The Splendor that Was Egypt: Revised Edition by Margaret A. Murray (Dover Publications, Inc.) How different would Western life be today had the civilization of ancient Egypt`never existed? The Splendor that Was Egypt is an excellent survey by a pioneering Egyptologist of the late nineteenth century providing astonishing answers to that question through an insightful exploration of Egyptian life and culture.

Noted scholar and feminist Margaret A. Murray examines in detail such topics as food preparation, recreational pastimes, burial customs, religious beliefs, furniture and decor, social rituals, and the importance assigned to art and literature. The book covers prehistory, history, social conditions, religion, art and science, language and literature. Prehistory covers five periods: Tasian, Badarian, Amratean, Gerzean and Semainian. The M section on history covers Proto-Dynastic, Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period, Middle Kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom, Late Period, Persian Period And Ptolemaic Period. Enhanced with more than 120 illustrations, the book offers a complete picture of Egyptian achievements in architecture, agriculture, horticulture, clothing, physics, astronomy, medicine, engineering and other sciences, as well as in the establishment of law, government, and religion.

The Splendor that Was Egypt presents rare glimpses of an ancient civilization that provided the modern world with the foundation for many cultural and scientific developments. It is a fascinating, readable study that will appeal to historians and general readers alike; this literate investigation of a civilization rich in cultural achievements does “… a fine job of culling the enormous field of Egyptology to bring its best fruits`within the scope of the intelligent but busy reader.” – Chicago Sunday Tribune