The ancient Egyptian civilization began around 3200 BCE, located in the Nile River Valley with desert 4 miles on either side. This provided the Egyptians with prosperous trade and travel. The Egyptians became a very advanced people. They had a system of writing, mathematics, architecture, and engineering.
Egyptian art and medicine were very advanced for their time. Religion played an important part in ancient Egyptian’s lives. They were polytheistic, meaning they worshipped many gods, as many as 700, depending on the pharaoh. Different gods became important at different times.
Mainly, Rore was worshipped as the sun God and Isis as the goddess of motherhood, wisdom, and magic during phases of different Egyptian empires. Pharaoh was considered a God as well. Egyptians would choose the gods they wanted to worship based on their needs, work, and family life. Most gods were considered kind and helpful and believed to have power over the earth.
Temples were built, and small statues were kept in homes and worshiped. Egyptians believed the soul continued to live after death. The dead soul was free to leave the body but also needed the body as a home. It is why Egyptians were mummified. Their culture and belief system created many myths. So most of the ancient books are Egyptian mythological.
Reading books about Egyptian mythology can be a fascinating and enriching experience. Whether you approach Egyptian mythology from an academic, cultural, or personal perspective, it can offer a fascinating journey into an ancient mythological tradition that continues to resonate in modern times.
10 Books About Egyptian Mythology (Ancient Egyptian History)
Egyptian writing, called hieroglyphics, is an alphabet of symbols. For many years, no one in the modern world knew how to read hieroglyphs until the Rosetta Stone was discovered. This stone has the same message in three different languages: ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic script, and Greek.
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone and years of studying the translations of its message unlocked the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Rosetta Stone helped scientists and archaeologists understand the ancient Egyptians’ religions, beliefs, politics, and daily life.
So we can learn about Egyptian culture, religion, and belief systems. Many authors research them and make books about them. Most of the books are mythological based. I will talk about the ten best books about Egyptian mythology to help you learn about Egyptian culture and entertain your reading time. Let’s start!
1. Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1)
Red Pyramid is the first book in the Cain Chronicles series. The two main characters are the Cain siblings. We have Carter Cain, the older brother, 14 years old, and Sadie Cain, the younger sister, 12 years old. Their family life is a bit complicated. Their mother passed away when they were pretty young. Ever since then, Carter has been accompanying his dad worldwide. His dad is an Egyptologist, jet-setting from one place to another. Carter wishes for stable home life.
We have Satan’s partner witnessing their dad perform the crazy ritual with Magic City, and Carter has to save the world and their dad. Both of the King siblings start to discover interesting powers very magically. It’s great to see diverse characters in books; especially the main characters were fantastic.
The siblings were funny and entertaining. Their relationship does have a sheet of predictability to it. You can see how their relationship starts at the beginning of the book and develops. By the end of the book, it’s still entertaining and funny to read about. You will learn about Egyptian mythology and culture.
Author: Rick Riordan
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Ancient Mythology, Children’s Fantasy & Magic Books
Available: Audio CD | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
2. The Throne Of Fire
The Throne Of Fire is the second book in the Cain Chronicles trilogy, and the first is ‘The Red Pyramid.’ The brother and sister duo Carter and Sadie enter this Egyptian mythological world. So throwing fire in the last book, we left with Carter and Sady trying to start this new branch of teaching magic through the path of the gods. When we begin this book, we see that put into action.
More people are at the headquarters, which feels more like Camp Half-Blood. It’s good to know that we’ve got people who have their backs but are also introduced to Walt. Walt is shrouded in mystery throughout most of the book. We don’t find out what is wrong with him until the end.
Author: Rick Riordan
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Children’s General & Other Myth Books
Available: Audio CD | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Multimedia CD
3. The Chaos of Stars
The Chaos of Stars is the story of Isadora, the latest in a long line of children from ICIS and Cyrus Egyptian gods. She has many brothers and sisters, and her parents don’t care about her. The surprising thing is her parents are gods! If they loved her, would they make her immortal? They wouldn’t want to see her die someday. Then mom drops a bombshell and going to have another baby. It only adds fuel to the fire. When strange dreams happen, ICIS sends Isadora to San Diego to stay with her older brother.
Isadora is grateful for the space. She’s thankful for the new setting to get out of Egypt. While there, she realizes that she probably doesn’t know her parents or herself as well as she thought. Also, she better figure it out soon because the danger is afoot.
