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The Nile
Dynastic Egypt
Religion
Writing
The Nile
The basic element in the lengthy history of
Egyptian civilization is geography.
The Nile River rises from the lakes of central
Africa as the White Nile and from the mountains
of Ethiopia as the Blue Nile.
The White and Blue Nile meet at Khartoum and
flow together northward to the Nile delta, where
the 4000 mile course of this river spills into the
Mediterranean Sea
Farming and The Nile
Less than two inches of rain per year falls in the
delta and rain is relatively unknown in other
parts of Egypt. Most of the land is uninhabitable.
These geographical factors have determined the
character of Egyptian civilization.
– People could farm only along the banks of the Nile,
where arid sand meets the fertile soil.
– The river overflows its banks and floods the land with
fresh water and deposits a thick layer of rich alluvial
soil.
– The land would then yield two harvests before winter.
Proto Kingdoms of Egypt
Bracelets, Possibly Ivory and Stone Openwork Gold Buckle Pendant Depicting the
Anklets Bracelets Solar Beetle Flanked by
Baboons
Gold Pendant with Bracelet with Scarabs Composite Udjat Eye Vulture Pendant
Various Deities and Netjer-ankh Holding Pectoral
the Symbols of Infinity
Religion
The priests, an important body within the ruling
caste, were a social force working to modify the
king's supremacy.
Yielding to the demands of the priests of Re, a
sun god, kings began to call themselves "sons of
Re," adding his name as a suffix to their own.
Re was also worshipped in temples that were
sometimes larger than the pyramids of later
kings.
Gods
The creator of all things was either Re, Amun, Ptah,
Khnum or Aten, depending on which version of the myth
was currently in use.
The heavens were represented by Hathor, Bat, and
Horus. Osiris was an earth god as was Ptah. The annual
flooding of the Nile was Hapi.
Storms, evil and confusion were Seth. His counterpart
was Ma'at, who represented balance, justice and truth.
The moon was Thoth and Khonsu.
Re, the sun god, took on many forms, and transcended
most of the borders that contained the other gods. The
actual shape of the sun, the disk (or, aten), was deified
into another god, Aten.
God Horus (from Tut’s tomb) God Ptah
(from Tut’s
Tomb)
The Afterlife
The Egyptians had a very clear idea of the afterlife. They
took great care to bury their dead according to
convention and supplied the grave with things that the
departed would need for a pleasant life after death.
The pharaoh and some nobles had their bodies
preserved in a process of mummification. Their tombs
were decorated with paintings, food was provided at
burial and after. Some tombs even included full sized
sailing vessels for the voyage to heaven and beyond.
At first, only pharaohs were thought to achieve eternal
life, however, nobles were eventually included, and
finally all Egyptians could hope for immortality.
Mummification
The actual process of embalming as practiced in ancient Egypt was
governed by definite religious ritual. A period of seventy days was
required for the preparation of the mummy, and each step in the
procedure was co-ordinated with relevant priestly ceremonies.
The embalmers' shop might be a fixed place, as in the case of those
connected with the larger temples. Often, however, it was a movable
tent - which could be set up near the home of the deceased.
Removal of those parts most subject to putrefaction was the initial
step in preparing a corpse for mummification. The embalmers
placed the body on a narrow, table-like stand and proceeded to their
task. The brain was removed through the nostrils by means of
various metal probes and hooks. Such a method necessarily
reduced the brain to a fragmentary state, and, as no remains of it
are associated with mummies, we may assume that it was
discarded. An incision was then made in the left flank of the body to
permit removal of the viscera, with the exception of the heart, which
was left in the body.
The liver, the lungs, the stomach, and the intestines were each
placed in a separate jar, the Canopic Jars , and consigned to the
protection of a particular divinity.
Canopic Jars
Mummification
Next came the preservation of the body itself. This was
accomplished in a manner somewhat similar to that of
drying fish.
