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The Department of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum preserves one of the most extensive collections outside Egypt of funerary papyri, among which the greatest number bear texts from the repertory known to the ancient Egyptians as the "Formulae for Going Forth by Day", and known to modern scholarship as the "Book of the Dead". This work presents the papyrus of Nu, an 18th Dynasty official. This early manuscript is shown in its original form with full photographic reproduction and colour photographs of its several fine vignettes. These are accompanied by an introduction on the identitiy of the owner and the reasons for the selection and order of the particular texts included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

No Translation
I must first say that the papyri that are in this book are beautifully presented, and if you happen to be fluent in reading Egyptian hieroglyphics then it is no doubt a real treasure for your collection. However, for those of us who are a little more ignorant, a decent translation could have proved most helpful! ... Read more

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The collection of late hieratic religious papyri in the British Museum is one of the most important in the world. This volume deals with the Books of Breathing and related texts, comprising about fifty papyri all from the Ptolemaic or Roman periods. The catalogue provides a general introduction, complete translation and commentary for each papyrus. ... Read more

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The decline of Mithraism in the fourth century AD is used as a case-study for understanding the end of other classes of `paganism' in the Roman western provinces. The author reviews epigraphic and numismatic evidence to date the final uses of Mithraea. He then discusses examples of wilful damage to Mithraic monuments. Drawing all this archaeological evidence into a historical framework, Sauer argues that rather than losing its social function as the Roman army became splintered, Mithraism was a healthy religion with active shrines until the very late fourth century. Rather than fading away, its desecrated monuments indicate that the religion was the victim of a sustained Christian attack which was also directed at other established faiths in the western provinces. ... Read more

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From the stories suggested by the great cave paintings of the Paleolithic period to the thought experiments of modern scientists, From Olympus to Camelot provides a sweeping history of the development of the rich and varied European mythological tradition. David Leeming, an authority on world mythology, begins with a general introduction to mythology and mythological terms, and then turns to the stories themselves. Discussing well-known figures such as Zeus, Aphrodite, Thor, and Cuchulainn, and less familiar ones such as Perun, Mari, and the Sorcerer of Lescaux, Leeming illustrates and analyzes the enduring human endeavor to make sense of existence through deities and heroes.Following an initial exploration of the Indo-European sources of European mythology and the connections between the myths of Europe and those of India and Iran, the book proceeds to survey the major beliefs of Greek, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic cultures, as well as the mythologies of non-Indo-European cultures such as the Etruscans and the Finns. Among its contents are introductions to the pantheons of various mythologies, examinations of major mythological works, and retellings of the influential mythical stories. This work also examines European deities, creation myths, and heroes in the context of Christian belief, and considers the translation of traditional stories into the mythologies of modern European political, scientific, philosophical, and economic movements. European mythology is the core mythology of Western civilization. This wide-ranging volume offers a lively and informative survey, along with a provocative new way of understanding this fundamental aspect of European culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Form Olympus to Camelot, The World of European Mythology
This is an excellent book. Everyone should discover their pre christian past. This book gives insight into all the European Mythology including christianity. Leeming is an excellent writer. His explanations are concise and easy to read. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
A treat for those who just plain love to read, Magical and Mystical Sites was coedited by Elizabeth Pepper and John Wilcock. (Wilcock is a travel writer whose valise is covered with stickers from all over the world, including Venezuela, Japan, Greece, Vancouver, and occult guides to Britain and South America.) Also coeditors of the Witches' Almanac, Wilcock and Pepper turn their witty and seasoned eyes to the ancient world. Starting in Turkey, they explore the ruined city of Ephesus near present-day Smyrna to uncover every tad of information they can about the goddess Diana whose temple stood there for hundreds of years. The reader is shown what it was like then and what it is like now, plus loads of tidbits for those intending to visit. The journey wends its way to 28 spots between Turkey and Ireland, including some in Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The chapter on Samos--containing a biographical sketch of its native son Pythagorus--is alone worth the fare. --P. Randall Cohan ... Read more

