Een kleine stap voor een mens; een reuzensprong voor de mensheid. 'Vijfentwintig jaar geleden, op 21 juli 1969, zette de mens voor het eerst voet op de maan. Vierhonderdduizend kilometer van huis, op een stoffige wereld zonder lucht en water. De maan veranderde van een vertrouwd, zilverwit hemellichaam in een grauwe stenen bal met kraters en keien. Heeft de maan nu haar betovering verloren? Wetenschapsjournalist Govert Schilling meent van niet. De feiten van nu zijn vele malen boeiender en wonderlijker dan de fabels van weleer. Door meer te weten over de maan neemt de verwondering eerder toe. In dit rijk geïllustreerde boek wordt een vrijwel compleet beeld geschetst van onze huidige kennis over de maan. Over haar ontstaan en opbouw en het wetenschappelijk onderzoek; over het spectaculaire Apollo-project; over maanbaan en schijngestalten. Maar ook over samenstanden en verduisteringen; over bijgeloof, mythe en maanbewoners; en over de betekenis van de maan voor het leven op aarde. Gezichten van de maan vormt een waardevolle kennismaking met het dichtstbijzijnde hemellichaam.

The Maya has long been established as the best and most readable introduction to the New World's greatest ancient civilization. In these pages Professor Coe distills a lifetime's scholarship for the general reader and student. Now, for the sixth edition, Professor Coe incorporates the latest ideas and research in a fast-changing field. Spectacular tomb discoveries at the city of Copan reveal some of the early artistic and architectural splendors at this major site. New finds here and elsewhere entail a complete reinterpretation of the relationship between the warrior-kings of the Classic Maya lowlands and Teotihuacan, the greatest city of pre-Conquest America. Continuing epigraphic breakthroughs - decipherments of Maya inscriptions - demonstrate vividly the shifting power blocs among the competing Maya city-states. Special features of this revised edition are a new guide to visiting the Maya area and lists of rulers for the major Classic cities, never before published in this form.

Reconstructie van de gebeurtenissen die leidden tot de moord op de graaf van Holland in 1296.

The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies offers a comprehensive introduction to the study of Shakespeare in a series of essays specially written by an international team of eminent scholars. Studies of Shakespeare's life, and of his relationship to the thought of his time, are followed by essays connecting his writings to the literary, dramatic, and theatrical conventions of his age. There are accounts of the transmission of his text, and of the theatrical and critical fortunes of his plays from his own time to ours. Particular attention is given to the twentieth century in studies of criticism, theatre history, the plays on film and television, new critical approaches, and reference books. Each essay is followed by a reading list. A successor to Cambridge's original Companion to Shakespeare Studies (1934) and the New Companion to Shakespeare Studies (1971) this attractively written and helpfully organized volume will be an indispensable companion to anyone with a serious interest in Shakespeare.

Of Stones and Man explores the many errors of judgement made by civilizations both ancient and modern across the world. Arrogance and a penchant for excess drove mankind to build ever greater and more ambitious edifices. The author analyzes these works from a scientific and historically-sensitive perspective, highlighting the hydro-geological background to repeated infamous disasters, from the faults inherent in the Sphinx to the leaning Tower of Pisa. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Of Stones and Man is a testament to the impermanence of our surroundings. It questions how the earth and its resources have borne the cumulative burden placed upon it over the ages by one civilization after another, and how, in turn, the earth has exacted its inevitable revenge on the great constructions of our ancestors. Of Stones and Man is the final work of Jean Kerisel (1908-2005) who served as President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering from 1973 to 1977, and who worked worldwide as a consultant on many ambitious engineering projects.  Driven by his great passion for Ancient Builders and Egyptology, Kerisel here extends his professional knowledge into the realms of historical architecture.

Over 3000 years ago, Nefertari, the favourite queen of Ramesses II, was buried in a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. The discovery of the tomb by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904 began a process of drastic deterioration which remained unchecked until 1988 when emergancy consolidation and restoration began. This guide takes the reader through each chamber, describing the hieroglyphic messages depicted in the wall paintings, and discussing the images within the context of religious beliefs. An insight is offered into the life of Nefertari and the Valley of the Queens, and on the development and symbolism of royal tombs generally and their construction and decoration. The author discusses the discovery and degradation of the tomb, and the crucial role of the getty Conservation Institute in restoring and stabilizing the wall paintings. The dangers and risks to such tombs in the future are also addressed.

