Law in Ancient Egyptian Fiction
LAW IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN FICTION Russ VerSteeg* INTRODUCTION The spirit of ancient Egypt has captivated most of us at some time. Pyramids, mummies, pharaohs, hieroglyphs, and the romance of archaeology mesmerize us and kindle our imaginations. Egypt seizes us with its powerful magic and mystery. Even before Jean Francois Champollion achieved his first major philological breakthroughs in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs in the 1820s, people were fascinated by the physical vestiges of ancient Egyptian culture and civilization: its art, artifacts, and architecture. However, once Champollion's work began to bear fruit, a new world of Egyptology burst onto the scene. Prior to Champollion, almost all Egyptolo- gists had been anthropologists and/or archaeologists. Now philology provides access to the writing of the ancient Egyptians; and, a variety of types of writing have survived. ' One important genre of ancient Egyptian * Associate Professor of Law, New England School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts; A.B. 1979, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; J.D. 1987, University of Connecticut School of Law. I would like to thank Dr. Robert Bianchi, Dr. Janet Johnson, Professor Ronald Chester, and Professor George Dargo, who read and commented on an earlier draft. All errors and misconceptions are mine and not theirs. Special thanks to Professor Paul Teich who has made numerous suggestions that were both insightful and valuable. Thanks also to John F. O'Brien, Dean, New England School of Law and to the Board of Trustees who supported this project with funds from the Summer Research Stipend Program. I would also like to thank my colleagues at New England School of Law who offered useful advice and criticism at the "Works-in-Progress" lunch.
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