Eng 302: Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Egyptian Literature
First Semester
SY: 2023-2024
 Content :

• Historical background of Egyptian

literature
- Types
- Tales and Love song
- Myths and Legends
 Egyptian Literature

Ancient Egyptian literature is

characterized by a wide diversity of types
and subject matter.

Such literary devices used in their works

are simile, metaphor, alliteration, and
punning.
 Old Kingdom (3,100 BC)

Papyrus – a tall perennial grass where Ancient Egypt use

to write on.
Among the most important works of the people were:
• Pyramid Texts: which include nonliterary and highly
poetic spells;
• Cannibal Texts: a vivid bit of poetry representing the
dead kings attaining power in the afterlife by devouring
the gods.
• Proverbs of Ptahotep: a book of sound but worldly
advice.
 Middle Kingdom. ( 2,000 BC) Hymns and songs

Cleopatra – one of the well known pharaoh, she used her

beauty to tempt some pharaoh.

Among these are:

1. Tale of Sinuhe - which relates the flight of a refugee
courtier, Sinuhe, from Egypt to Syria for political reasons,
his life in exile and his homecoming
2. the Shipwrecked Sailor - a simple folk tale of a sailor
who meets an old fatherly serpent on an island;
3. King Cheops and the Magicians - several folk tales
given in a frame work story.
 New Kingdom. ( 1,540 BC)
Military, colonial and heroism.
There style of writing changed and the language of the
day was used, which brought forth a more natural
manner of writing replacing the artificialities of the
Middle Kingdom.

Among the famous writings of this period were:

"The Story of King Apohis and Sekenenre" -which
concerns war expelling the Hyksos;
"Voyage of Wenamon" - a tale of an official sent to
Lebanon for cedar wood, The Tale of the Two Brothers;
The Enchanted Prince; etc.
 Late Period. (343 B.C.E.)
Adventures of various magicians.
The literature of the late period differs greatly
from that of the earlier times because it was
written in demotic, the simplified Egyptian
language of that time.

Popular Books are "The Lamentations of Isis

and Nephtys and Setna and "The Magic Book"
 Types of Egyptian Literature

Most of the Egyptian writings fall into one of the five

types: wisdom literature, religious literature, tales, love
lyrics, and pessimistic literature
1. Religious Literature
In Egypt, the earliest body of texts that can be called
literature is entirely religious and comprises a series of
hymns and spells sculptured on the walls of the burial
chambers in the pyramids of the five kings of the sixth
dynasty.
• Coffin Texts - The knowledge of them was handed
down undoubtedly by word of mouth till the time of the
12th dynasty when many of the texts appear on the
printed and sculptured coffins of the period.

• The Book of the Dead - is a series of chapters is a

series of chapters (literary divisions) written on
papyrus and often illustrated with miniature
paintings, found in graves. The chapters are not
necessarily connected with one another or they are not
consecutive and there is no reason why they should
be regarded as part of a book.
Another important religious work
• Hymns to the Sun-God - prepared by Amenhotep IV
who later called himself Akhenaton because he
believed he was the manifestation of the great
Egyptian ruler who tried to make his people believe
in one god, the Sun-god Ra, the powerful, and the
king creator.

• Hymn to Osiris - piece of devotional literature which

begins as a hymn and ends as a prayer.
Tales
It is interesting to know how certain forms arose.
During the Middle Kingdom the Egyptian short
stories were in bloom.

• The Story of King Khufu and the Magicians - which tells

a lively story of a miraculous happening at the court of
the monarch as a prelude to the no less miraculous birth
of triplets to the priestess, destined by prophecy to
become future kings.
• The Shipwrecked Sailor - relates how a sailor
was thrown on a desert island where he conversed
with a gigantic serpent.

• The Story of the Eloquent Peasant - tells the bad

and tedious complaints of a peasant who had been
robbed of his merchand.

