The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt

Wisconsin Bookwatch, May, 2005

The Serpent Myths Of Ancient Egypt

William Ricketts Cooper

Red Wheel/Weiser

368 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210

www.redwheelweiser.com

0892541393 $10.95 1-800-423-7087

In The Serpent Mythos Of Ancient Egypt, amateur Egyptologist William Ricketts Cooper (1843-1878) focused upon the two main aspects of the serpent in ancient Egyptian arts and artifacts. One the one side, the serpent was a destroyer; on the other, a protector. From the serpent as the embodiment of evil during the Ritual of the Dead and the trials of the afterlife, to winged serpents symbolizing gods and goddesses, The Serpent Mythos Of Ancient Egypt is an amazing tour packed with black-and-white drawings many of which are reproductions of inscriptions, images on papyri, and other articles in museum collections. Cooper also compares Egyptian serpent symbolism with that of other cultures and religions, including early Christianity. Notes from Dr. S. Birch, M. Renouf, M. Lenormant, S. M. Drach, and more Egyptologists round out this absorbing pioneer study.