When we think of "The Sphinx," two notions come to mind: the massive carving at the edge of the Libyan desert by Cairo and the fearful creature of classical myth who posed high-stakes riddles to passers by. While this book focuses squarely on the former sphinx, the very existence of this formidable monument poses riddles all its own.
The first book devoted to the fabled Great Sphinx of Gizeh in over fifty years, this magnificently illustrated volume provides a long overdue and balanced assessment of recent claims about the age of the Sphinx. Defined by its straight-forward style, inviting to seasoned Egyptologist and interested tourist alike, Riddles of the Sphinx skillfully combines text and image, description and photographic detail, to offer a remarkably complete account of this mysterious, majestic figure.

Röntgenologisch onderzoek van de mummies van Egyptisch^ koningen en hun familieleden in het Egyptisch Museum te Cairo leverde even boeiende als verrassende resultaten op. Tot de best bewaarde mummies behoren die van farao Amenhotep I (boven), Toeja (onder) en Joeja (voorplaat), de schoonouders van farao Amenhotep III.

Bab el-Gasus, the hidden burial place of the priests, was discovered by French Egyptologists at the late date of 1891. They ultimately found 153 sets of mummy coffins. In the late nineteenth century, the Egyptian authorities distributed these coffins among seventeen friendly countries, including the Netherlands, France, and Vatican City. Today, many of the coffins are in poor condition, with flaking paint and fading colours. The three-thousand-year-old mummy coffins of the priests of Amun in Thebes form the focus of this exhibition. You will discover the world of these servants of the god Amun, learning about their ways of life and their central rituals of death and burial. Special attention will be devoted to the restoration of the mummy coffins now taking place in collaboration with the Vatican Museums and the Louvre. Exhibition: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, The Netherlands (20.04.-15.09.2013).

Of the ancient art that has survived from the non-Classical world, that of Egypt makes a unique appeal. In this authoritative and splendidly illustrated guide Cyril Aldred surveys nearly 3000 years of Egyptian art and architecture, concentrating on the fine arts of painting and sculpture.

From the geometrical precision of the pyramids to the golden treasures found in Tutankhamun's tomb, the art of ancient Egypt has an enduring capacity to attract and intrigue. These remarkable works of art are the concrete expression of the ancient Egyptians' way of life and their attitudes to religion and the afterlife. In this clear and comprehensive introduction, Jaromir Malek deftly traces Egyptian art from its prehistoric origins, through 3, 000 years of astonishing achievements in the era of the pharaohs, to the conquest of Egypt by the Romans.

Why was a humble dung beetle chosen to represent the sun god as Khepri, or a desert jackal to represent Anubis, the embalmer god? Ancient Egyptian religion, with its many gods and symbols, has always been a source of wonder and mystery to the monotheistic West. In this compact guide to the gods and symbols of ancient Egypt many puzzling and intriguing questions are answered in nearly 300 entries, ranging from Acacia to Wreath. Over 100 illustrations, with extended captions, complement the text and the book also includes a chronological table, bibliography and index.

Cleopatra, a competent Hellenistic ruler who was celibate for over half of her adult life, has been remembered as the heroine of an exotic love story and has been recreated over and over again, each time in a form that fits the prejudices and fantasies of the age that produced it.

The ancient Egyptians used pictures - each representing a word, a syllable or a sound - for writing. The alphabet itself consisted of 24 signs and there were over 700 different signs in all. These signs, or letters, are known as Hieroglyphs and were first used around 3000 BC and only replaced by coptic (a form of Greek script) in the fourth century BC as being considered unsuitable for the writing of Christian texts.

Indispensable reference by noted Egyptologist contains every word of ancient Egyptian text, vital repository of Egyptian religious doctrine, grouped according to hieroglyphic symbols in the standard scholarly system of Roman alphabetization. A phonetic version and definition are provided for each word, along with a helpful Index to English equivalents of Egyptian words in the text.