Many talks lately about how books give us our happily ever after and fill us with good feelings. But that’s not always the case. Through this retelling of Egyptian mythology, Kirsten bravely showed how ordinary people are and our relationships with friends, families, and siblings. The secondary characters in this book were also fabulous. This book comments a lot on Isadora’s relationship with God. You can see those parallels if you read it as an allegory.
Author: Kiersten White
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Teen & Young Adult Myths & Legends
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
4. Reawakened
Reawakened is about a girl named Lily who lives in New York. She is the average girl who’s rich and has mommies and daddies who pay for her to do things to get away. So Lily is pretty much a somewhat normal girl. So Lily is in an art museum and stumbles upon the image of art. Also, she stumbled upon the Egypt exhibit when she needed to get away from somewhere. So, she finds a guy who has to reawaken from his mummy state. This man’s name is Amon.
Amon is pretty much the sun God in Egypt. He has two brothers who are similar kinds of gods. He doesn’t have the organs that he needs to live off of energy while he’s awakened. He needs Lily to find those organs. So he bonds with her and feeds off her energy to live in society today. These gods reawaken because they need to do some ceremony to keep the evil gods away. So they find their way there, find his brothers, and reawaken them. That is the plot of this book.
Lily is the main character and narrative. She’s putting more imagery into the story than there was before. The characters remind me a lot of focus groups as well. Everything in the story reminded me of Tiger’s curse.
Author: Colleen Houck
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Adult Historical Romance, Myths & Legends
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
5. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Egyptian religion never constituted a single orientation. It was always based on many cults. As a result, the Egyptian pantheon was extensive, with over two thousand deities. The gods and goddesses were integral to these people’s everyday lives. The Egyptian landscape is a testament to the devotion and worship of its commoners and kings.
Cataloging the different dates that made up their religion is another. However, this challenge has been met through the famous complete series of themes in Hudson Publishing Company.
Another outstanding publication by Professor Richard Wilkinson of Arizona University takes the reader to Egyptian mythology. He was first examining the origins of Egypt’s DTES. He explains the rituals and mysteries that involved the very core of Egyptian life.
The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt follow up with the King’s relationships with the gods and how this changed throughout Egypt’s three thousand years. He ends with an extensive and detailed catalog of the individual gods and goddesses in 256 pages through 338 illustrations. This work should be on the bookshelf of every Egyptologist and is a must-have for everyone interested in ancient Egypt.
Author: Richard H. Wilkinson
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: History of New Age & Mythology, Ancient Egyptian History
Available: Paperback | Hardcover
6. A History of Ancient Egypt
Nicolas Grimal became a French Egyptologist who eventually headed the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo. He wrote this book to cover the first human settlements around 120,000 B.C. to the conquest of Alexander and 333 B.C. This publication is a classic in Egyptology because it focuses on Egyptian life, from childbirth to death. It includes education, diet, the status of women’s medicine, and the building of the pyramids and temples.
A History of Ancient Egypt uses a different naming convention for the pharaohs and only contains a handful of illustrations, although somewhat complicated for the lay reader. It is not tedious, even in matters of scholarly argument. Its study of Egyptian life makes this a valuable book for anyone’s collection. Also, it is the best book about Egyptian mythology I have ever read.
Author: Nicolas Grimal
Average Rating: 4.1/5
Category: Egyptian History
Available: Paperback | Hardcover
7. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
If you’re looking for the most comprehensive scholarly book on ancient Egypt, look no further. This Oxford History of Ancient Egypt takes you from the Neolithic period to its conquest by the Roman Empire. It was written by thirteen leading scholars and the world of Egyptology and edited by the leading author, Dr. Ian Scx. This publication is the only single work to cover seven hundred thousand years of ancient Egyptian history.
A review by the Northern Echo reports that Egyptologists will have a field day. The casual reader will find plenty to arouse their interest, ranging from the story of the world’s first strike to the revelation. This book contains many ancient histories with over a hundred beautiful illustrations and over 500 pages.
Also, It includes the first examinations of the intermediate periods. So it is the complete history book on the topic and is a must-read for anyone seriously studying Egyptian civilization. Although meant for advanced students, it is accessible to general readers interested in the field.
Author: Ian Shaw
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Egyptian History
Available: Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
8. Cleopatra’s Daughter
This is the story of Cleopatra’s Daughter, and the narrator is Cleopatra Saleen, one of Cleopatra’s twins. Mark Anthony was married to Cleopatra. But strangely enough, Mark Anthony was also married and previously sued the woman. So the woman felt a certain particular way when he abandoned women, and he went to Egypt.
