Ancient Voices: The Literature of Ancient Egypt

In 1800 BCE, the ancient Egyptian writer Khakheperreseneb declared that he could not write anything new because everything had already been said. By then, ancient Egypt had already established a complex body of literature that continued to develop over the next several millennia. This course examines literary, religious, historical, and philosophical writings from ancient Egypt, ranging in date from 2400 to 250 BCE, in order to investigate how those texts can enrich our understanding of Egyptian culture and how they relate to broader literary traditions from the ancient world. Selected texts include adventure tales, love poetry, myths, and autobiographies. No prerequisites.