Egyptian literature facts for kids

A copy of the Westcar Papyrus in the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin.

Egyptian literature is some of the oldest writing known in the world! The ancient Egyptians were actually the first people to create something like a book. Their stories, poems, and other writings tell us a lot about their amazing culture and history.

Ancient Egyptian Writing and Stories

Pages from the Edwin Smith papyrus at the Rare Book Room, New York Academy of Medicine.

Ancient Egyptians wrote on many different things. They used a special kind of paper called papyrus, which was made from a plant. But they also wrote on the walls inside tombs, on huge stone structures like pyramids, on tall stone pillars called obelisks, and even on pottery.

One very famous story from ancient Egypt is called The Story of Sinuhe. It's an adventure story about a man who travels far away and then returns home.

Christian Writings in Egypt

Later, a city in Egypt called Alexandria became a very important place for early Christianity. This was between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. Christian writers in Egypt, often called Coptic Christians, created many important religious texts.

A special collection of ancient books, called the Nag Hammadi library, was found in Egypt. These books helped protect many important Christian writings from being lost or destroyed over time.

Islamic Literature in Egypt

By the 8th century, Muslim people from the Arab world came to control Egypt. This brought big changes to writing and books. Libraries became very important in Arab Egypt.

Here are some cool changes that happened:

• Instead of papyrus, writers started using cloth paper, which was easier to make.
• Writers began to use calligraphy, which is a beautiful way of writing by hand.
• Many stories and poems started to be about Islam.

One of the earliest novels written in Egypt was Theologus Autodidactus by a writer named Ibn al-Nafis. It was an early kind of science fiction and religious story!

Modern Egyptian Literature

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Arab world went through a big cultural change, a bit like the Renaissance in Europe. This movement was called al-Nahda. It changed almost everything, including literature.

One of the most important writers from this time was Naguib Mahfouz. He was the first Egyptian writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which is a huge award! Another important writer was Muhammad Husayn Haykal, who wrote a novel called Zaynab in 1914. It's often called the first modern Egyptian novel.

Famous Egyptian Writers

Many talented writers have come from Egypt. Here are a few:

• Taha Husayn
• Yūsuf Idrīs
• Sonallah Ibrahim
• Tawfiq al-Hakim
• Naguib Mahfouz
• Nawal El Saadawi
• Bahaa Taher
• Alaa Al Aswany

Related Topics

• Wisdom literature
• Culture of Egypt
• Music of Egypt

Images for kids

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  The amazing reading hall of the modern Library of Alexandria.

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  A statue honoring the famous writer Naguib Mahfouz in Cairo.

See also

In Spanish: Literatura de Egipto para niños