Miriam Lichtheim (3 May 1914,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
– 27 March 2004,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
) was a Turkish-born American-Israeli Egyptologist, known for her translations of ancient Egyptian texts.
Biography
Miriam was born in Istanbul on May 3, 1914, to Richard Lichtheim – a German-born Jewish politician, publicist, and notable Zionist – and his wife Irene (''née'' Hafter), a Sephardic Jew whose first language was Greek. Her older brother, born 1912, was the British Marxist journalist
George Lichtheim. From 1913 to 1917 Richard Lichtheim was the successor to Victor Jacobson, representative of the Zionist World Organization in Istanbul. Due to suspicions of espionage, the Lichtheim family returned to Germany in 1919 following the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
In 1934, the family emigrated to
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, where Miriam studied under
Hans Jakob Polotsky in the
Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. In a paper of recollections about her teacher she recalls that, at the beginning of the year, in Polotsky's Egyptian class there were four students; at the end, only she remained. During Miriam's time at the Hebrew University, her father Richard became the representative of the World Zionist Organisation at the League of Nations, and relocated to Geneva with Irene.
["Als die Behörden die Grenze schlossen, wussten sie, was das für die abgewiesenen Juden hiess": Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 11. August 2017] They would return in 1946 following the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the founding of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
After completing her studies, Miriam travelled to the United States in 1941 where she studied and received a Ph.D. in
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
from the
University of Chicago. She worked as an academic librarian first at
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
University, and then at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, where she was Near East Bibliographer and Lecturer until her retirement in 1974.
In 1982 she returned to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where she taught at her old school the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
. She died in 2004.
Works
In 1973, she published the first volume of the ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'' (abbr. ''AEL''), annotated translations of
Old and
Middle Kingdom texts. In this work, she describes the genesis and evolution of different literary genres in Egypt, based on
ostraca
An ostracon ( Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer to sherds or even small pieces of ...
, inscriptions engraved in stone, and texts of
papyri. In 1976, the second volume of ''AEL'' containing
New Kingdom texts appeared, followed in 1980 by the third dealing with the first millennium BCE literature. These widely used anthologies became classics in the field of Egyptology, portraying the evolution of
literature in ancient Egypt.
Publications (selection)
* with Elizabeth Stefanski, 1952: ''Coptic Ostraca from Medinet Habu''. Oriental Institute Publications 71. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
* 1963: "Ancient Egypt: A survey of current historiography", ''The American Historical Review'' 69 (1), 30–46. DOI: 10.2307/1904412.
* 1973–1980 (and reprints): ''Ancient Egyptian literature. A book of readings'', 3 volumes, The University of California Press.
* 1983: ''Late Egyptian wisdom literature in the international context: a study of Demotic instructions''. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 52. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
* 1988: ''Ancient Egyptian autobiographies chiefly of the Middle Kingdom: A study and an anthology''. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 84. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
* 1992: ''Maat in Egyptian Autobiographies and Related Studies''. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 120. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
* 1997: ''Moral Values in Ancient Egypt''. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 155. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
* 1999: ''Telling it Briefly: A Memoir of My Life''. Freiburg (Schweiz): Universitätsverlag.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtheim, Miriam
Israeli Egyptologists
University of Chicago alumni
Turkish Sephardi Jews
1914 births
2004 deaths
20th-century American women writers
Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
American women academics
German expatriates in the Ottoman Empire
German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine emigrants to the United States