1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797543303321

Autore

Kritsky Gene

Titolo

The tears of Re : beekeeping in ancient Egypt / / Gene Kritsky

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, NY : , : Oxford University Press, , [2015]

©2015

ISBN

0-19-936140-1

0-19-936139-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (159 p.)

Disciplina

638/.10962

Soggetti

Bee culture - Egypt - History

Honey - Egypt - History

Bee products - Egypt - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Beekeeping begins -- The delight of Re: beekeeping during the Old Kingdom -- Instability and reunification: beekeeping during the Middle Kingdom -- The age of empire: beekeeping during the New Kingdom -- The Saite period -- The Greco-Roman period -- The honey bee hieroglyph -- The administration and economics of Egyptian beekeeping -- Bees and food -- Honey and healing -- Bees, gods, and feasts -- The magic of beeswax -- The afterlife of ancient Egyptian beekeeping.

Sommario/riassunto

According to Egyptian mythology, when the ancient Egyptian sun god Re cried, his tears turned into honey bees upon touching the ground. For this reason, the honey bee was sacrosanct in ancient Egyptian culture. From the art depicting bees on temple walls to the usage of beeswax as a healing ointment, the honey bee was a pervasive cultural motif in ancient Egypt because of its connection to the sun god Re. Gene Kritsky delivers the first book to examine the relationship between the honey bee and ancient Egyptian culture, through the lenses of linguistics, archeology, religion, health, and econo