Love Lyrics of Ancient Egypt

Rating:
Summary: A good choice among few options
Review: My introduction to the love poetry of Egypt came in a course on the Song of Songs (aka Song of Solomon) which used as a text Michael Fox's The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs. Ms. Fowler has translated these poems with philogical assistance from Fox. The result is a very readable translation - enjoyable on it's own. However, I found myself going back to Fox for the background to truly understand some of the poems - the cultural chasm and the passage of time eroded the meaning of the poems to me.

However, the translations are lightly footnoted with required information e.g. that Menqet is the goddess of beer or that a word is added for meter. While I prefer translations that stand on their own, this is a good choice for an introduction to a little known poetry that had significant impact on our culture indirectly via the Song of Songs