Egyptian Literature
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Writing in Egypt goes back to pretty much the earliest writing
anywhere. Nobody really knows yet whether the Egyptians figured
out how to write for themselves, or whether they learned it from
the Sumerians,
who also began writing about the same time, about 3000 BC.
The Egyptian form of writing, hieroglyphs,
does not look the same or work the same as the Sumerian form of
writing, cuneiform.
So if they did get the idea from the Sumerians, the Egyptians certainly
changed it a lot.
What we have left of Egyptian writing, like Egyptian
art, mostly comes out of tombs. Because of this, most of what
we have left is prayers (because that is the kind of thing you put
in people's tombs). Other kinds of writing like laws, letters to your mom,
and lists of who gave their fair share to the temple
mostly have rotted away, over the years.
One well-known story whose earliest version comes from ancient Egypt is the story of Cinderella.
To read actual stories from Ancient Egypt, try this book:
Tales of Ancient Egypt, by Roger Lancelyn Green