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Chapters: Latvian Mythology, Werner Erhard, List of British Words Not Widely Used in the United States, Military History of Iran, Biblical Hermeneutics, Female Sex Tourism, Id Tech, Earl of Surrey, Family Literacy, Maya Calendrical Divination, Zimbabwe African National Union, Zimbabwe African National Union - Ndonga, Jerry Magee. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 130. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Orthography This is a list of British words not widely used in the United States. abseil * to descend on a rope (US: rappel). From German abseilen.accountancy calculating and tracking financial matters (US: accounting).In the UK accounting is the school subject, but accountancy is the professional qualification.Action Manthe UK's counterpart to G.I. Joe.advert advertisement (US and UK also: ad, commercial (on TV)).agony aunt the author of an agony column a magazine or newspaper column advising on readers' personal problems. The image presented was originally that of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt". Better known to most Americans as a "Dear Abby" column or advice column. Similarly, agony uncle.answerphone (originally from trademark Ansafone) automated telephone answering device (US and UK also: answering machine).anti-clockwise direction opposite to clockwise (US: counterclockwise).approved school (old-fashioned) school for juvenile delinquents; reform school. Such institutions have not been referred to officially as "approved schools" since 1969. Juvenile delinquents, depending on their age and level of malfeasance, may now be sent to Secure Units or YOIs (Young Offender Institutions a correctional facility for juvenile delinquents). (US: juvenile detention center, juvenile hall, (slang) juvie.)Argie an Argentine.argy-bargy (informal...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=233407 ... Read more

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"We propose to introduce our ''Specimens'' by a short Essay on the Origin and Progress of English Poetry on to the days of Chaucer and of Gower. Having called, in conjunction with many other critics, Chaucer ''the Father of English Poetry,'' to seek to go back further may seem like pursuing antenatal researches. But while Chaucer was the sun, a certain glimmering dawn had gone before him, and to reflect that, is the object of the following pages. " ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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William Henry Brett was a missionary to the Natives of British Guiana, and by his own account, was quite evangelical. Thus, as with all works written by agents of Western power, this book should be read with care. In addition, the entire book is written in very regular meter. The relentless rhythms and rhymes, combined with the sometimes ridiculous portrayal of the Natives as late Romantic 'savages', sometimes invite comparison with Dr. Seuss (to the advantage of which poet, I leave the reader to decide). He spends a good amount of time extolling the virtues of English colonialism, and the 'Black Legend' (of Spanish atrocities in America) is repeatedly mentioned, while the English are portrayed as the kind-hearted civilizers and bearers of the true Christian gospel. In spite of all this, the book is an important record because it is the earliest record we have of many of these stories. ... Read more

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The Druids & Druidism Mythology book collection is a group of 9 fascinating books that detail many of the famous as well as obscure myths of the Druid. The books were primarily written in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of the books contain illustrations. All in all, this collection represents a vast treasure trove of Druidic Mythology.All the titles contained on this CD are listed below. 1.Druidism : the ancient faith of Britain (1924) - Wright, Dudley - 192 pages 2.The patriarchal religion of Britain, or, A complete manual of ancient British Druidism (1836) - James, D. (David) - 100 pages 3.The light of Britannia. The mysteries of ancient British druidism unveiled;s (1893) - Morgan, Owen - 430 pages 4.Celtic mythology and religion, with chapters upon Druid circles and Celtic burial (1917) - Macbain, Alexander; Watson, William J. (William John) - 252 pages 5.A new edition of Toland's History of the druids (1814) - Toland, John; Desmaizeaux, Pierre; Loewy, Benno; Wise, Thomas A. - 434 pages 6.Taliesin, or, The bards and Druids of Britain (1858) - Nash, David William - 341 pages 7.The mythology and rites of the British druids, (1809) - Davies, Edward - 642 pages 8.Irish druids and old Irish religions (1894) - Bonwick, James - 328 pages 9.Galic antiquities: : consisting of a history of the Druids, particularly of those of Caledonia; a dissertation on the authenticity of the poems of Ossian; and a collection of ancient poems, translated from the Galic of Ullin, Ossian, Orran, &c. (1780) - Smith, John - 352 pages This CD runs on all Windows and Macintosh computers. You must have a web browser and Adobe Acrobat Reader - (available for free download if you do not have it installed on your computer.) The book index is organized in an HTML menu that is compatible with all browsers and the books themselves are in PDF format to allow them to be universally accessed. Many books on this CD are searchable and printable. ... Read more

