools,
    which were full of people gutting fish,
    which overflowed full of fish and fowl;
    all happiness has fled, and the land is laid low with pain;
    by those feeding Syrians who go through the land.
    Enemies have arisen in the East!
    Asiatics have come down to Egypt;
    a secure stronghold is lacking: ...."
    There are even predictions of seriously damaging climate change!

    7. The dialogue of a man and his soul.
    This dialogue helps to explain the concept of the "ba soul" which is central to the Egyptian book of the dead. However, it still does seem difficult to identify with modern ideas of psychology. This "ba soul" was supposed to survive death, but it is still extremely mysterious to the modern mind.

    8. The dialogue of Ipuur and the Lord of all.
    This is a long description of the social miseries of Egypt. Particularly amusing, I thought, was the description of the crocodiles being fat on page 172.
    "O, but the ship of the [South] is in chaos, towns are ravaged;
    Upper Egypt has become empty [sandbanks].

    O, but crocodiles are [glutted] with the fish they have taken,
    and men go to them willingly.
    This is the destruction of the land!"

    So apparently people would walk to the river to be eaten by crocodiles as a way to end their life!

    This story also mentions problems with foreigners in Egypt on pages 188-189.
    "Is it Nubians? Then we should make our protection,
    and make the fighters numerous to beat back the barbarians!
    Are they Libyans? Then we should have a confrontation,
    for the Medjai are as pleased as Egypt is!
    But how? --- when every man is killing his brother,
    and the Youth we raised for ourselves have become barbarians,
    fallen to ravaging!
    What is now happening to the land is letting the Syrians know how to govern it!"

    One little problem with this book is that you have to keep two book-marks at all times, one for reading the main text, and one for reading the very numerous and essential notes at the end of each story. Nothing makes sense without these notes.

    All in all, it's an enormously rewarding book to read, although it takes some stoicism to work through it because of the fragmentary nature of the surviving text and the peculiar difficulties of translating ancient Egyptian into a modern European language (such as English).
    21 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
    The stories contained in this collection give insight into the Egyptian worldview. These tales are often referenced in many other works which compliment their mutual study.

    The explanations of the translation work by the author is detailed. The footnotes that accompany each story are insightful.

    However, I would highly recommend reading each story first before reading the summaries that precede them. First, it won't spoil the reading experience by giving away the entire plot. Second, the author has some ideas that run counter to the translated source material. Thus, reading the summary first will make the experience less enjoyable and less academic.

    All in all, the book is worth reading.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2021
    If you’re anything like me, you’ve watched hundreds of ancient Egypt documentaries. You know how the pyramids were built and roughly understand the culture that led to the megalithic triumphs we all know and love.

    Well think again. This short poem, about an Egyptian governor, elucidates the more abstract side of ancient Egypt. Taking place in Middle Kingdom Egypt around 1900 BCE, utilizes multiple styles of verse and prose to depict the ancient Egyptian ideas of Morality, their relationship with the gods, the power of the Pharos, their views of death, and redemption.

    Although seemingly only a tale of adventure, this ancient poem encourages reflection on the very nature of Egyptian life; a way of life that is not entirely too different from that of our own.

    This collection of works was by far the most intimate encounter I’ve ever had with ancient Egypt. Transcending time and tradition, I walked away from this book feeling as though I know ancient Egypt a little bit more, and what else can we hope for?
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2016
    I enjoyed this very much. It is a body of literature which is not well known, but which provides fascinating insights into the mind of ancient Egypt. These stories are not modern. There is much that jars the 21st century reader. Character motivations, even when explicitly stated may make no sense to the 21st century reader. Resolutions seem contrived & facile. But these discontinuities are where we find insight into the mind of one of the great civilizations of our history.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022
    They want me to say what I used this for. Well, it's a book. I read it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2014
    As James Henry Breasted in his Book "The origins of Conscience" has propounded, ancient Egypt was the first civilization to define and promulgate morality and ethics and the Hebrew and Hindu civilization, the other claimants among the early civilizations, came to that level about a millennium later. It is likely that the Hebrews may have learned the lessons during their prior stay in captivity in Egypt(Moses). Both these cultures were not influenced by the Mesopotamian (Sumer, Assyria, Babylon, Ebla) civilization which had no great claim to ethical behavior in its writings as judged by the stories of the patriarch Abraham or the records of the Mitanni or Hurrians.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019
    I forgot it had other stories within it. It has very well written reviews of the story before giving the translation and an in-depth note afterwards. Very helpful for what I was studying!!
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020
    This book came quickly after ordering and looks almost brand new. There are no creases and minimal writing from previous usage. This is a great alternative to buying new books so that you save money!
    Customer image
    Mia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great alternative for college!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020
    This book came quickly after ordering and looks almost brand new. There are no creases and minimal writing from previous usage. This is a great alternative to buying new books so that you save money!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • prbastet
    4.0 out of 5 stars Libro necesario para estudiosos de la Egiptología.
    Reviewed in Spain on September 18, 2015
    Traducciones de las principales obras de la literatura egipcia del Reino Medio. Imprescindible para estudiantes de Egipcio Medio Clásico y amigos de la Egiptología.
  • Luc REYNAERT
    5.0 out of 5 stars It is mankind that creates all that exists (The Loyalist’ Teaching)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2014
    The tales, discourses and teachings in this anthology of literature of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (1940-1640 BC!) sound still all too familiar to us today. Their themes are politics (war), justice (corruption), speech (partial), social upheaval, taboos, art and the nature of man; in one word: the way of our world.