Cleopatra’s Daughter describes the rich history of Rome, Greece, and Egypt. It gives you a lot of descriptions of how things were done in these countries. There is a lot of plot, and the storyline is excellent. You do not want to see the outcome at the end of the book. So it is so fascinating to read.
Author: Michelle Moran
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Historical Biographical Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mp3 CD
9. Cleopatra’s Moon
Cleopatra’s Moon is based on fiction, but it’s based on fact. There are a few made-up characters, but most are because the author has researched and elaborated on their characters. The book is about Cleopatra, Celine’s journey from her mother. The war with the Romans at her mother’s going through war. So it goes into the story of how she’s in Egypt.
Once the reality was declared, her entire life changed a hundred percent. She’s no longer that princess that everybody loves and respects. Now she has to move to Rome, where they hate this family. They hate them. She’s treated not too badly, but she is treated like a princess. So it goes to that whole story. Also, there was a huge surprise twist at the end. You’ll have to read to the very end to find out.
Author: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Teen & Young Adult Ancient Civilization Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
10. Everneath (Trilogy)
Everneath is a paranormal romance trilogy. It includes three books and a small novella. So the first book in a trilogy is called Everneath. The premise is about Nikki, who has been in the underworld for the last six months, the Everneath.
She comes back to the surface, which is the real world, to give her final goodbye to her family, friends, and boyfriend, Jack. Before she is taken back into the underworld to waste away and die, providing energy to the Everneath. In the meantime, a guy who took her there tries to convince her not to die but rule the underworld with him as the queen.
I found the writing great and easy to read, and I couldn’t wait to turn the pages to find out what would happen next. Brody Ashton has painted a beautiful story that fits perfectly with the world. It’s an excellent read for teens, young adults, and those who love reading Egypt’s mythology. The author twisted the Greek underworld type of thing and made it this new world.
Author: Brodi Ashton
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Category: Teen & Young Adult Emotions & Feelings Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Library Binding | Kindle | Preloaded Digital Audio Player
What is the most famous Egyptian myth?
The story of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Horus is the most well-known and significant in ancient Egyptian mythology. This myth covers the divine family, their conflicts, death, resurrection, and the power struggle.
According to the myth, Osiris was the first pharaoh of Egypt and a benevolent ruler. His jealous brother, Set, plotted to kill him and eventually succeeded by tricking Osiris into a coffin, which he sealed and threw into the Nile River. Osiris’s wife, Isis, searched for his body, found it, and used her magical powers to revive him temporarily. During this time, Isis conceived their son, Horus.
Osiris became the underworld lord, while Isis raised Horus secretly to protect him from Set. When Horus grew up, he challenged Set for the throne of Egypt, resulting in a series of battles. Ultimately, Horus emerged victorious, avenging his father and restoring order to Egypt. This myth was significant in ancient Egyptian religion. It symbolized the eternal struggle between order (represented by Horus) and chaos (represented by Set) and served as a metaphor for the daily battle between the sun and darkness.
Where to start with Egyptian mythology?
If you are a beginner of Egyptian mythology books, then start learning about Egyptian mythology, consider the following steps:
Begin with key myths and deities: Familiarize yourself with the most important gods and goddesses, such as Ra, Isis, Osiris, Horus, Set, and Anubis. Understand their roles, relationships, and the most famous myths surrounding them.
Read primary sources: Ancient Egyptian myths and religious texts, such as the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead, provide invaluable insight into the mythology and beliefs of the time. Reading translations of these texts is essential to understanding Egyptian mythology at its core.
Read books on Egyptian mythology: Some popular books include “Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt” by Geraldine Pinch, “The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt” by Richard H. Wilkinson, and “Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction” by Geraldine Pinch.
Explore scholarly articles and journals: Academic publications and research papers can offer deeper insight into Egyptian mythology, such as interpreting specific myths, deities, or religious practices.
Visit museums and exhibitions: Museums with Egyptian collections, such as the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, can provide information about ancient Egyptian religion and mythology.
Take a course or attend a lecture: Educational institutions, cultural centers, or museums might offer courses or lectures on Egyptian mythology. Attending these events can deepen your understanding and allow you to discuss your findings with experts and fellow enthusiasts.
Join online communities: Forums, social media groups, and other online communities offer an opportunity to share your interest in Egyptian mythology with others, learn from their experiences, and stay updated on discoveries or research.
Remember that Egyptian mythology is vast and complex, and it can take time to fully grasp the nuances of its many stories and deities. Start with the basics and gradually delve deeper into the subject as your interest and understanding grow.
Learn more: How To Start Reading Mythology For Beginner
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