--- product_id: 402022044 title: "The Search for God in Ancient Egypt: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War" price: "VT18408" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 5 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/402022044-the-search-for-god-in-ancient-egypt-the-symbolic-politics store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # The Search for God in Ancient Egypt: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War **Price:** VT18408 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Search for God in Ancient Egypt: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War - **How much does it cost?** VT18408 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/402022044-the-search-for-god-in-ancient-egypt-the-symbolic-politics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description " What, for the ancient Egyptians, was the nature of the world's governing spirits'... With the evidence of ancient texts, Assmann considers Egyptian theology,... and cults and rites.... This deep, analytic book is of the greatest interest not only for specialists in matters Egyptian but also for comparative studies." ? Antiquity First English-language edition, with revisions and additions by the author. This classic work by one of the world's most distinguished Egyptologists was first published in German in 1984. The Search for God in Ancient Egypt offers a distillation of Jan Assmann's views on ancient Egyptian religion, with special emphasis on theology and piety. Deeply rooted in the texts of ancient Egypt and thoroughly informed by comparative religion, theology, anthropology, and semiotic analysis, Assmann's interpretations reveal the complexity of Egyptian thought in a new way. Assmann takes special care to distinguish between the "implicit" theology of Egyptian polytheism and the "explicit" theology that is concerned with exploring the problem of the divine. His discussion of polytheism and mythology addresses aspects of ritual, the universe, and myth; his consideration of explicit theology deals with theodicy and the specifics of Amarna religion. First English-language edition, with revisions and additions by the author.This classic work by one of the world's most distinguished Egyptologists was first published in German in 1984. The Search for God in Ancient Egypt offers a distillation of Jan Assmann's views on ancient Egyptian religion, with special emphasis on theology and piety. Deeply rooted in the texts of ancient Egypt and thoroughly informed by comparative religion, theology, anthropology, and semiotic analysis, Assmann's interpretations reveal the complexity of Egyptian thought in a new way.Assmann takes special care to distinguish between the "implicit" theology of Egyptian polytheism and the "explicit" theology that is concerned with exploring the problem of the divine. His discussion of polytheism and mythology addresses aspects of ritual, the universe, and myth; his consideration of explicit theology deals with theodicy and the specifics of Amarna religion. Review: This is a book I’ll need to read again. Great addition to my library! - Assmann is a very talented and intelligent scholar. This is a great in-depth oververiew with lots of invaluable references. Review: The system of Egyptian religions - Assmann's wonderfully easy, careful writing reveals all the features of Egyptian religion a way no other book achieves. He explores religion in two terms: 'divine presence.' These terms meaning sacred (transcendent), and mundane (immanent) realms. The distinction extends Durkheim's distinction of sacred and profane, because divinity was present in the world for the Egyptians. 'Divine presence' for the Egyptians meant realizing plenty (ma'at) over against lack (isfet) both in the divine order by pacifying the gods and in the mundane order by instituting ethical conduct. He studies the 'narrow view' of religion: pacifying the gods. He leaves the wide view - ethical conduct - aside a task of sociology. To arrive at the Egyptian 'narrow view,' Assmann distinguishes 'implicit theology' from 'explicit theology.' Implicit theology is his theory of how the Egyptians thought that he drives from interpreting texts. Explicit theology means whatever theory the Egyptian natives may have had, but the Egyptians 'never referred to [explicit theology] in practice.' His 'implicit theology' is not 'reading into' the liturgies, but summarizing their consistent literary devices. An example of 'implicit theology' is the consistent progress in the ancient liturgies from names, to embodiments, to statues. Such consistent liturgies reveal civil, natural, and mythical levels of religion. Studying implicit theology in the liturgies over the 3,000 or so years of the dynastic periods reveals that polytheism played the particles to waves of monotheism. A transition from localized polytheism to national monotheism occurred over the course of Egyptian history. During the transitions from Old to Middle to New Kingdoms, immanence in local cults of city gods transmuted to ruler god, primeval god, creator god, sun god, and to the ethical authority of personal devotion. The solar cult of the Amarna