Lecture
Courses and Seminars
Ancient Egypt, Part 1:
Prehistory
through Tutankhamun
Staff
The origins of Egyptology, review of its tools
and resources, and an overview of the geology and
geography of Egypt, followed by the history and
culture of Egypt, from the Pre- and Protodynastic
Periods, the Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period,
and Middle Kingdom, to the Second Intermediate
Period and the Eighteenth Dynasty. Discussion of
art, architecture, and religion of the various
periods, with selected readings (in translation)
from monuments and documents.
Ancient Egypt, Part 2:
The Ramessides
through the Arab Conquest
Staff
Continuation of Ancient Egypt, Part 1, Egypt
from the founding of the Nineteenth Dynasty through
the Arab conquest, including the Ramesside Period,
the so-called Third Intermediate Period, the Saites,
the two periods of Persian control, the Nectanebids,
and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.
The Age of Akhenaton
John Coleman Darnell, Karen Foster
Study of the unique period of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton
(reigned ca. 1353–1336 B.C.E.), often termed the
Amarna Revolution, from historical, literary, religious,
artistic, and archaeological perspectives, considered
within their wider Egyptian, ancient Near Eastern, African,
and Mediterranean contexts. The course examines the international
diplomacy and solar theology of the period, and places
the famous artistic developments of Akhenaton in context.
Conflicts that Shaped Pharaonic Egypt
John Coleman Darnell
An overview of the history of ancient Egypt, from
the Predynastic Period to the end of Byzantine rule on
the Nile. Focus on periods of internal social and political
fragmentation; examination of the struggles and mechanisms
that led to the establishing and renewal of central authority
on the Nile.
Egyptian Religion through the Ages
John Coleman Darnell
Topics in Egyptian religion including religious architecture;
evidence for Protodynastic cults; foreigners in Egyptian
religious celebrations; music and vocal expression in
Egyptian religion; Re and Osiris; the Amarna interlude
and the Ramesside solar religion; and the goddess of
the eye of the sun. The approach is diachronic. Readings
in English of primary and secondary sources.
Readings in Egyptian History
Colleen Manassa
Graduate seminar covering topics in pharaonic history,
culture, and society from the Old Kingdom through the
end of the New Kingdom.
Egyptian Literature through the Ages
Colleen Manassa, Beatrice Gruendler
A survey of historical, fictional, autobiographical, poetic, and popular texts from ancient Egypt to modernity. Salient themes are juxtaposed in their ancient Egyptian and their medieval and modern Arabic treatments, with attention to the loss, revival, discontinuity, and reinterpretation of the texts.
Art of the Ancient Near East and Aegean
Karen Foster
Introduction to the art and architecture of Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and the Aegean, with attention to cultural and
historical contexts.
The Art of Ancient Palaces
Karen Foster
Introduction to the art and architecture of the major
palaces in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Bronze
Age Aegean. Special attention to palatial workshops (painting,
sculpture, pottery, faience, glass, ivory, metal) in
cultural context. Emphasis on the iconography of power,
including the establishment within palatial complexes
of the world’s oldest botanical and zoological
gardens.
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: Parallel
Worlds
Eckart Frahm, John Darnell
An overview of the history of ancient Egypt
and the Near East, from the origins of writing
in the fourth millennium BCE to the Hellenistic
age. Focus on the historical, cultural, and social
developments that occurred contemporaneously in
both civilizations.
The Making of Monasticism
Bentley Layton
The history of Christian monasteries, hermits, ascetics,
and monastic institutions and values in late antiquity,
with special attention to the eastern Mediterranean world.
Ancient Egypt and Northeast Africa
John Coleman Darnell
Examination of approximately 10,000 years of Nile
Valley cultural history, with an introduction to the
historical and archaeological study of Egypt and Nubia.
Consideration of the Nile Valley as the meeting place
of the cultures and societies of northeast Africa. A
variety of written and visual sources are used, including
the collections of the Yale Peabody Museum and the Yale
Art Gallery.
Introduction to Egyptian Ceramics
John Coleman Darnell
Overview of ancient Egyptian pottery from the earliest predynastic
through the Roman Period. Readings on ceramic analysis, fabric
identification, and modes of manufacturing. Use of the collection
in the Yale Peabody Museum and introduction to archaeological
illustration.
Archaeology of Nubia I
Maria Gatto
Archaeology of Nubia, from the beginning of the Holocene to the conquest by the Egyptian Empire during the New Kingdom. The history of the region will be approached from a Nubian perspective, mainly focused on the analysis of the archaeological record. Topics include cattle domestication and the origin of the African Neolithic model, social complexity, state formation, ethnicity and boundaries and social markers.
Lives in Ancient Egypt: Society, Family and Gender
Colleen Manassa
Introduction to the social history of ancient Egypt from 3,100 to 30 B.C.E. Focus on the lives of particular individuals attested in the textual and archaeological record, from pharaohs and queens to artists, soldiers, and farmers. Reading of primary sources in translation; course projects integrate ancient objects in Yale collections.
