Prayer, Pharaonic Egypt
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23703425 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pierre Meyrat (University of Geneva, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Publication date | 2012-10-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah15001 |
| OpenAlex | W1565175505 |
| ISBN | 9781444338386 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
In ancient Egypt, a prayer was an oral invocation, addressed to one or several gods or goddesses, by a man or woman of any social status, usually requesting divine assistance to solve problems related to their current personal situation. Intercessions on behalf of a third party were also common. It is not known how loudly a prayer was whispered, spoken, or even sung. Many of them were probably kept in the oral tradition, but modern scholars can only rely on those preserved in writing. Although most prayers are related to danger, captivity, illness, pregnancy, professional achievement, or a peaceful afterlife, wide‐ranging topics such as the well‐being of the country or the victory of the king in battle could also be the object of such calls. When the aim is to praise the god, without mentioning any specific query, it is referred to as a hymn , but the boundary between prayer and hymn is often blurred.
Afterlife · Ancient history · Art · Battle · Hymn · Invocation · Literature · Poetry · Political science · Praise · Prayer · Theology · Victory · Worship · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies
| Highly cited | No |
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