109BOOK REVIEW
Μαραβέλια, Ἀλίκη / Ma a elia, Alicia: 2021 Ἡ Ἱστορία
τοῦ Ναυαγοῦ: Εἰσαγωγή, Σχολιασμὸς καὶ Μετάφραση ἐκ τοῦ
Πρωτοτύπου τοῦ Ἀρχαιοτέρου καὶ Ὡραιοτέρου Αἰγυπτιακοῦ
Διηγήματος / The S o y o he Shipw ecked Sailo : In oduc‑
ion, Commen a y and T ansla ion om he O iginal o he
mos Ancien and Beau i ul Ancien Egyp ian Tale, Ἀθῆναι /
A hens: Σέραπις / Se apis, 240 pages. In G eek.
Re iewed by Themis G. Dallas
Le me s a by admi ing ha Iam no Egyp ologis , bu an As onome – A chaeoas onome
eaching cou ses on Cul u al As onomy and His o y o Science. Howe e , my lo e o ancien
Egyp p omp ed me o ead Alicia Ma a elia’sbook on The S o y o he Shipw ecked Sailo , whe e
she also examines his ancien Egyp ian ale as an as onomical allego y. The au ho desc ibes
i on he on ispiece as he “mos ancien and beau i ul Egyp ian ale”. You may be awa e ha
his is aMiddle Kingdom sho s o y in na a i e e se and wi h qui e unusual ea u es o
aspecies pe aining o he ancien Middle Egyp ian li e a u e. P i ileged a e hose who can
ead li e a u e in i s o iginal language, o enjoy e e y poe y and nuisance. Fo he es o us,
i is nice o ha e aschola ly and well -wo ked ansla ion o enjoy.
110 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXIII/2024
The s o y has h ee cha ac e s: acap ain, his lieu enan and adi ine snake. The cap ain
is a aid o apossible punishmen om he Pha aoh o his ailed mission. Thus, his o ice
na a es asimila si ua ion om his pas , whe e he was shipw ecked and e en ually sa ed
by he di ine snake; who in u n na a es his simila s o y o des uc ion when ame eo i e
killed all his se pen - amily and ela i es.
The au ho is a espec ed Egyp ologis and A chaeoas onome , ounde and P esiden
o he Hellenic Ins i u e o Egyp ology, and he main eache a he Ins i u e’sEgyp ological
Semina , cu en ly in i s wel h yea . He esea ch ocuses on as onomical and cosmo isional
elemen s in he ancien Egyp ian une a y ex s, so she is ce ainly quali ied o ansla e and
commen on he Tale o he Shipw ecked Sailo .
A240-page book may seem oo much o a ex ha has jus 189 e ses, bu he book goes
beyond being asimple ansla ion, as i con ains backg ound in o ma ion, commen a y,
analysis and an ex ensi e bibliog aphy. The book s a s wi h wo sho in oduc o y ex s by
A le e Da id and Ch is ian Casey (bo h in English and ansla ed in G eek) and ap ologue by
he au ho . Then comes he i s pa o he book, wi h high quali y black -and -whi e acsimile
ep oduc ions o he o iginal papy us (pHe mi age 1115) and i s ansc ip ion in o hie oglyphics
by he au ho . This is ollowed by an in oduc ion in he au ho ’selabo a e (and sligh ly old-
- ashioned) language s yle; includes sec ions on he his o y o he Middle Kingdom o Egyp ,
acompa ison o he Shipw ecked Sailo o o he Egyp ian li e a u e specimens and an analy-
sis o he plo . She desc ibes he ale as going beyond pe se e ance h ough ha d imes; o
he i is ahymn o he ad en u ous na u e o humans, hei pe pe ual sea ch o new places,
b oade ho izons and p og ess, combined wi h he longing o e u n. She also compa es i
o an allego ic (Jungian) ip o he soul.
In he nex sec ion, he au ho (as awell -quali ied as onome , oo) discusses he ale as
an allego y o he nigh and day skies (wi h emphasis on he me eo i e all) p o iding alis o
as onomical wo ds in he ex , hei meaning and hei ele ance o he Egyp ian cosmo ision
and heology. A e discussing he possible connec ion o he di ine snake o dei ies o he e a,
she poin s ou ha he should be iden i ied pa excellence o Neheb -kaou; and u he ag ees
wi h De chain -U el ha he is also asymbol o Re -A um, whils his 75 ela i es co espond
o he 75 o ms o he Sun god in he Li any o Ra. Then she di ides he as onomical ele an
wo ds o he ex in o i e ca ego ies: ligh and da kness; ime, iming and e e ni y; sky, s a s
and sky dei ies; cosmogony and heogony; symbols and a che ypes plus me eo ological and
geological e ms. Fo each ca ego y, she discusses he e ms and hei connec ion o o he
ex s. The alling s a /me eo i e (o en jus men ioned in passing om o he au ho s) is he
mos discussed, and de ini ely he mos impo an as onomical e m. The des uc i e pow-
e o me eo i es, ha can e en kill mino gods, is wonde ully cap u ed. The connec ion o
me eo i ic i on wi h speci ic ancien Egyp ian une al p ac ices and i uals is also discussed.
