CIVILIZATION OF THE NILE

The Ancient Egyptians

The Ancient Egyptians 1. Contemporary with Mesopotamia, Egypt

rose from about 5000 B.C.E to 3100 B.C.E

1. Geographically, Egypt is divided into Upper

Egypt & Lower Egypt.

1. Around 3100 B.C.E Upper and Lower are

united by NARMER/MENES (ME-neez).

1. Egyptian history is divided into about 30

dynasties, distinguished by wealth, stability,

and rulership… Kings, later called Pharaoh.

1. Around 525 B.C.E, Egypt loses its

independence to the Persian Empire.

Egyptian hieroglyphs (/ˈhaɪər.ɵɡlɪf/ hyr-o-glif; Egyptian: mdw·w-nṯr, "god's words”) 1. First came into use before 3000 B.C.E

1. At first believed to indicated complete

ideas rather than sounds.

1. Frenchman Jean François Champollion

deciphered the Rosetta Stone.

1. Combined logographic and alphabetic

elements.

1. scholars believe that cuneiforms are the

the basis of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (circa 2686 B.C.E. — circa 2181 B.C.E.), Egypt

consisted of the Nile River region and the area along the river south to Elephantine.

The Rosetta Stone 1. Found in 1822 during

Napoleon’s military

campaign in Egypt near the

town of Rosetta.

1. It is estimated to weigh over

750 kilograms (1,600

pounds).

1. Granodiorite is a plutonic

rock composed of black

biotite, dark-gray

hornblende, off-white

plagioclase, and translucent

gray quartz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFXY9-pec1I

Ancient Egyptian Religion

Ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, wife of Osiris. Isis is usually represented as a woman with the

throne-hieroglyph on her head, symbolizing her as the wife of Osiris, the king of the afterlife. Isis can

also be represented as a bird (called a kite) wearing the same headdress. In another form, Isis bears the

headdress used by Hathor, consisting of a sun-disk and cow horns.

1. Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic,

involving a profusion of Gods/Deities.

2. Importance was given to cosmic forces, the

sun, Earth, sky, air, and water. 1. Such forces were depicted in various forms,

often as animals, humans, or as hybrids. 1. One of the most important Gods was

Osiris, caretaker of the dead, of the

afterlife, of the underworld. 1. Another God was Isis, wife of Osiris, and

Ra, the Sun God.

Horus, son of Isis & Osiris 1. Horus, a God of the Sun, war, and

protection… Depicted as a falcon…

Horus, an ancient Egyptian falcon headed-deity. Horus was usually depicted wearing the

double crown of kingship, but also appeared in a fully falcon form, among others. Ra, another

falcon-headed deity, is distinguished by the presence of the sun disk on his head, but the ancient

Egyptians often combined Re and Horus into the composite deity known as Re-Horakhty.

Horus relief in the Temple of Edfu

• In Greek one says

Ὧρος Hōros

• Eye of Horus

The Myth of Osiris 1. Osiris is killed by his brother Set, and his

body is disposed, supposedly in the Nile.

2. Isis, than searches for the body of Osiris,

finding him and bringing him back to Egypt.

3. When Set came upon the body, he is

angered, and dismembers the dead body.

4. Isis again claims the body parts, but this

times buries them locally.

5. Horus, than comes of age to challenge Set,

of which he defeats in battle.

6. Accordingly, Osiris becomes caretaker of

the underworld.

Osiris, lord of the dead in the ancient Egyptian religion. Here, he is shown in typical mummy wrappings.

Isis, in the form of a bird, copulates with the deceased Osiris. At either side

are Horus, although he is as yet unborn, and Isis in human form.

Osiris

Isis

Horus

From right to left: Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus, the protagonists of the Osiris myth, in a 22nd dynasty statue

Isis nursing Horus

Survey of Major Egyptian Gods and Goddesses Anubis, the jackal

headed god of

ancient Egypt.

Bastet, the Goddess of

Cat in Ancient Egypt

Khonsu, an ancient

Egyptian god depicted as

a mummiform child with

a moon disk on his head.

Major Egyptian Gods and Goddesses cont… Ptah is one of the

ancient Egyptian

creator-gods. God

of craftsman.

