An Ancient Egyptian Literary Text in Context

The Instruction of Ptahhotep

By (author) F. Hagen

Book cover: An Ancient Egyptian Literary Text in Context

Extent: 323 pages

Publisher: Peeters Publishers

Subjects: Ancient Egypt

Series: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta

Series volume number: 218

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(August 2012)

ISBN: 9789042926004

Price: $105.00

Out of stock

The book attempts to reconstruct the social context for Egyptian wisdom literature during the Middle and New Kingdoms (c. 2000-1000 BC), using The Instruction of Ptahhotep as a case-study. By looking at the archaeology and material culture of manuscripts, intertextual references and editorial changes to the text over time, the book traces the life of a wisdom poem from the hands of its copyists to the minds of its readers, charting its use and reception over hundreds of years.


The book attempts to reconstruct the social context for Egyptian wisdom literature during the Middle and New Kingdoms (c. 2000-1000 BC), using The Instruction of Ptahhotep as a case-study. By looking at the archaeology and material culture of manuscripts, intertextual references and editorial changes to the text over time, the book traces the life of a wisdom poem from the hands of its copyists to the minds of its readers, charting its use and reception over hundreds of years.

  • By (author) F. Hagen