Howe e , he men ion o he me eo i e ha caused he C e aceous ex inc ion is oo exube an ;
i is mos likely ha he Egyp ians had knowledge o ame eo i e all in hei long his o y, bu
ce ainly no o aplane -wide des uc ion.
The inal sec ion o he second pa includes a o mal line - o -line ansla ion as well as
a ee ansla ion, di ided in o hema ic uni s. Bo h ansla ions a e use ul and help he
eade s o ge aglimpse on he ancien Egyp ian mind. Whils he ee ansla ion is he one
o choice o enjoy he s o y i sel , he o mal one is bes o keeping he o iginal as accu a e
111BOOK REVIEW
as possible, ye con e ing he lines in o asen ence s uc u e ha ollows he G eek a he
han he Egyp ian syn ax and p esen a ion ules.
P obably a eade like me, in e es ed in he ale and i s backg ound in o ma ion, would
ega d his as enough, bu Ma a elia wen ahuge s ep u he , as he hi d pa o he book
con ains he o iginal hie oglyphic ex , i s phone ic ansli e a ion and awo d - o -wo d
ansla ion o G eek. This could u n in o ape ec eading book o s uden s o hie oglyphics.
Mo e so aking in o conside a ion he ou h pa , ea u ing a70-page commen a y on e e y
line o he ex , i s syn ax, g amma and explana ion, as well as adiscussion o impo an
no ions wi h emphasis on main concep s, ideas, objec s, as well as plan and animal species
men ioned in his ale.
Mo eo e , his is u he ollowed by a20-page bibliog aphy o all he e e ences in he book
plus sugges ions o u he eading. Finally, he book ep oduces, a e pe mission (and wi h
amendmen s and addi ions) Ch is ian Casey’slis o he hie a ic and hie oglyphic signs o he
ale, wi h hei wo d coun and he lines hey appea in he o iginal manusc ip . Las bu no
leas , comes adic iona y o all he wo ds in hie oglyphic ex , hei phone ic ansli e a ion,
hei ansla ion in G eek, g amma ical in o ma ion and he lines hey appea in, as well as
he Cop ic equi alen s o many o hem (some hing ha was no included in Casey’sbook).
In ac , mos ecen ly, Ma a elia has also jus p oduced a ou h e sion o he ansla ion.
Wi h he collabo a ion o I is Hoogeweij (who made he d awings), hey ha e c ea ed achil-
d ens’ book ou o he Tale o he Shipw ecked Sailo , amos commendable way o c ea e anew
gene a ion o mode n G eeks who migh be in e es ed in ancien Egyp (Ma a elia 2023)!
The olume is ha d -bound and p in ed in colou on high quali y pape , an unusually
luxu ious ea men nowadays, making he book e en mo e a ac i e. Some qui ks emain,
e.g. lines in he hie oglyphic ansc ip ion om hie a ic and wo ds in he ansla ion om
hie oglyphics a e occasionally no in sync wi h each o he . In some ins ances in he in oduc-
ion, Iwas longing o mo e de ails han jus asho ex , wi h alis o e e ences and u he
eadings. Howe e , mos o he G eek books on ancien Egyp a e abou he Py amids and he
Sphinx, o Ramses and Tu ankhamun. The e o e, his olume is amuch welcome addi ion o
he G eek bibliog aphy on ancien Egyp , being he only mode n one de o ed o ancien Egyp-
ian li e a u e and ce ainly he only one ea u ing adi ec ansla ion om he hie a ic ex .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ma a elia, Alicia
2023 Τὸ Παραμύθι τοῦ Ναυαγοῦ: Ἡ Ἀρχαιότερη Αἰγυπτιακὴ Περιπέτεια / The Tale o he Shipw ecked Sailo : The
mos Ancien Egyp ian Ad en u e, A hens: Φερενίκη / Fe eniki. In G eek.
Themis G. Dallas
Depa men o His o y, A chaeology & Social An h opology, Uni e si y o Thessaly; [email protected] h.g