Michael Rice sets out to recover the sense of wonder that the Egyptians themselves felt as they contemplated the world in which they lived, and the way they expressed that wonder in the religion, art and literature. From the omnipotent god to the idea of the nation state, the formulation of most of these archetypes is owed to ancient Egypt. Jung claimed that there exist certain psychological drives dormant in our shared unconscious: these are the archetypes.
Drawing on Jungian psychology to show why Egypt has been so important in the history of Western civilisation, Michael Rice explains the majesty and enduring appeal of Egyptian civilization.