period, so often portrayed as Enlightenment, was a conservative repression that persecuted any personal experiences of the older religions of Ammon by interposing the royal couple between the Aten and people. The unexpected consequences of the persecution was the 'breakthrough' to the 'fourth dimension' of personal ethical consciousness, the same general development that describes the 'axial age,' the appearance everywhere of the historic religions at the end of the ancient world. Assmann's communicates the consistent beauty of the major hieroglyphic liturgies by demonstrating the logic of the litanies. Egyptian 'polytheism' was simply the symbolization of transcendence in immanence -- all the 'forms' (cheperu) of immanent experience are manifestations of searching for transcendent God. 'Search' in this context does not mean conscious theologizing. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #581,679 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #163 in Egyptian History (Books) #401 in Ancient Egyptians History #675 in Archaeology (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 45 Reviews | ## Images ![The Search for God in Ancient Egypt: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/716JEgiQ3KL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is a book I’ll need to read again. Great addition to my library! *by A***E on 4 June 2018* Assmann is a very talented and intelligent scholar. This is a great in-depth oververiew with lots of invaluable references. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The system of Egyptian religions *by P***T on 18 February 2013* Assmann's wonderfully easy, careful writing reveals all the features of Egyptian religion a way no other book achieves. He explores religion in two terms: 'divine presence.' These terms meaning sacred (transcendent), and mundane (immanent) realms. The distinction extends Durkheim's distinction of sacred and profane, because divinity was present in the world for the Egyptians. 'Divine presence' for the Egyptians meant realizing plenty (ma'at) over against lack (isfet) both in the divine order by pacifying the gods and in the mundane order by instituting ethical conduct. He studies the 'narrow view' of religion: pacifying the gods. He leaves the wide view - ethical conduct - aside a task of sociology. To arrive at the Egyptian 'narrow view,' Assmann distinguishes 'implicit theology' from 'explicit theology.' Implicit theology is his theory of how the Egyptians thought that he drives from interpreting texts. Explicit theology means whatever theory the Egyptian natives may have had, but the Egyptians 'never referred to [explicit theology] in practice.' His 'implicit theology' is not 'reading into' the liturgies, but summarizing their consistent literary devices. An example of 'implicit theology' is the consistent progress in the ancient liturgies from names, to embodiments, to statues. Such consistent liturgies reveal civil, natural, and mythical levels of religion. Studying implicit theology in the liturgies over the 3,000 or so years of the dynastic periods reveals that polytheism played the particles to waves of monotheism. A transition from localized polytheism to national monotheism occurred over the course of Egyptian history. During the transitions from Old to Middle to New Kingdoms, immanence in local cults of city gods transmuted to ruler god, primeval god, creator god, sun god, and to the ethical authority of personal devotion. The solar cult of the Amarna period, so often portrayed as Enlightenment, was a conservative repression that persecuted any personal experiences of the older religions of Ammon by interposing the royal couple between the Aten and people. The unexpected consequences of the persecution was the 'breakthrough' to the 'fourth dimension' of personal ethical consciousness, the same general development that describes the 'axial age,' the appearance everywhere of the historic religions at the end of the ancient world. Assmann's communicates the consistent beauty of the major hieroglyphic liturgies by demonstrating the logic of the litanies. Egyptian 'polytheism' was simply the symbolization of transcendence in immanence -- all the 'forms' (cheperu) of immanent experience are manifestations of searching for transcendent God. 'Search' in this context does not mean conscious theologizing. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stupendo! *by C***A on 16 October 2017* Un libro meraviglioso. Nella sua analisi Assmann indaga l'io più profondo degli antichi egizi, la paura della morte intesa come la fine di tutto e in che modo essi hanno sconfitto questa paura. Sebbene Assmann spieghi meticolosamente ogni cosa, consiglio di avere almeno una infarinatura sulle pratiche funerarie egiziane ## Frequently Bought Together - The Search for God in Ancient Egypt - Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many - Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/402022044-the-search-for-god-in-ancient-egypt-the-symbolic-politics](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/402022044-the-search-for-god-in-ancient-egypt-the-symbolic-politics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-12*