Ancient Egyptian Biographies : Contexts, Forms, Functions
Synopsis
(Auto-)biography is a genre of ancient Egyptian written discourse that was central to high culture from its earliest periods. Belonging to the nonroyal elites, these texts present aspects of individual lives and experience, sometimes as narratives of key events, sometimes as characterizations of personal qualities. Egyptian (auto-) biographies offer a unique opportunity to examine the ways in which individuals fashioned distinctive selves for display and the significance of the physical, religious, and social contexts they selected. The present volume brings together specialists from a range of relevant periods, approaches, and interests. The studies collected here examine Egyptian (auto-)biographies from a variety of complementary perspectives: (1) anthropological and contrastive perspectives; (2) the original Old Kingdom settings; (3) text format and language; (4) social dimensions; and (5) religious experience.
Chapters
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
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Narrating Biography versus Biographical Indexicality
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Self-Representation in MesopotamiaThe Literary Evidence
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From Living a Life to Creating a Fit Memorial
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Genres and Textual Prehistories of the Egyptian Autobiography in the Old Kingdom
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(Auto-)“Bioconographies” versus (Auto-)Biographies in Old Kingdom Elite TombsComplexity Expansion of Image and Word Reflecting Personality Traits by Competitive Individuality
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Autobiography versus Biography in the Second Person and Biography in the Third PersonTextual Formats, Authorship, and Apocryphal/Pseudepigraphic Works
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Clichés in Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies
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Expressions of Royal AgencyForms of the Verb in the Old Kingdom Event Autobiography
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The Social Context of Biographies (Old and Middle Kingdom)
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Images of Social Ascent in Biographical Self-Presentations from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom
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jnk wr m njw.t=f : References to njw.t, “Town, City” in Biographies of the Second Intermediate Period
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Living a Religious LifeThe Display of Religious Experience in Egyptian Autobiographies
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Participation in Religious Ceremonies, as Related in Egyptian Biographies
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Subject Index
