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Toby Wilkinson QUOTES

Toby Wilkinson QUOTES

1 " Egypt is the Nile, the Nile Egypt. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Nile: A Journey Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present

2 " Throughout history, megalomaniacs and tyrants have used such epithets—“father of the nation,” “dear leader”—but the terms usually have a hollow ring. Modern experience suggests that the titles are more about brainwashing and subjugation than the expression of popular acclaim. And yet, when it comes to ancient Egypt, scholars still balk at such an interpretation. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

3 " According to royal doctrine, the king’s role as defender of Egypt (and the whole of creation) involved the corresponding defeat of Egypt’s neighbors (who stood for chaos). To instill and foster a sense of national identity, it suited the ruling elite—as leaders have discovered throughout history—to cast all foreigners as the enemy. An ivory label from the tomb of Narmer shows a Palestinian dignitary stooping in homage before the Egyptian king. At the same time, in the real world, Egypt and Palestine were busy engaging in trade. The xenophobic ideology masked the practical reality. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

4 " The Middle Kingdom was the golden age of literature, when many of the great classics were composed. From the heroic Tale of Sinuhe to the rollicking yarn of The Shipwrecked Sailor, from the overtly propagandist Prophecies of Neferti to the subtle rhetoric of The Eloquent Peasant, and from the metaphysical Dispute Between a Man and His Soul to the burlesque Satire of the Trades, the literary output of the Middle Kingdom reveals ancient Egyptian society at its most complex and sophisticated "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

5 " The ideology of kingship required—demanded—a male ruler. Yet Hatshepsut, as her very name announced, was female. Her response to this conundrum was deeply schizophrenic. On some monuments, especially those dating from the time before her accession, she had the images recarved to show her as a man. On others, she had female epithets applied to male monarchs of the past, in an apparent attempt to “feminize” her ancestors. Even when portrayed as a man, Hatshepsut often used grammatically feminine epithets, describing herself as the daughter (rather than son) of Ra, or the lady (rather than lord) of the Two Lands. The tension between male office and female officeholder was never satisfactorily resolved. Little wonder that Hatshepsut’s advisers came up with a new circumlocution for the monarch. From now on, the term for the palace, per-aa (literally “great house”), was applied also to its chief inhabitant. Peraa—pharaoh—now became the unique designation of the Egyptian ruler. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

6 " Even when portrayed as a man, Hatshepsut often used grammatically feminine epithets, describing herself as the daughter (rather than son) of Ra, or the lady (rather than lord) of the Two Lands. The tension between male office and female officeholder was never satisfactorily resolved. Little wonder that Hatshepsut’s advisers came up with a new circumlocution for the monarch. From now on, the term for the palace, per-aa (literally “great house”), was applied also to its chief inhabitant. Peraa—pharaoh—now became the unique designation of the Egyptian ruler. While "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

7 " The victims’ heads and penises are placed between their legs; only one of the dead has been allowed to retain his manhood. Uncomfortable as it may be, we must assume that the ancient Egyptians of Narmer’s time routinely humiliated their defeated enemies in this way. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

8 " The lurid descriptions of what lay between death and salvation conjure up a Hieronymus Bosch vision of hell, reflecting the universal horror of death and the desperate wish for eternal life. The ancient Egyptians’ fears ranged from the all-too-familiar afflictions of thirst and starvation to the peculiar horror of an upside-down world in which they would have to walk on their heads, drink urine, and eat excrement. The Coffin Texts show the human imagination at its most fevered. The "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

9 " It is the business of the archaeologist to wake the dreaming dead: not to send the living to sleep.1 ARTHUR WEIGALL, 1923 "

― Toby Wilkinson , A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology

10 " These trends culminate in the Narmer Palette. Its very form harks back to a time when wandering cattle herders lived a seminomadic existence, carrying everything they needed with them and using their own bodies as canvasses for their art. In such a society, face paint played a central role in the ritual life of the community, and cosmetic palettes were a favorite and prized possession. But by Narmer’s time, the palette had been transformed into a vehicle for proclaiming the omnipotence and divinity of the king. The "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

11 " A political creed that harnesses itself to a national myth can embed itself very deeply in the human consciousness. "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra

12 " The only Egyptian immortalized on the building was the reigning khedive, Abbas II -- a puppet ruler, propped up by the British -- and his inscription was in Latin. "

― Toby Wilkinson , A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology

13 " army "

― Toby Wilkinson , The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra