cover image An Egyptian Bestiary: Animals in Life and Religion in the Land of the Pharaohs

An Egyptian Bestiary: Animals in Life and Religion in the Land of the Pharaohs

Philippe Germond. Thames & Hudson, $65 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-500-51059-9

Philippe Germond, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Geneva, has created An Egyptian Bestiary, highlighting, in 280 lavish color illustrations, the Egyptian perception of animals as representations of divine creativity, from the secular and mundane world of craftsmen to the sacred realm of priests, pharaohs and gods. The ancient Nile Valley boasted a diverse, sometimes bothersome and even dangerous array of wildlife and domesticated animals. Though the Egyptians used animals for labor and nourishment, they also viewed them as ""the visible signs of primeval forces that it was necessary... to propitiate."" (Nov.)