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This book contains the first comprehensive examination of popular familiar belief in early modern Britain. It provides an in-depth analysis of the correlation between early modern British magic and tribal shamanism, examines the experiential dimension of popular magic and witchcraft in early modern Britain, and explores the links between British fairy beliefs and witch beliefs. In the hundreds of confessions relating to witchcraft and sorcery trials in early modern Britain there are detailed descriptions of intimate working relationships between popular magical practitioners and familiar spirits of either human or animal form. Until recently historians often dismissed these descriptions as elaborate fictions created by judicial interrogators eager to find evidence of stereotypical pacts with the Devil. Although this paradigm is now routinely questioned, and most historians acknowledge that there was a folkloric component to familiar lore in the period, these beliefs, and the experiences reportedly associated with them, remain substantially unexplored. This book examines the folkloric roots of familiar lore from historical, anthropological and comparative religious perspectives.It argues that beliefs about witches' familiars were rooted in beliefs surrounding the use of fairy familiars by beneficent magical practitioners or 'cunning folk', and corroborates this through a comparative analysis of familiar beliefs found in traditional Native American and Siberian shamanism. The author explores the experiential dimension of familiar lore by drawing parallels between early modern familiar encounters and visionary mysticism as it appears in both tribal shamanism and medieval European contemplative traditions. These perspectives challenge the reductionist view of popular magic in early modern Britain often presented by historians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Hard Read but a Great One
This book is one that every serious Witch or Pagan needs to have on their shelf.Its well worth the cost and I'm still eagerly awaiting her second book based on the trial of a rather (in)famous Scottish Witch.

Rather than buy Robert Hutton's Triumph of the Moon (with his clear bias against the modern Craft having any sort of roots past the 1800's), get this work and sort things out for yourself over whether the Old Faith has a history or not.For one thing, it puts forth the connections between Witchcraft and Cunning Folk and ancient Shamanistic practice, in particular that of spirit familiars.

Here is a work of real pagan scholarship.

Recommended reading
This book consists of two rough parts (formally three, but the second and the third are discussed together here).

The first portion of the book discusses the lore surrounding fairy folk, demons, etc. and their relationships with cunning folk and witches.This section is extremely well done and covers a wide range of sources.Where some sources disagree with the author's thesis, she explains why she disagrees with them and presents counter-evidence.We are thus left with a very interesting and well-supported picture of how spiritual figures are connected to the practice of traditional magic in the geographic areas the book covers.

The second portion of the book (parts 2 and 3) try to draw parallels between these practices and tribal shamanism surveyed by Mircea Eliade and others.The author's thesis here, that these are "shamanic survivals" in Europe which can be discovered through comparison to unrelated cultures rests on a foundation of sand and suffers from serious methodological problems.Among others it assumes a remarkable homogeneity of pre-Christian religion which is unsupported by evidence from other disciplines.This thesis centers around a broad definition of shamanism that is actually argued against by many of her sources, but the general idea has been picking up steam in recent years.

However, despite these serious objections, the parallels found are interesting because they suggest some universal elements of the human condition.For this reason although I think this portion is flawed, it is still worth reading and considering.

All in all, a recommended book.

Excellent Treatise on the Fairy Faith, Witchcraft, and Familiars
This well written and superbly researched text makes a cogent and compelling argument that the witch's familiar is the same as the fairy ally of the old Fairy Faith.The characteristics of familiar encounters and relationships are provided from first hand sources.These encounters and relationships are then compared to other shamanistic traditions and the relationships that shamans have with familiar spirits.This text is not only a wonderful scholarly treatise, but it provides tremendously valuable insight for those people who are active participants in the Fairy Faith and/or Modern Witchcraft.

Not your mother's familiar
I finished this book a month ago, but I still find myself thinking over much of the information I got from it, and to me, that's the sign of a good book. Its take on the relationship between the witch and the familiar is unique, in my experience. For instance, Wilby shows that familiars were by no means "fetches" for witches and did not act as slaves or pets. They were equals in the relationship and could even act to the detriment of the witch. For me, the concept of moral ambiguity that Wilby posits for the familiar shows the familiar's depth and independence, its realness. It also fits with the position of the witch or cunning folk in their community - they were depended upon for medical help, communicating with the dead, or help in finding things, but they were also feared for the trouble they could cause to someone if they were antagonized.

The treatment of the fairy folk is also unusual. These are not Victorian Tinkerbells flitting around the garden like a bunch of beneficent mosquitoes. These are a powerful people with their own agenda, recognizable to those who've read British folklore or even stories by Arthur Machen. Wilby makes a pretty convincing argument that the fairies served the same purpose for early modern witches that guiding spirits have done for shamans in traditional societies. Like those spirits, fairy familiars helped witches acquire practical knowledge, like where a stolen cloak might be or how to cure (or hex) someone, and they were often friends and companions as well. Witches generally first encountered a familiar while being under extreme stress - broke, family members sick, overworked, hungry, fearing the worst - and Wilby compares this to the sort of deliberate preparation to encounter a guiding spirit that shamans in traditional societies engage in - fasting, depriving themselves of sleep, and creating other physical extremes. This interesting parallel fits with assertions made by Carlo Ginzburg in his work on the Sabbat, Night Journies. Wilby also argues that the concept of traveling to a sabbat is basically the interrogators' interpretation of the witch accompanying a fairy to fairyland, where for instance they might learn how to use plants or feast and dance with the fairy folk.

