The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

Richard H. Wilkinson is Director of the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition and has been engaged in excavation and research in Egypt for many years. He is the author of Reading Egyptian Art, Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art, The Complete Valley of the Kings (with Nicholas Reeves) and The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt.

Rise and Fall of the Gods considers the origins of Egypt's deities, the stories of gods who struggled to control cosmic forces of chaos and destruction and could themselves die, and their eventual decline. Nature of the Gods examines the forms, appearances and manifestations of the deities, as well as the transcendence of pre-eminent deities such as Amun and the apparent monotheism of Atenism under Akhenaten. Worship of the Gods introduces the rituals and mysteries of formal Egyptian worship, including the importance of temples and festivals, and examines popular access to the gods and private worship. Kingship and the Gods discusses the all-important position of the king, who served as a bridge between the gods and humanity and who could himself be deified and rule among the gods. The Many Faces of the Divine is a unique catalogue of Egypt's gods and goddesses grouped according to their primary forms, discussing their iconography, mythology and worship and their varying influence across Egypt over time.