Great Books Club: The Wisdom of the Egyptians

After all the discussion of pharaohs and competing kingdoms, perhaps you're wondering how the average Egyptian lived. This animated documentary from New Historia is just what you need.

This tongue-in-cheek video by Overly Sarcastic Productions features a broader review of Egyptian political history than is found in Brown's book.

This article supplements the speculations of Brown's day on the ancestry of the Egyptians with modern genetic testing conducted on mummies.

Those interested in situating the history of Egypt relative to events reported in the Bible likely noted Brown's confident assertion that Ramesses II was the pharaoh of the exodus (Brown, "Wisdom of the Egyptians", pp. 32-33). In this article, Christopher Eames argues that the pharaoh in question was more likely Amenhotep II.

This videos illuminates how Egyptian precedents were studied and built upon by the Greek philosophers we are more familiar with. Some of the Egyptians mentioned in this video are the very thinkers whose works we will examine in this book club.

This quick overview is a helpful comparison/contrast between Egyptian culture and their Mesopotamian neighbors and Greek successors.

Though not all the material on this College of Southern Idaho LibGuide will be accessible, there are some helpful links to YouTube videos, short bios of the confusing array of Egyptian deities, and definitions of key terms and concepts from ancient Egypt.

Though Brown lists two basic creation stories (pp. 37), this short video identifies at least five with some geographic and other details included.