I was surprised by some of the information given in simple asides, such as that people at this time kept toads for pets or the average number of cats per household in Britain at this time was five. Something that really stuck with me, though, was how often witches described their familiar as being like an animal but not of any recognizable type, such as "something like a rabbit" which appeared in a witch's bed at night and asked him to love it. Even the pictures of them were somewhat disturbing. Other familiars appeared as humans but often wore old fashioned clothing.

This isn't the most engaging book ever written - the writing is just serviceable, and the book feels like it began life as a dissertation. But it does present what in my experience is a unique perspective on familiars. And the information here also goes far to bust up preconceived crusty notions about the good, wise hedgewitch who wouldn't hurt a fly, the Burning Times, Disneyworld-style fairies, and so forth. It presents a world much more complicated than that. The footnotes and bibliography also provide a number of directions for further reading about cunning folk in other countries as well as some interesting books on fairy folk in Britain.

fascinating analysis
This book takes a look at aspects of early modern English witchcraft and cunning-folk practice that have seldom been examined in academic ways. The first section begins with a good summary of the nature of the popular culture of the day - illiterate or semiliterate, land-dependent, and steeped in what she identifies as an 'animistic' world view. Wilby provides an interesting perspective on just how uneducated in Christian orthodoxy the ordinary man-in-the-field was, and how close and real was the world of local spirits and ghosts. The book then offers a selection of descriptions of the spirit-allies of those identified as 'witches' or 'cunning folk' (and makes a clear distinction between the two classes). Wilby uses trial accounts and the descriptions of elite (i.e. literate) observers as her main sources for how English magic-users viewed their 'familiars' or 'spirit guides'. She makes a good case for which kinds of trial accounts make for good evidence, and her choices are entirely convincing.
The second section of the book provides a summary of traditional 'shamanism', especially as practiced in central Asia. The author focuses on the interactions of shamans with spirits, describing the encounter, initiation and ongoing work. This section has little that is new. Those familiar with world shamanic models will find it ordinary; those without that familiarity are given a good summary introduction.
In the final section of the book. Wilby makes the case that early-modern witches and cunning-folk had relationships with spiritual beings similar in many ways to those of traditional shamans. She takes some time to discuss how westerners so 'close' to us in temperment and culture could commonly experience the visionary events required for spirit-contact. She discusses (throughout the book) modern western objections to the stories, and how materialist historians have tried to describe the stories of the cunning folk as 'mutual constructions', fictions created by the interactions of elite witch-hunters with impoverished victims. In my own opinion, Wilby's theories of actual events of spirit contact (whether psychological or metaphysical) fit the evidence much more clearly than materialist skepticism.
Wilby is aware of both neoshamanic and neopagan practice in modern times. The book doesn't spend much time talking about them, but it is filled with a sensibility that takes spirit-contact by modern people (or early modern people...) seriously. Modern practitioners will find many suggestive notions, seeds on which our practice might be grown.

Ian Corrigan ... Read more

Product Description
Edward Williams (1746-1826) also known by his Bardic name, 'Iolo Morganwg,' was a Republican, Radical, Revolutionary, Pacifist, Abolitionist, Flutist, Song Writer, Jailbird, Lexicographer, Grammarian, Antiquarian, Encyclopaedist. Linguist, Debtor, Mediaevalist, Folklorist, Bird Watcher, Agriculturist, Master Mason, Bookshop Owner, Poet (in both Welsh and English) a Bard, a Druid, a Visionary, a 'Noble Savage,' a 'Child of Nature,' a 'Pagan' - in short, a true Herald of Wales! He was also a 'fabulist' and 'invented' a whole cosmology and mythology relating to Stonehenge and the Druids, and the 'antient Britons,' that is, the Welsh. He incorporated these 'discoveries' into the ceremonies of the Welsh National Festival of Poetry, the 'eisteddfods,' which, quite authentically, date from pre-Christian times. Iolo proclaimed these 'mythologies' on Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath, London, in 1792. They were formally recognized at the great Carmarthen 1819 Eisteddfod, and have lasted in the form laid down by Iolo to this very day. Iolo's vision of a united Wales continues to draw admirers not only from Wales but from many parts of the world, and have included, in their day, such figures as Tom Paine, 'Humanity's William Wilberforce,' and 'General George Washington.' ... Read more

