28774 - Egyptology (1) (LM)

Course contents

The course is divided in two parts.
The first one focuses on the study and analysis of the ancient Thebes, in particular:
- the temples of Karnak and Luxor;
- the Opet festival;
- some royal cult complexes of the New Kingdom, in particular the temple of Deir el-Bahari of Hatshepsut, the Ramesseum of Ramesse II and the temple of Medinet Habu of Ramesse III;
- introduction to the Theban necropolis;
- analysis of some royal tombs of the King Valley.

The second part of the course is an introduction to the language and hieroglyphic writing of ancient Egypt. In particular, it will focus on the following aspects;
- the hieroglyphs (phonetic signs, determinatives, ideograms);
- the noun;
- the personal pronouns;
- introduction to the non-verbal and verbal sentences

Readings/Bibliography

First part:
B.E. Shafer (ed.), Temples of Ancient Egypt, Cairo 2005;
S. Donadoni, Tebe, Electa 1999

Second part:
P. Allen, Middle Egyptian. An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, Cambridge University Press 2000;

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons

Assessment methods

Oral exams, during which students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on different aspects of the ancient Thebes: Karnak and Luxor (architecture and functions); local necropolis; the King Valley. Students will have to demonstrate their knowledge on some aspects of the grammar of the Egyptian language (Middle Egyptian): different typologies of hieroglyphs; the noun; personal pronouns and non-verbal and verbal sentences.

Teaching tools

Powerpoints

Office hours

See the website of Marco Zecchi