The novel presents a rich tapestry of ancient history, Egyptology, and cryptography, all as understood in the mind of Dr. Walter Rothschild. As he searches for the possible “third way” of translating the Stela of Paser, Dr. Rothschild sees the world of modern London through the lens of the ancient world, a strange overlapping that sometimes produces bizarre scenarios and scenes seemingly infused with mythological import. The universal aspects of Dr. Rothschid’s dilemma, such as his estrangement from his family and his struggle to find his place in the world do not require a background in Egyptology. However, the complexity of the text is deepened as the reader learns more of the historical and cultural clues to the “third way” and the story of one man’s struggle to find it. The result is a layering effect; as the reader develops their understanding of the ancient world they find themselves further immersed in the lasting questions of history and humanity.

So in order to better understand Dr. Rothschild’s quest for the third translation of the Stela of Paser, we may wish to become more familiar with some basic aspects of ancient Egyptian mythology, Egyptology terms, historical timelines, and the chronology of the dynasties and pharaohs of Egypt.

While the history of Egypt is perhaps the most clearly recorded ancient civilization in the world, there is still much we do not know. There is a solid basic chronology, based on several key translated lists, particularly at Abydos in temples from the 19th Dynasty (13th century BC) commemorating the ancestral kings, and at Karnak (18th Dynasty c. 1450 BC) giving us a complete list of the monarchs of Egypt. Combined with other transcriptions, this gives us a good understanding of the various kingdoms of Egypt and the major political upheavals.

Also, we have a good understanding of many of the gods in the Egyptian pantheon (even if we do not quite know how they were personally understood 3,000 years ago). The gods contained here, while containing most of the “major” deities, are only a small fraction of the vast pantheon of gods the Egyptians worshipped; gods and goddesses mutated over time, went out of use then returned at a late date, different regions celebrated minor gods, cults sprang up in towns and cities and enjoyed a long reign but only in a small area, and many gods are conflated with one or more others with similar attributes. These gods are also notable as they are specifically addressed in The Third Translation and play a role in the Stela of Paser.