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Title: The Babylonian Legends of the Creation

Author: British Museum


THE BABYLONIAN LEGENDS OF THE CREATION

AND THE

FIGHT BETWEEN BEL AND THE DRAGON

TOLD BY ASSYRIAN TABLETS FROM NINEVEH



DISCOVERY OF THE TABLETS.

The baked clay tablets and portions of tablets which describe the
views and beliefs of the Babylonians and Assyrians about the Creation
were discovered by Mr. (later Sir) A.H. Layard, Mormuzd Rassam and
George Smith, Assistant in the Department of Oriental Antiquities in
the British Museum. They were found among the ruins of the Palace and
Library of Ashur-bani-pal (B.C. 668-626) at Kuyunjik (Nineveh),
between the years 1848 and 1876. Between 1866 and 1870, the great
"find" of tablets and fragments, some 20,000 in number, which Rassam
made in 1852, was worked through by George Smith, who identified many
of the historical inscriptions of Shalmaneser II, Tiglath-Pileser III,
Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and other kings mentioned in the
Bible, and several literary compositions of a legendary character,
fables, etc. In the course of this work he discovered fragments of
various versions of the Babylonian Legend of the Deluge, and portions
of several texts belonging to a work which treated of the beginning of
things, and of the Creation. In 1870, Rawlinson and Smith noted
allusions to the Creation in the important tablet K.63, but the texts
of portions of tablets of the Creation Series at that time available
for study were so fragmentary that it was impossible for these
scholars to find their correct sequence. During the excavations which
Smith carried out at Kuyunjik in 1873 and 1874 for the proprietors of
the _Daily Telegraph_ and the Trustees of the British Museum, he
was, he tells us, fortunate enough to discover "several fragments of
the Genesis Legends." In January, 1875, he made an exhaustive search
among the tablets in the British Museum, and in the following March he
published, in the _Daily Telegraph_ (March 4th), a summary of the
contents of about twenty fragments of the series of tablets describing
the creation of the heavens and the earth. In November of the same
year he communicated to the Society of Biblical Archaeology [1]
copies of:--(1) the texts on fragments of the First and Fifth Tablets
of Creation; (2) a text describing the fight between the "Gods and
Chaos"; and (3) a fragmentary text which, he believed, described the
Fall of Man. In the following year he published translations of all
the known fragments of the Babylonian Creation Legends in his
"Chaldean Account of Genesis" (London, 1876, 8vo, with photographs).
In this volume were included translations of the Exploits of Gizdubar
(Gilgamish), and some early Babylonian fables and legends of the gods.

[Footnote 1: See the _Transactions_, Vol. IV, Plates I-VI, London,
1876.]



PUBLICATION OF THE CREATION TABLETS.

The publication of the above-mentioned texts and translations proved
beyond all doubt the correctness of Rawlinson's assertion made in
1865, that "certain portions of the Babylonian and Assyrian Legends of
the Creation resembled passages in the early chapters of the Book of
Genesis."During the next twenty years, the Creation texts were
copied and recopied by many Assyriologists, but no publication
appeared in which all the material available for reconstructing the
Legend was given in a collected form. In 1898, the Trustees of the
British Museum ordered the publication of all the Creation texts
contained in the Babylonian and Assyrian Collections, and the late
Mr. L. W. King, Assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian
Antiquities, was directed to prepare an edition. The exhaustive
preparatory search which he made through the collections of tablets in
the British Museum resulted in the discovery of many unpublished
fragments of the Creation Legends, and in the identification of a
fragment which, although used by George Smith, had been lost sight of
for about twenty-five years. He ascertained also that, ... Read more

Product Description
This is Thomas Rolleston's comprehensive study of Celtic mythology, from the rousing adventures of the hero Cuchulain to accounts of the gods and beasts that defined the proud Celtic culture.

This deluxe Kindle edition is fully illustrated and contains a full hyperlinked index/glossary.

Features in this edition:
* Fully hyperlinked index / glossary
* illustrations
* Specially formatted for the Amazon Kindle
* DRM free
* Text-to-Speech enabled ... Read more