Language Courses
Introduction to Classical Hieroglyphic
Egyptian
Staff
An introduction to the language of ancient
pharaonic Egyptian (Middle Egyptian) and its hieroglyphic
writing system, with readings of short historical,
literary, and religious texts. Grammatical analysis
with exercises in reading, translation, and composition.
Prerequisite for all other Egyptian text courses.
Intermediate Egyptian I: Literary
Texts
John Coleman Darnell, Colleen
Manassa
Close reading of Middle Egyptian literary texts,
and an introduction to the hieratic (cursive) Egyptian
script. Readings include the Middle Kingdom stories
of Sinuhe and the Eloquent Peasant and excerpts
from Wisdom Literature.
Intermediate Egyptian II: Historical
Texts
John Coleman Darnell, Colleen
Manassa
Close reading of Middle Egyptian historical
texts in original hieroglyphic script. Initial
survey of ancient Egyptian historiography and grammatical
forms peculiar to this genre of text.
Late Egyptian Stories
Colleen Manassa
Narrative tales from the New Kingdom, including the
Tale of the Two Brothers, the Story of Apophis and Seqenenre,
the Taking of Joppa, the Tale of Woe, etc., read primarily
in the hieratic script. Introduction to the combination
of Middle and Late Egyptian grammar that characterizes
the literary production of the New Kingdom, with particular
reference to Ramesside monumental inscriptions, including
the papyrus versions of the Kadesh Battle texts.
Historical Texts of Egypt and Nubia
Colleen Manassa
Examination of textual sources that relate to interactions between Egypt and Nubia from the late Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom. Monumental texts include the Semna Stelae of Sesostris III, the Kurgus inscriptions of Thutmose I and Thutmose III, the Tombos Inscription of Thutmose I, and the Buhen Stela of Akhenaten. The autobiography of Harkhuf, Middle Kingdom expedition inscriptions, and the Second Intermediate Period stela of Ka provide a private perspective, and the hieratic documents of the Semna Dispatches illuminate the activities of the Middle Kingdom fortress system.
Ancient Egyptian Love Poetry
John Coleman Darnell
Egyptian love poetry, concentrating on the major
documents. Most readings in hieratic, with discussions
of the grammar of literary Late Egyptian, its relationship
to non-literary Late Egyptian and late Middle Egyptian.
Readings in comparative texts and investigation of iconographic
parallels. |
Coffin
Texts
John Coleman Darnell
Readings of the religious texts of Middle Kingdom
coffins. The course focuses on creation accounts,
the Shu texts, spells of transformation, the
Book of the Two Ways, etc. Readings in both normalized
hieroglyphic transcription and original cursive
hieroglyphic writing and study of coffin panels
in the collection of the Yale Art Gallery.
Late Period Historical Texts:
Napatan
Historical Inscriptions
John Coleman Darnell
Close reading of Napatan historical texts,
including the inscription of Katimala, the
Piye Stela, the Dream Stela of Tanutamun, the
Stela of Enthronement, the Stela of Excommunication,
Kawa inscriptions, the Stela of Harsiotef,
and the Stela of Nestasen. Discussion of the
historical significance of the texts; analyses
of grammatical material touching upon Nubian
perceptions of Middle and Late Egyptian grammar
and early Demotic grammar; hieratic-inspired
orthographies, etc.
Temple Inscriptions: Medinet Habu
John Coleman Darnell
Overview of a complete temple from the New Kingdom, the “Temple
of Millions of Years” of Ramesses III located on
the west bank at Thebes. Readings of the full range of
inscriptions from the temple, including bandau texts,
historical inscriptions recounting the Sea Peoples invasion
and other wars of Ramesses III, religious texts including
the processions of Sokar and Min, etc. Additional readings
cover supporting materials, such as passages from the
Great Papyrus Harris, other monuments of Ramesses III,
and late variants of the Book of the Dead.
Egyptian Rock Inscriptions
John Coleman Darnell
Examination of Egyptian petroglyphs from a variety of
sites in and around Egypt, concentrating on inscriptions.
Readings from Eastern Desert and Nubian graffiti, as
well as other recently discovered sites in the Western
Desert. The texts range in date from the Predynastic
through the Roman Period, and include hieroglyphic and
hieratic documents of religious and historical import.
Ptolemaic and Roman Hieroglyphic Texts
John Coleman Darnell
An introduction to the Egyptian inscriptions
of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, concentrating
on temple inscriptions. Readings include selections
from the temples of Dendera, El-Qala, Medinet
Habu, Qasr el-Aguz, Deir el-Shelwit, Esna,
Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae, etc. An introduction
to the study of the normalized cryptography
of many of these texts, and also an examination
of a number of other text corpora, including
the trilingual decrees and private steale.
