NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Faraon

Pharaoh (Polish: Faraon) is the fourth and last of the major novels by Bolesław Prus. (Two subsequent ones, Children [Polish: Dzieci] and the unfinished Changes [Polish: Przemiany], are largely disregarded.) Pharaoh was written over a year's time in 1894-1895 and was the sole historical novel by a writer who had earlier, as a matter of principle, disapproved of such novels. A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ...

Pharaoh, like Prus' previous novels, originally appeared in newspaper serialization (1895-1896); unlike them, however, it had first been composed in its entirety, rather than being written in chapters from issue to issue. The first book edition, in three volumes (still minus the remarkable epilog, which would be restored later), appeared in 1897. Except in wartime, the book has never been out of print. 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Events January 1 - Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City. ...

Pharaoh's story covers a two-year period ending in 1085 B.C.E. with the demise of the Egyptian Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Miṣr or Maṣr, in Egyptian dialect) is a republic mostly located in north-eastern Africa. ... History of Ancient Egypt, Twentieth Dynasty The Twentieth Dynasty was founded by Setnakhte, but its only important member was Rameses III, who modelled his career after Rameses II the Great. ... The New Kingdom period of Egyptian history is the period between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. ...

The late Polish Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz wrote of Pharaoh: Czesław Miłosz in September 1999 Czesław Miłosz (pronounced [ʧεsȗav miȗɔʃ]; June 30, 1911–August 14, 2004) was a Polish poet and essayist. ...

"The daring conception of [Prus'] novel Pharaoh [...] is matched by its excellent artistic composition. It [may] be [described] as a novel on [...] mechanism[s] of state power and, as such, is probably unique in world literature of the nineteenth century. [...] Prus, [in] selecting the reign of "Pharaoh Ramses XIII" [the last Ramesside was actually Ramses XI] in the eleventh century [B.C.E.], sought a perspective that was detached from [...] pressures of [topicality] and censorship. Through his analysis of the dynamics of an ancient Egyptian society, he [...] suggest[s] an archetype of the struggle for power that goes on within any state. [Prus] convey[s] certain views [regarding] the health and illness of civilizations. [...] Pharaoh [...] is a work worthy of Prus' intellect and [is] one of the best Polish novels."

As a political novel, Pharaoh became a favorite of Joseph Stalin's. Its English translator, Christopher Kasparek, has recounted presciently wondering, well in advance of the event, whether President John F. Kennedy would meet with a fate like that of the book's young protagonist, Ramses. Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Order: 35th President Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson Term of office: January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 Preceded by: Dwight D. Eisenhower Succeeded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Date of birth: May 29, 1917 Place of birth: Brookline, Massachusetts Date of death: November 22, 1963 Place of death: Dallas, Texas First...

A preliminary sketch for Pharaoh was Prus' first historical short story, "A Legend of Old Egypt" (Polish: "Z legend dawnego Egiptu," first published on New Year's Day, 1888). This remarkable story shows clear parallels with the later novel in setting, theme and denouement. The "Legend" in its turn had taken inspiration from contemporaneous events: the fatal illnesses of Germany's warlike Kaiser Wilhelm I and of his reform-minded successor, Friedrich III who, then unbeknownst to Prus, would survive Wilhelm but only by ninety-nine days. 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

In preparation for composing Pharaoh, Prus made a thorough study of Egyptological sources and actually incorporated ancient texts into his novel like tesserae into a mosaic. Drawn from one such text was a major character, Ennana.

For certain of the novel's prominent features, Prus — conscientious journalist and scholar that he was — seems to have insisted on having two sources. Thus, the historical Egyptian Labyrinth was described in the fifth century B.C.E. in The Histories of Herodotus by the Father of History, Herodotus, who visited Egypt's entirely stone-built administrative center, pronounced it more impressive than the pyramids, declared it "beyond my power to describe," then proceeded to give a striking description that Prus incorporated bodily into his novel. The Labyrinth was made palpably real for Prus, however, by an 1878 visit he made to the famous ancient labyrinthine salt mine at Wieliczka, near Kraków in southern Poland. According to the foremost Prus scholar, Zygmunt Szweykowski, "The power of the Labyrinth scenes stems, among other things, from the fact that they echo Prus' own experiences when visiting Wieliczka." This article is about the maze. ... The Histories of Herodotus by Herodotus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. ... Herodotus was an ancient historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - c. ... Events January - April January – Cleopatras Needle arrives in London January 9 - Humbert I becomes King of Italy January 23 – Disraeli orders British fleet to Dardanelles January 28 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States. ... Motto: none Voivodship Lesser Poland Municipal government Rada Miejska w Wieliczce Mayor Józef Duda Area 13,4 km² Population - city - urban - density 18 190 - 1357/km² Founded City rights - - Latitude Longitude 49°59 N 20°03 E Area code +48 12 Car plates KWI Twin towns - Municipal Website Wieliczka is... This article needs cleanup. ...