    Political and social issues
    ‘Sinuhe’ is a political tale about a man who fled his country because of its life threatening instability. Now, he wants to go back. It is also a war story: ‘I plundered its cattle and carried off its inhabitants.’
    In ‘Neferti’ there is social upheaval: ‘the great will beg to exist; only the poor will eat bread, while forced labourers are exultant.’ But, in ‘Khakheperreseneb’ ‘the pauper has no strength to save himself from the powerful man.’
    ‘King Cheops’ Court’ is partially a tale about a taboo: an adulterous love between a noble woman and a commoner.

    Ruling, justice, corruption, speech
    ‘King Merikare’ is Egypt’s counterpart of Machiavelli’s ‘Il Principe’: be a ruthless, but righteous ruler. ‘Vizier Ptahhotep’ exhorts to ‘punish promptly! Instruct absolutely!’, while the Loyalist teaches: ‘do not make a field-worker wretched with taxes’.
    In ‘The Eloquent Peasant’ ‘the officials are doing evil; the lawful leaders now command theft, and the standard of speech is now partial.’
    In ‘Khakheperreseneb’ ‘honest speech is abandoned’, while in ‘A Man and his Soul’ ‘mercy has perished, there are no just men and the land is left to the class of injustice.’

    The nature of man
    ‘Neferti sees a world where ‘every mouth is full of ‘I want’, all goodness has fled.’ In ‘Khakheperreseneb’ ‘there is no person free from wrong.’
    In ‘Ipuur and the Lord of All’, ‘if three men go out on a road, only two men can be found, the many kill the few’ (a brilliant image).
    In ‘King Amenembat’, the message is ‘make for yourself no intimates.’ The fall can be terrible: ‘I had become like a worm in necropolis.’
    In “Man and his Soul’ ‘the friends of today do not love; hearts are selfish’. Man prefers to die: ‘Death is to me like a man’s longing to see home.’
    For ‘Vizier Ptahhotep’, fate is all: ‘he is someone on whom doom was imposed in the womb! The one whom they leave boat-less cannot find a crossing.’

    Art, literature, writing
    ‘The Shipwrecked Sailor’ is a tale within a tale within a tale. The author sees art as a remedy for the suffering of the world: ‘his speech turns anger away’.
    ‘The Eloquent Peasant’ lauds brilliant eloquence, while in ‘Merikare’ ‘the strong arm of the king is his tongue.’
    For ‘Khety’ the all important craft is writing. The scribes are the masters, for ‘one cannot call a field-worker a man.’

    This superb anthology with formidable notes and introductions by R. B. Parkinson is a must read for all lovers of world literature.
  • netteduffel
    1.0 out of 5 stars Schwere Stoff. Für jemand die poetry intressiert. habe leider falsch bestellt.
    Reviewed in Germany on December 11, 2024
    Für mich schwere stoff:Schwere Stoff. Für jemand die poetry intressiert. habe leider falsch bestellt. Vollte Sinuhe the Egypter in Englisch.
  • disenchanted
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey into another worl ,another time
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2014
    I am not able to read for any length of time, and chose this book after hearing it on radio 4. I have loved reading it., It is possible to pick it up and put it down, to come back to it and have an experience of another world another time. love it!
  • Duns Scotus
    4.0 out of 5 stars Egyptian tales
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2011
    This is a collection of several stories taken from the papyri. They are apparently the sort of tales ancient Egyptians listened to. Because of the state of the original material, not all are complete, but are quite fascinating. The editorial apparatus is very useful, drawing attention to matters an ordinary reader would miss, and providing explanations. For the non-specialist this is a very intriguing insight into the Egypt of long ago. The comparison with such as the literature of Greece, or Mesopotamia, is fascinating. This is early, early stuff.