Ancient Egyptian Epistolography
John Coleman Darnell
Readings (in hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts) of Egyptian
letters, from the Old Kingdom through the Third Intermediate
Period, including the Letters to the Dead, Kahun Letters,
and Late Ramesside Letters.
Ancient Egyptian Cosmographic Texts
John Coleman Darnell
Close reading of Egyptian cosmographic books, including
the King as Solar Priest, the Book of the Creation of
the Solar Disk, the Book of Nut, the Book of the Day
and the Night, and the Enigmatic Netherworld Books of
the Solar-Osirian Unity.
Egyptian Religious Texts:
The Ancient
Egyptian Netherworld Books
John Coleman Darnell,
Colleen Manassa
Study of the Underworld texts from the royal
tombs of the New Kingdom. Readings from the
Amduat, the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns,
the Book of the Creation of the Solar Disk,
the Book of the Day and the Night, the cryptographic
Books of the Solar-Osirian Unity, the Book
of the Heavenly Cow, and the Book of Nut.
Discussions of the significance of these
texts for understanding Egyptian religion,
and the possible contribution of these compositions
to the Hermetica and Christian Gnosticism.
Selected Egyptian Wisdom Texts
Staff
Readings from the genre of teachings and wisdom literature,
including the Instruction of Amenemhat I, Ptahhotep,
Lamentations of Khakheperresoneb, the Prophecy of Neferti,
the Instruction of Merikare and others. Discussions of
political and social significance of the compositions,
historicity, and intertextuality.
Ramesside Texts
John Coleman Darnell
Readings of Ramesside monumental inscriptions, mostly
of historical significance. Focus on the inscriptions
from the reigns of Sety I, Ramesses II, and Merneptah,
including the Wadi Mia Temple inscriptions of Sety
I, the stela of Sety I for Ramesses I; the Inscription
of Ramesses II for Sety I at Abydos, the Kom el-Ahmar
Stela and the Kadesh texts of Ramesses II; the Amada
Stela and Triumph Stela of Merneptah. Discussions of
late Middle Egyptian grammar and orthography, historical
significance, etc.
Introduction to Demotic
Staff
Introduction to the script and grammar of demotic, including
readings of the Instruction of Onkhsheshonqy and excerpts
from the bilingual decrees.
Demotic Texts
John Coleman Darnell
Readings from the stories of Setne-Khaemwaset, temple
oath ostraca, Papyrus Dodgson, demotic “graffiti,” and
the ostraca of Hor, etc., as well as secondary literature
covering the culture and history of the Graeco-Roman
Period.
Texts from the Amarna Period
John Darnell and Colleen Manassa
Close reading of texts from the reigns of Amunhotep III, Akhenaton, Tutankhamun, Aye, and Horemheb, with particular attention to the religious, social, and historical implications of the written record. Hieroglyphic texts include the jubilee scenes of Amunhotep III in the tomb of Kheruef, the boundary stelae of Akhenaton, the Great Hymn to the Aton, the Restoration Stela of Tutankhamun, and selections from the Decree of Horemhab.
Temple Construction Texts
David Klotz
Egyptian texts commemorating temple constructions from the Old Kingdom through the Roman Period. Comparison of material evidence from extant structures, including foundation deposits and building materials and techniques; theological significance and cultic use of various chapels; architectural history of major temples, with a focus on Thebes. Readings from royal inscriptions, private autobiographies, hieratic records, bandeau texts from Karnak, Edfu, and Dendera, and rituals associated with temple construction.
Egyptian Cosmogonies
David Klotz
Egyptian creation accounts from the First Intermediate Period through the Roman Period. The diachronic development of religious concepts; the variety of coexisting local traditions; the Amarna Period; influences on Hermetic and Gnostic writings and borrowing from Greco-Roman and Near Eastern religions. Readings from coffin texts, magical and ritual papyri, and hieroglyphic temple inscriptions.
Coptic
Biblical Coptic: Elementary Course
Staff
Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic
Bentley Layton
Readings in Gnostic and Valentinian literature
from Nag Hammadi, in several dialects of Coptic.
Prerequisite: reading knowledge of Coptic.
Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic
Bentley Layton
Readings in the early Egyptian classics of
Christian asceticism in Sahidic Coptic, including
the desert fathers and Shenute. Prerequisite:
reading knowledge of Coptic.
Courses Taught by Visiting Faculty
Toward an Art History for Ancient Egypt: Issues, Approaches, and Object Study
Marsha Hill
Diachronics of Egyptian Grammar (Fall 2009)
Ariel Shisha-Halevy
Egyptian Medical Texts (Fall 2009)
Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert
Medicine in Ancient Egypt (Fall 2009)
Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert
Egyptian Magical Texts (Spring 2010)
Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert
Medicine in Ancient Egypt (Spring 2010)
Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert
Egyptian Settlement Archaeology (Fall 2008)
Ian Shaw |
