Stephen Quirke is Professor of Egyptology in the Institute for Archaeology at University College London, and Curator at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. His books include The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt (2001), Egyptian Literature 1800 BC: Questions and Readings (2004), and Lahun: A Town in Egypt 1800 BC, and the History of its Landscape (2005).
This book provides a new and rather different view of religious practice amongst the ancient Egyptians, drawing on an extensive range of texts, artefacts, contextual information, and anthropological approaches from outside Egypt. (Ancient Egypt, 1 April 2015) Quirke tells the story of Ancient Egyptian Religion as a mode of life and a reflective philosophy. A book rich in evidence, thoughtful and fresh in interpretation, courageous enough to give up the claim of answering every question?but eager to pose it.? ?Martin Fitzenreiter, Bonn University .....a uniquely comprehensive integration of archaeological and written evidence about Egyptian beliefs and practices; energized by ethnographic and anthropological perspectives, Quirke's book clarifies, yet queries key debates about Egyptian religion. ?David O'Connor, New York University ?Quirke?s unique approach to Egyptian beliefs about creation, life, death, etc., uses the written and archaeological evidence to reveal the logic of ancient thought as it acquaints us with its ?nuts and bolts.?? ?Betsy Bryan, Johns Hopkins University