• The Tale of Sinuhe, The Story of the Doomed Prince,

Misadventures of Wen-Amon, and others.
 Wisdom Literature
The so-called Maxims and Instructions belong to
the genre of didactic or wisdom literature, a popular
form of expression throughout ancient Egypt. Advice
is put into the mouth of an old man admonishing a
younger man of the rules of good behavior, or a king
who gives advice on wise rule.

The Teaching of Amenomopet and others may be

learned by heart as part of a young man’s education.
These are widely quoted in conversation, and contain
many parallels of Hebrew Literature.
 Pessimistic Literature
It blossomed during the Middle Kingdom is the
pessimistic literature. An interesting specimen of this
type is the dialogue of a disappointed man with his soul,
Dialogue of a Pessimist with His Soul. The Admonitions
of an Egyptian Sage describes a topsy-turvy world in
which everything is awry, the poor usurping the land
and place of the rich, the foreigners invading the land,
no respect and no virtue anywhere, yet a redeemer is at
hand. This is poor stuff from the literary point of view but
it is interesting early evidence of their cyclic recurrence
of revolutionary reversals of fortunes.
 Love Songs

The love poems of ancient Egypt are in many ways like those
of any other country, and therefore run easily into English
verse. Thus, the lover likens the maiden to all the flowers in
the garden. Then there is the lover who falls ill with the longing
to see his beloved. Bridal songs were sung as they still are in
the village of Egypt, the theme always being the surpassing
beauty of the bride. One of the most charming is the bridal
songs of the Princess Mutardis. It has a refrain which may
have been the theme of many poets in all countries but
the Egyptian poem is perhaps the earliest of its kind.
 Three forms of Egyptian writings
1. Hieroglyphics – the oldest form which used line
drawings, representing characters that depict objects
and ideas.

2. The hieratic symbol – simpler and more

conventionalized in form than hieroglyphics, used by
priests.

3. Demotic symbols – used in commercial documents at

about the seventeenth century B.C. Greek was used
in Egyptian literature since the conquest of Alexander the
Great.
 Poetry

Poetry is perhaps the greatest forgotten

treasure of ancient Egypt," said Richard
Parkinson, an expert on ancient Egyptian poetry
at London's British Museum.
While historical accounts and biographies
inscribed on the insides of tombs often give
idealized accounts of ancient Egyptian life,
poetry gives real insight into human nature and
its imperfections.
 Some examples of Egyptian Poetry;

Epigraph False Identity

rushing as always, “O, woodcutter

my shadow Cut my shadow
jumped Release me from-
but I hesitated the torment
both the water Of seeing myself
and I survived fruitless” (Lorca)
 First Life

I refused in the first life

to become a river
so geography would not force me
to swallow salt every day
in the cataracts of eternity

Egyptian literature has survived largely in the form

of priestly texts on papyrus or school copies written
on tablets and astraca (pieces of broken pottery of
flakes and limestone).
 Tales

• Egyptian literature traces its beginnings to ancient

Egypt and is some of the earliest known literature.
Ancient Egyptians were the first to develop written
literature, as inscriptions or in collections of papyrus,
precursors to the modern book.
• The ancient Egyptians wrote works on
papyrus.

Yosores
The best known example of ancient
Jehiel literature :

• The Story of Sinuhe;

other well-known works include
• The Westcar Papyrus and the Ebers
papyrus,
• The famous "Book of the Dead".

• Egypt was so-called "Wisdom literature".

• The autobiography has been called the oldest form of

Egyptian literature.
• The Nile had a strong influence on the writings of
the ancient Egyptians, as did Greco-Roman poets who
came to Alexandria to be supported by the many
patrons of the arts who lived there, and to make use
of the resources of the Library of Alexandria.

• Some of the best-known pieces of ancient Egyptian

literature, such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, were
spoken from the New Kingdom onward and is
represented in Ramesside administrative documents,
love poetry and tales, as well as in Demotic and
Coptic texts.
• During this period, the tradition of writing had
evolved into the tomb autobiography, such as
those of Harkhufand Weni. The genre known as
Sebayt (Instructions) was developed to
communicate teachings and guidance from
famous nobles; thelpuwer papyrus, a poem of
lamentations describing natural disasters and
social upheaval, is a famous example.
Khufu and the Magician (& 3 More Egyptian Tales
from Papyrus Westcar)
The tale of Khufu and the Magician from the
Westcar Papyrus is full of ancient history, magic,
prophecies, and the performance of miracles,
making it a fascinating introduction to Egyptian
literature.
The story of King Khufu and the magicians (The Tale of King
Khufu's Court Council):

It is a tale that came from the ancient era and was written down in
the Middle Ages in the (Papyrus of Westkar), which included five
stories about the marvels performed by the sorcerer priests in the
era of Khufu, and it is narrated by one of Khufu's sons.

The story of Khufu and the sorcerer Jedi (Didi), one of these
stories, recounts Khufu's summoning of the magician Didi, whose
magic reached to weld the severed head, and subjugate the lion to
his will, and this magician, in the presence of Khufu, restores the
severed heads of a goose, then a duck, then an ox.
The "Tale of Two Brothers" is an ancient Egyptian story
that dates from the reign of Seti II, who ruled from
1200 to 1194 BC during the 19th Dynasty of the New
Kingdom.[1] The story is preserved on the Papyrus
D'Orbiney,[2] which is currently held in the British
Museum.
The story centers around two brothers: Anpu
(Anubis), who is married, and the younger
Bata. The brothers work together, farming
land and raising cattle. One day, Anpu's wife
attempts to seduce Bata.

Once upon a time there were two brothers, so

the story goes, having the same mother and
the same father. Anubis was the name of the
elder, and Bata was the name of the younger.
the main idea of the two brothers

The elder brother's decision to make his

own happiness shows a level of maturity
that his younger brother had not achieved.
In the end, the story proves that
individuals must decide what is right for
them and what makes them happy in their
own lives.
Summary of the story

Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a

desolate island where he was the only survivor.
He had no food, clothes or shelter and feared
for his life. With only a few supplies from the
wreckage, he made a tent and a fence for
protection. He had to find a way to mark time,
so he notched the days on a post.
He also made small wooden boxes to
keep his provisions dry. He discovered
green barley growing on the island, which
he used to provide himself with food and
security. Robinson fell ill for a while but
recovered and later found fruit trees and a
brook with pleasant meadows.
Although tempted to move to a
more fertile valley, he decided to
stay near the shore in case he
could be rescued. He made a
lamp and started to keep a
journal of his daily activities. One
year later, he realized he had
spent 365 days on the island.
About the author
Daniel Defoe was an English writer and
journalist who lived from 1660 to 1731. He
is most well-known for his novel Robinson
Crusoe, but he also wrote pamphlets and
journals on a variety of topics. Defoe was a
prolific and versatile writer, and his works
have had a lasting impact on English
literature.
He was known for his
realistic and immersive
writing style, and his
ability to create
memorable and
relatable characters.
The Eloquent Peasant (Ancient Egyptian: Sekhti-
nefer-medu, "a peasant good of speech")[1] is
an Ancient Egyptian story that was composed
around 1850 BCE during the time of the Middle
Kingdom in Egypt. It is one of the longest
Egyptian tales that has survived completed.[2]
The tale is about a peasant, Khun-Anup, who
stumbles upon the property of the high steward,
the noble Rensi son of Meru, guarded by its
harsh overseer, Nemtynakht.[3]
4] It is set in the Ninth or Tenth
Dynasty around Herakleopolis.[5]
This tale is described as an
elaborate reflection on the
connection – or disconnection –
of ethical order and refined speech,
as transliterated into refined
writing.[6]
The story begins with a poor peasant,
Khun-Anup, traveling to market with his
donkeys heavily laden with goods to
exchange for supplies for his family.
While Khun-Anup was en route,
Nemtynakht, a vassal of the high
steward Rensi, notices the peasant
approaching his lands and devises a
scheme to steal Khun-Anup's donkeys
and supplies.
Nemtynakht tricks the peasant by placing a cloth
on the narrow public path, where one side was
bordered by the river and the other side were the
private fields of Nemtynakht. His placing of the
cloth on the path forces the peasant to either
trample the cloth, step into the water, or take his
donkeys over Nemtynakht's fields in order to
continue his journey. As Khun-Anup is appealing
to Nemtynakht's sense of reason in blocking his
path with the cloth, one of Khun-Anup's donkeys
eats a bite of barley, and
Nemtynakht uses this as a justification to
take Khun-Anup's donkeys and goods.
When Khun-Anup complains this
punishment is unfair, Nemtynakht beats
him. Khun-Anup cries out for justice, and
Nemtynakht threatens the peasant with
death if he dares to complain.[7] Khun-
Anup does not accept this injustice and
continues to appeal to Nemtynakht for
ten days.
Failing to receive justice from Nemtynakht,
Khun-Anup seeks out the high steward, the
noble Rensi son of Meru, and presents his
case.[8] Rensi brings the peasant's case to
the magistrates, who dismiss the case as
merely being a matter of a peasant at odds
with a landowner, but Rensi does not relay this
information to the peasant.[8][9] Rensi brings
the story of the wronged peasant before the
pharaoh, Nebkaure (who is believed to be
Nebkaure Khety[10][11]), telling him how
elegantly the peasant speaks.
Intrigued by the report of a peasant who
speaks so elegantly, the pharaoh instructs
Rensi to not respond to the peasant's pleas, so
that the peasant would continue to make his
elegant speeches and they could be written
down for the pharaoh. The pharaoh orders
Rensi to feed the peasant and his family while
the peasant continues to plead his case,
further instructing Rensi not to let the peasant
know he was providing the food.[9]
For nine days Khun-Anup complimented the high steward
Rensi and begged for justice. After nine days of speeches,
Khun-Anup threatened suicide.[12] After sensing that he
was being ignored, Khun-Anup insulted Rensi and was
punished with a beating. After one last speech, the
discouraged peasant left, but Rensi sent for him and
ordered him to return.
 But rather than being punished for his
insolence, the peasant was given justice.
Rensi, after reading Khun-Anup's last
speech, was impressed and ordered the
donkeys and the goods to be returned to
Khun-Anup and the peasant to be
compensated with all the property of
Nemtynakht, making Nemtynakht as poor
as Khun-Anup had been
Characters

Khun-anup
Edit
The poor peasant, Khun-Anup, lives with his wife, Marye, and
their children in an oasis around the Nile Delta in Egypt.[7][6]

Rensi son of Meru

Edit
The noble Rensi son of Meru is the high steward of Pharaoh
Nebkaure.[6] The peasant Khun-Anup appeals to Rensi when he
does not receive justice from Nemtynakht.[9]
Nemtynakht
Edit
A greedy vassal to the high steward Rensi, Nemtynakht
notices the peasant Khun-Anup's supply-laden donkeys
and devises a trap that will provide him with a reason for
taking Khun-Anup's donkeys and goods.[9]

Nebkaure
Edit
He is his Majesty of the Dual King Nebkaure, the justified.
“The justified” is a standard epithet of the deceased.
Nebkaure is a Pharaoh of the tenth dynasty of
Heracleopolis, ca. 2050 BCE, during the First Intermediate
Period.[13]
 Egyptian love song

--Collected by Scribes over 3000

years ago, and laid in tombs so that they
might be sung by departed souls in
Paradise.
 The Wine of Love

Oh! when my lady cometh, And I with love behold her,

I take her to my beating heart, And in mine arms enfold her;
My heart is filled with joy divine, For I am hers and she is mine.

