Audiobooks by Markus Carabas

The Book of the Dead: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt's Famous Funerary Texts

Given the abundance of funerary artifacts that have been found within the sands of Egypt, it sometimes seems as though the Ancient Egyptians were more concerned with the matters of the afterlife than they were with matters of the life they experienced from day to day. This is underscored most prominently by the pyramids, which have captured the world's imagination for centuries. The pyramids of Egypt are such recognizable symbols of antiquity that for millennia, people have made assumptions about what they are and why they exist, without full consideration of the various meanings these ancient symbolic structures have had over the centuries. Generations have viewed them as symbols of a lost past, which in turn is often portrayed as a world full of romance and mystery. This verbal meaning has become associated with the structures through the tourism industry, where intrigue obviously boosts ticket sales. In fact, the Egyptian pyramids are so old that they were also drawing tourists even in ancient times. In antiquity, the Great Pyramid of Giza was listed as one of Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, and it is the only one still surviving today. The age and structural integrity of the pyramids also make them symbols of longevity and power, which is only fitting because those are two purposes the ancient pharaohs who commissioned these works intended them to serve. For the pharaohs, the construction of these large monuments presented an opportunity for them to showcase their influence and become something to be remembered by, both in the society they ruled and in the annals of history that would follow. Even as new dynasties came and went, and even as Egypt was subjected to foreign domination and rulers from across the world, the pyramids have continued to stand as a prominent testament to Ancient Egypt's glorious past. Though the ancient tombs have been extensively plundered, they still stand as gateways to the afterlife that provide a murky window into the past of a fascinating civilization. Most importantly, the relatively untouched tomb of the young King Tutankhamun offered clear insight. Many of the objects that were discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb were clearly made specifically for him and his burial, such as the coffins, funerary masks, canopic equipment and statues. Other objects, such as the furniture, clothing, and chariots, were obviously items that had been used during Tutankhamun's lifetime. The motifs found upon many of his possessions depicted him in triumph over his enemies. For example, a painted wooden chest bears a fine example of such a scene; the king is shown in his chariot, followed by his troops, attacking a group of Nubians. Scenes depicting aggression and triumph over Egypt's enemies by Egypt's king are classical examples of Egyptian kingship. To accomplish all the necessities the Egyptians believed in, they relied on spells and invocations, which were collected in a series of funerary texts such as the Pyramid Texts. By the era of the New Kingdom, the most popular funerary text was The Book of the Dead, one of the most evocative titles of literature in the history of humankind. Its mystical writings offer a glimpse into a realm of magical thinking beyond the skills of most writers of fiction. Resplendent with highly accomplished artwork, The Book of the Dead has enraptured scholars and laymen for centuries. For that reason, it may surprise many that The Book of the Dead does not actually exist as a book. In fact, what is referred to as The Book of the Dead today is actually the accumulation of around 400 spells that exist in transliteration and translation from the whole gamut of Egyptian history.

Charles River Editors, Markus Carabas (Author), Jim Johnston (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hathor: The History of the Ancient Egyptian Sky Goddess and Symbolic Mother of the Pharaohs

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world's first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world. With world-famous leaders like King Tut and Cleopatra, it's no wonder that today's world has so many Egyptologists. Today, the goddess Hathor is one of the least known deities in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, and the ancient Egyptians would surely be surprised by this fact. Hathor enjoyed a principal position among the gods of ancient Egypt for much of Egyptian history. If anything, she was ubiquitous, with several key cult centers at Dendera, Memphis, and Thebes, and she played various roles for Egyptian society. Like many Egyptian deities, Hathor took the form of animals at times. She could 'become' a vulture, a cow, or a human, but she was most often depicted as the latter. She is identified in her human form by her long black hair, tied back with a filet beneath a pair of cow horns with the sun disk in between them. The presence of the disk between the horns is a clear indication of her association with the sun deity. That she wore a uraeus - the upright snake seen on the forehead of royal gods and humans - is a sign of her association with royalty, too. Whenever an ancient Egyptian deity was associated with royalty, they invariably had a connection with one of the first divine kings: Ra, Osiris, or Horus. Hathor, however, had connections with all three. In the case of her cult center at Dendera, she was not just the wet nurse or mother of Horus?as was the case later, with Isis?but she was also his consort. In this way, she became the consort of all kings and as such, garnered the characteristics of an 'ideal' partner or queen. This consort of kings was also adept at magic, particularly healing magic, which would become a more predominant characteristic of Hathor in the myths in which she appeared with Horus. Aside from this more mundane role, she was also the 'great cow of the heavens that gave birth to the sun' at Dendera. It was, perhaps, this great multiplicity that resulted in her losing prominence in the conscious memory of the world. Many deities in world religions often have a small coterie of roles that could be logically spliced together to make a single, divine figure whose character can easily be described, but this is not the case for Hathor. She appears in creation stories as the principle bringing forth the universe and is similarly referred to as the great mother goddess of the sky whose symbolic tree both nourishes and nurtures. Yet she is also the alluring goddess of love whose ecstatic cult practices were born from a grotesque myth involving the floodplains of the Nile being saturated with the blood of humans she massacred. She may be difficult to sum up by a person who has grown up surrounded by the symbols of monotheism, but she is an excellent example of the multi-faceted concepts the ancient Egyptians reconciled in their religion. To understand a little more about Hathor, it will be useful to gain a better understanding of how the ancient Egyptians thought. Hathor: The History of the Ancient Egyptian Sky Goddess and Symbolic Mother of the Pharaohs examines the history of the deity, her characteristics, and her lasting legacy on Egypt. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Hathor like never before.

Charles River Editors, Markus Carabas (Author), Dan Gallagher (Narrator)

Audiobook