2 h 39 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 39 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A prince faces a foretold death, a brother suffers a lie, and a scholar enters a tomb seeking magic.
Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri: Second Series brings together short stories gathered by Flinders Petrie. In The Doomed Prince, a king’s long-awaited son chooses to live freely despite the fate announced at his birth. In the Tale of the Two Brothers, anger and a lie break the trust between Anpu and Bata.
The Taking of Joppa turns on Djehuty’s cunning, baskets, and a false report of victory. Setna and the Magic Book follows a prince and scholar into a tomb, where Naneferkaptah guards the book of Thoth. Across these tales, fate, loyalty, and the lure of magic shape lives—and reveal what ancient Egyptian audiences liked to hear.
What you’ll discover
- A life beneath fate Meet a prince who chooses freedom while a crocodile, snake, or dog threatens his future.
- Trust broken by anger Follow Anpu and Bata from household conflict toward the strange magic of the Valley of the Cedar.
- A city won by cunning Discover how Djehuty uses baskets and a false report to capture Joppa.
- The lure of forbidden knowledge Enter the tomb with Setna as a guarded book of magic draws him closer.
- Beliefs woven into stories Explore fate, loyalty, and magic through stories that reveal what ancient Egyptian audiences liked to hear.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love ancient myths and folktales, clever tricks and magic, tombs and ghosts, or wonder what stories ordinary Egyptians told three thousand years ago.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A general hides an army in sacks
- A prince is born under three fated deaths
- Love and loyalty guard him as fate closes in
- A good brother meets a false accusation
- Bata flees, and his soul is hidden in a tree
- Setna breaks into a tomb for a book of Thoth
- The book brings death, and a game decides its owner
- Fate, magic and the soul run through every tale
Who’s who
- TahutiaAn Egyptian general who takes the rebel city of Joppa by trickery, using friendship, drinking, a hidden cane and two hundred sacks.
- The Doomed PrinceA king's son shut away from birth because of a prophecy, who leaves to follow his own desire with his dog.
- The Princess of NaharainaA chief's daughter in a tall house who falls in love with the Egyptian stranger and swears to die if he is taken.
- AnpuThe elder brother, a farmer who believes his wife's accusation and chases his younger brother with a knife.
- BataThe gentle younger brother who works the farm, understands his cattle, and hides his soul in an acacia.
- Setna Kha-em-uastA son of Ramses the Great and a learned scribe who wants the magic book of Thoth at any cost.
- Na-nefer-ka-ptahA dead prince and scholar who guards the book in his tomb and challenges Setna to a game.
- AhuraThe wife of Na-nefer-ka-ptah, whose spirit double lives in his tomb and who warns Setna of the book's price.
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Contes égyptiens, traduits des papyrus : deuxième série
A general hides two hundred soldiers in sacks to take a city, and a prince runs from three fated deaths.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readfrançais
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In short
Picture a general, a drinking party in a big tent, and two hundred sacks lined up like horse fodder. Inside every sack sits an armed soldier.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A general hides an army in sacks
The first tale belongs to the reign of King Men-kheper-ra, whom we know as Tahutmes the Third. The people of Joppa, a coastal town, have risen against Egypt. The king sends his officer Tahutia with an army. His great cane, a staff that works wonders, is hidden in the baggage.
Tahutia does not storm the walls. He sends a friendly message to the rebel chief, and the two men agree to meet in a great tent far from the soldiers. Tahutia quietly prepares two hundred sacks, cords and fetters, and sets them out as if they were forage for the horses.
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Cite this edition
Petrie, Flinders. Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri: Second Series. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/egyptian-tales-translated-from-the-papyri-second-series.
Petrie, F. (2026). Egyptian tales, translated from the papyri: Second series. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/egyptian-tales-translated-from-the-papyri-second-series
Petrie, Flinders. Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri: Second Series. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/egyptian-tales-translated-from-the-papyri-second-series.
@book{petrie2026egyptian,
author = {Petrie, Flinders},
title = {Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri: Second Series},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/egyptian-tales-translated-from-the-papyri-second-series}
}
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What is Egyptian Tales Second Series about?
It collects four ancient Egyptian stories from papyrus rolls: The Taking of Joppa, The Doomed Prince, Anpu and Bata, and Setna and the Magic Book, with editor's remarks on each.
Are these Egyptian tales true stories?
They are fiction, but some rest on real people. Tahutia was an officer of Tahutmes the Third, and Setna is based on a son of Ramses the Great. The tales concern the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, while Setna survives in Ptolemaic writing.
Who are Anpu and Bata?
They are two brothers who farm together. Anpu is the elder, married and settled, while Bata is the younger, a hard worker who understands his cattle and is trusted until a lie turns the elder against him.
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