Do give my love completeness,

The perfumes of Arabia Anoint me with their sweetness;
And when her lips are pressed to mine
I am made drunk and need not wine.
 The Snare of Love
(Sung by a girl snarer to the one she loves.)

With snare in hand I hide me,

I wait and will not stir;
The beauteous birds of Araby
Are perfumed all with myrrh—
Oh, all the birds of Araby,
That down to Egypt come,
Have wings that waft the fragrance
Of sweetly smelling gum!
I would that, when I snare them,
 Continuation:

Together we could be, Others:

I would that when I hear them • The Sycamore Song....
Alone I were with thee. • The Dove Song....
If thou wilt come, my dear one, • Jealousy....
When birds are snared above, • The Garden of Love....
I’ll take thee and I’ll keep thee • Love's Pretence....
Within the snare of love.
 Myth

Is a sacred or culturally central

narrative, a narratives that are central to
culture and religion that are almost
.

entirely about events among gods and

goddessess (John Baines).

Tormes
 God's and Goddessess of Egyptian Mythology

Shu - The god of air

Geb- earth god

Ra: The god of the Sun

Tefnut- the goddess of rain Nut- sky goddess

Osiris Horus Set Isis Nepthys
 Famous Myths in Egypt Literature

1 The Story of Ra: Creation Myth

It explains the creation of the world
and the rise of the sun god, Ra. In
the beginning, there was only
darkness and chaos. There is a
lotus flower and when it blossomed,
Ra, the powerful sun god, emerges
and brought light to the world. He
created the earth, the sky, and all
living beings.
 Osiris and Seth

2
It tells a story about the two
brothers. Osiris, the god of fertility,
agriculture, afterlife. Seth, on the
other hand, is the god of chaos,
storms, and violence. He is
jealous of Osiris' popularity and
desires to rule Egypt himself. He
killed Osiris and rule the world.
 Horus and Seth: A Mythical Murder

3 The myth narrates their intense

battle for supremacy, with Set
attempting to overthrow Huros and
seize control of the world. Through a
series of epic struggles, Huros
ultimately emerges victorious,
restoring balance and ensuring the
continuity of life and civilization.
 Legend

A legend is “a story or narrative that lies

somewhere between myths and historical facts and
which, as a rule, is about a particular figure or
person. Traditionally, It is a narrative about
historical event, person, or place, which may involve
miraculous or supernatural occurrences.
It's meaning stems from the Medieval Latin
term "legenda", meaning “things to be read.” and
from the Latin word "legendus".
 It tells a story of how Ra
travelled across the sky in a boat
called the "Barque of the Million of
Ra and the Sun Years" during the day to give light to
Boat the world and through the
underworld at night.
Ra would battle various forces
of chaos during his journey,
including his fierce battle towards
the serpent in the underworld. There
he would have to cross 12 gates
which stands for 12 hours at night.
 - It tells the story about the gods Isis
Isis and Osiris and Osiris. Osiris, the king of Egypt, is
murdered by his jealous brother Seth.
Devastated, Isis, Osiris' wife and sister,
embarks on a quest to find and bring his
husband back to life. With the help of
other gods, she successfully gave him
life temporarily, which he becomes the
ruler of the underworld. Isis, known for
her magic and wisdom, becomes a
revered goddess associated with fertility,
motherhood, and protection.
References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_literature

• https://www.tota.world/article/794/https:
//www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-southern-
mindanao/literatures-of-the-world/literature-of-egypt/29184555

• https://literarydevices.net/legend/

• https://www.coursehero.com/file/152564639/3-AFRO-ASIAN-LIT-
WEEK-5-6pdf/

• https://youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLY7BFnOZ_ONQDhbpiHuCdX9asvEft1YbX&si=3HoPppvJQGdjD60
w
 Prepared by:

Kieven Tumalis BSED-3 Ritchel Yosores BSED-3 Meraflor R. Tormes

BSED-3
Thank you!