– But instead of common salt, natron, a mixture of sodium carbonate
and sodium bicarbonate, with sodium chloride (common salt) and
sodium sulphate as impurities, was used. Natron occurs in Egypt in a
few places. Water containing natron in solution comes to the surface
and is evaporated, leaving the natron as surface deposits.
Small parcels of natron wrapped in linen were placed inside
the body. The outside was covered with loose natron or
packages of linen-wrapped natron. The dry atmosphere of
Egypt accelerated the desiccation process.
After the body moisture had been absorbed by the natron,
the packs were removed and the corpse was given a
sponge bath with water. The skin was anointed with
coniferous resins, and the body cavity was packed with
wads of linen soaked in the same material. The body was
then ready to be bound into that compact bundle we know
as a mummy.
Wrapped Mummy
And Sarcophagus
Tombs
Pyramids
Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Queens
Egypt
Khufu, son of King Sneferu. The Great Pyramid is the only surviving
member of the Seven Wonders of the World (Height: 138.75 m (455.21 ft)
Length of Side: 230.37).
Valley of the Kings
Entry to the Valley of the Kings
http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm
The central area of the Valley of the Kings.
Tutankhamun's tomb is just left of the shelter
in the centre.
Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III
at Medinet Habu
http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm
The Queen
Nefertari, the favorite Queen of Ramses II,
is known from myriad of her
representations in the temple reliefs and
colossi of the great king.
The dedication to her, jointly with the
goddess Hathor, of the small rock temple
to the north of the great temple at Abu
Simbel, shows how great her influence
with Ramses II must have been.
Some Egyptologists think
she was probably a
daughter of King Seti 1,
and thus sister or half
sister of Ramses II. Other
Egyptologists, however,
think that her designation
as "Hereditary Princess"
might be in some way
connected with her being
representative of the
Thebes.
Egyptian Hieroglyphics
The ancient Egyptians used many materials and
had a much different writing system than their
neighbors of Mesopotamia.
Egyptian texts in hieroglyphs were inscribed in
wood and/or stone, and written on papyrus.
The word hieroglyph originates from the Greek
word heiros meaning sacred and glyphs
meaning sculpture. This was due to the fact that
they were almost exclusively inscribed on the
walls of sacred temples and public monuments.
Hieroglyphic Writing
Documented around 5100, may have been
traded in from Mesopotamia.
Hieroglyphics which are pictographs and
phonetics.
– written on papyrus, clay, buildings.
– Egypt developed its own script.
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone:
- A royal decree
promulgated by
Ptolemy V in 196 BCE,
written in hieroglyphic,
demotic and Greek.
- Found by the French
at Rosetta (el Rashid) in
the Delta in 1799.
- Was crucial for the
decipherment of
hieroglyphs by
Champollion in 1822.
Hieroglyphs in Tombs
Only fine quality stone such as limestone, granite, and
Egyptian alabaster was used to build these sacred
temples and pyramidal coffins.
Before decoration and inscription could begin, the walls
were prepared and polished smooth. If there were any
flaws in the stone they were filled with plaster. In portions
of the wall with exceptionally poor stone, a thick layer of
plaster would be applied.
A grid was usually laid on the stone by holding a string
dipped in paint at both ends and snapping it on the wall.
Supervised draftsman then made preliminary sketches
on the walls, using red paint. The final draft was
approved by the master draftsmen and drawn in black.
Papyrus
The writing medium most common to the ancient
Egyptians was papyrus.
This paper-like material was easy to use,
handle, transport, and make. The word papyrus
comes from the Greek word payros, which is
believed to have come from the ancient Egyptian
word papuro, which means "the royal".
This name is believed to have originated due to
the great monopoly the Egyptians had in the
manufacturing of papyrus.
Writing Development
Throughout their more than 3.000 year
long history, the Ancient Egyptians used
three kinds of writings to write religious
and secular texts:
– hieroglyphic,
– hieratic and,
– from the 25th Dynasty on, demotic.
Hieroglyphic
Nicely sculpted
hieroglyphic signs
on a piece of stone
at the Louvre
Museum.
Hieroglyphic Cursive