Another dually-determined feature of the novel is the "Suez Canal" that the Phoenician Prince Hiram proposes digging. The modern Suez Canal had been completed by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1869, a quarter-century before Prus commenced writing Pharaoh. But, as Prus was aware in chapter one, it had had a predecessor in a canal connecting the Nile River with the Red Sea (during Egypt's Middle Kingdom, centuries before the period of the novel). 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, forms a 163 km (118 miles) ship canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ... Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand de Lesseps (November 19, 1805–December 7, 1894) was a French diplomatist and maker of the Suez Canal; he was born at Versailles. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The... (Red Sea is also the name of a state in Sudan) Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... The term Middle Kingdom can refer to; the country, China a period in the History of Ancient Egypt, the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

A third dually-determined feature was inspired by a solar eclipse that Prus had witnessed at Mława, a hundred kilometers north-northwest of Warsaw, on August 19, 1887, the day before his fortieth birthday. Prus likely was also aware of Christopher Columbus' manipulative use of a lunar eclipse on February 29, 1504 — while marooned for a year on Jamaica — in an incident which strikingly resembles the exploitation of a solar eclipse by Ramses' chief antagonist, Herhor, high priest of Amon. For Solar Eclipse, the alien friend of the rubber doll Betty Spaghetty, see Betty Spaghetty Photo taken by John Walker during the Zambia 2001 eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are on a single line with the Moon in the middle. ... Mława is a town in north-central Poland with 29,800 inhabitants (1995). ... Warsaw ( Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... No authentic contemporary portrait of Columbus has been found; this late 19th-century engraving is one of many conjectural images For information about the director, see the article on Chris Columbus. ... An eclipse occurs whenever the Sun, Earth and Moon line up exactly. ... February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... Events January 1 - French troops surrender Gaeta to the Spanish under Cordoba. ... Jamaica is a country in the Caribbean Sea, located south of Cuba and to the west of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. ...

Finally, a fourth dually-determined feature relates to Egyptian beliefs about an afterlife. In 1893, the year before beginning his novel, Prus had started taking an intense interest in Spiritualist mediumism, attending many Warsaw seances. Modern Spiritualism had been initiated in 1848 in Hydeville, New York, by the Fox sisters, Katie and Margaret, aged 11 and 15, and had survived even their 1888 confession that forty years earlier they had caused the "spirits'" telegraph-like tapping sounds by snapping their toe joints. Spiritualist "mediums" in America and Europe claimed to communicate through tapping sounds with spirits of the dead, eliciting their secrets and conjuring up voices, music, noises and other antics, and occasionally working "miracles" such as levitation. Contemporary Spiritualism inspired several of Pharaoh's most striking scenes, especially the secret meeting at the Temple of Seth in Memphis between three Egyptian priests — Herhor, Mefres, Pentuer — and the Chaldean magus-priest Berossus. Afterlife (also known as life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ... Events January 1 - Japan accepts the Gregorian calendar January 2 - Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers January 13 - The UK has its first meeting. ... Spiritualism is a religion in which contact with the spirits of the dead through a medium is central. ... Warsaw ( Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... A séance (SAY-ahnce) is, on its most basic level, an attempt to communicate with the dead. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sisters Catherine (1838–1892), Leah (1814–1890) and Margaret (1836–1893) Fox are generally seen as the creators of Spiritualism. ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... The term spirit has several different uses in different fields. ... Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, by a force without physical contact. ... Chaldea was a nation in the southern portion of Babylonia, Lower Mesopotamia, lying chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates, but commonly used to refer to the whole of the Mesopotamian plain. ... Magi (Μάγοι) were Zoroastrian astrologer-priests from ancient Persia. ...

Prus was clearly aware of Eratosthenes' remarkably accurate calculation of the earth's circumference, and the invention of a steam engine by Heron of Alexandria, centuries later, in Alexandrian Egypt. In chapter 60 of Pharaoh, he fictitiously credits these to the priest Menes (one of three individuals of the identical name who are mentioned or depicted in the novel: Prus was not always fastidious about characters' names). Eratosthenes (Ερατοσθένης) Eratosthenes (Ερατοσθένης) (276 BC - 194 BC) was a Greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer with (probably) Chaldean origins. ... A steam engine is a heat engine that makes use of the potential energy that exists as pressure in steam, converting it to mechanical work. ... Heros aeolipile Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية — al-Iskandariyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ...

As a "political novel," Pharaoh since 1895 has continued to gain relevance with each decade. The book's undiminished popularity with readers, however, is as much due to more universal qualities: to a critical but sympathetic view of man as individual and collective, and to the author's very modern emphasis on the cultivation of knowledge as a means to mankind's spiritual and material betterment. Prus' keen observation of human nature leavens his novel with humor while suffusing it with poetry. This article discusses humour in terms of comedy and laughter. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ...

Pharaoh has been translated into a score of languages, and in 1966 was produced as a Polish feature film.-1...

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Categories: Novels | Polish novels Czesław Miłosz in September 1999 Czesław Miłosz (pronounced [ʧεsȗav miȗɔʃ]; June 30, 1911–August 14, 2004) was a Polish poet and essayist. ... Herodotus was an ancient historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - c. ... Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, USNR (July 9, 1887 - May 15, 1976) was an American historian, notable for producing both authoritative scholarship and highly readable, an ability recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...