City of the Ram-Man: The Story of Ancient Mendes Review

City of the Ram-Man: The Story of Ancient Mendes
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Ancient Mendes, capital of Egypt during the short-lived 29th dynasty, was known in classical times as a major cult center and source of the best perfume in the Mediterranean. It's received less attention in recent times, being overshadowed by the endless parade of spectacular finds that Egypt has on offer. For that reason alone, the present book, a comprehensive site interpretation by excavator Donald Redford, is quite welcome. As a technical work, it will be appreciated by professionals who study the archaeology of Egypt's Nile Delta, especially Late Period specialists. The author also provides a generous historical (Predynastic through Byzantine) and religious (the Ram cult) context for the site, that will be attractive to a wider readership, including those dedicated amateurs who want a lot of archaeological detail. The book's illustrations are many, but all in black-and-white. They include unexceptional b&w photographs of the few remaining site surface features, plus professional line drawings of seriations, pottery, etc. There is still much to be discovered about ancient Mendes, as the author explains, so perhaps in a few years we will see a second edition!

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In this richly illustrated book, renowned archaeologist Donald Redford draws on the latest discoveries--including many of his own--to tell the story of the ancient Egyptian city of Mendes, home of the mysterious cult of the "fornicating ram who mounts the beauties." Excavation by Redford and his colleagues over the past two decades has cast a flood of light on this strange center of worship and political power located in the Nile Delta. A sweeping chronological account filled with photographs, drawings, and informative sidebars, City of the Ram-Man is the first history of Mendes written for general readers.

Founded in the remote prehistoric past, inhabited continuously for 5,000 years, and abandoned only in the first-century BC, Mendes is a microcosm of ancient Egyptian history. City of the Ram-Man tells the city's full story--from its founding, through its development of a great society and its brief period as the capital of Egypt, up to its final decline. Central to the story is millennia of worship dedicated to the lascivious ram-god. The book describes the discoveries of the great temple of the ram and the "Mansion of the Rams," where the embalmed bodies of the avatars of the god were buried. It also discusses ancient Greek reports that these ram-gods occasionally ritually fornicated with women.

Vividly written and informed throughout by Redford's intimate knowledge of the remains of Mendes, City of the Ram-Man is a unique account of a long-lost monument of Egyptian history, religion, and culture.


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