Ra-Horakhty is a

combined deity of

Horus and Ra, and is

usually depicted as a

falcon-headed man

wearing a sun disk on

his head.

Taweret, an ancient Egyptian hippo

goddess of pregnancy and motherhood.

Left forepaw rests on Sa magical protection

amulet and hieroglyph.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses at the Louvre, Fr.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses at the Louvre, Fr.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses at the Louvre, Fr.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses at the Louvre, Fr.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses at the Louvre, Fr.

The Old Kingdom (2686-2181 B.C.E)

1. The Old Kingdom was a time of

social and political stability.

2. During this time society was

stratified: commoners, artisans,

wealthy, nobles, and God/Kings

(Pharaoh).

3. Common people and artisans were

kept busy through sanctioned

works: The Great Pyramids of

Giza, sculpture, and mastabas.

4. The human body was central to

Egyptian life, and The Book of the

Dead came to be known.

The Pyramid of Khafre, also known as the Pyramid of Chephren, is the second-tallest,

and second-largest of the Pyramids of Giza. It serves as the tomb of Khafre.

The Great Sphinx of Giza (Arabic: الهول أبو Abū al-Haul, English: The Terrifying

One; literally: Father of Dread),

Pharaoh Chefren of the Old Kingdom

(also read as Khafre, Khafra, Khefren)

1. King of the 4th Dynasty.

c. 2613 to 2494 BC.

2. He was the son of Khufu.

3. His reign was a time of peace

and prosperity…

4. Time when trade with other

countries is documented.

1. Built the 2nd largest pyramid

at Giza.

Isometric drawing of the Pyramid of Khafre taken from a 3d model – R.F. Morgan

Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, Facchinelli, Beniamino (1829?-1895?)

Profile of the Great Sphinx

Fragment of the beard of the

sphinx (British Museum).

The Book of the Dead The Book of Coming Forth by Day

1. Spells out the procedures that the deceased

had to pass through to reach peace.

2. The purpose of the soul was to be reunited

with Osiris in the Field of Reeds.

3. In the Field of Reeds, a person would have

to justify their good to people/Gods.

4. A favorable judgment reunited souls in

peace and joy.

5. The book contained incantations that might

protect against an unfavorable judgment.

The ba was a free-ranging

spirit aspect of the deceased.

It was the ba, depicted as a

human-headed bird, which

could "go forth by day" from

the tomb into the world;

spells 61 and 89 of the book

acted to preserve it.

If all the obstacles of the Duat could be negotiated, the deceased would be judged in the "Weighing of the Heart" ritual, depicted in Spell

125. The deceased was led by the god Anubis into the presence of Osiris. There, the dead person swore that he had not committed any sin

from a list of 42 sins, reciting a text known as the "Negative Confession".

Part of the Book of the Dead of Pinedjem II. The text is hieratic, except for hieroglyphics in

the vignette. The use of red pigment, and the joins between papyrus sheets, are also visible.

Books were often prefabricated in funerary workshops, with spaces being left

for the name of the deceased to be written in later. For instance, in the Papyrus of

Ani, the name "Ani" appears at the top or bottom of a column, or immediately

following a rubric introducing him as the speaker of a block of text; the name

appears in a different handwriting to the rest of the manuscript, and in some

places is mis-spelt or omitted entirely.

Sheet from a Book of the Dead, ca. 1075-945 B.C.E. Papyrus, pigment, 37.1699Ea, as

mounted: 24 1/2 x 13 15/16 x 7/8 in. (62.2 x 35.4 x 2.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum

The existence of the Book of the Dead was known as early as the Middle Ages, well before

its contents could be understood. Since it was found in tombs, it was evidently a document

of a religious nature, and this led to the widespread misapprehension that the Book of the

Dead was the equivalent of a Bible or Qur'an. It was not recognize as a funerary ritual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I-3TxjNVgk

The Book of the Dead found in tombs… @ the Louvre

The Middle Kingdom (2040 B.CE. to 1700 B.C.E.) 1. In 2040 B.C.E a prince named

Mentuhotep II unites Upper

and Lower Egypt…

1. During this period regional

governors where given power.

1. Farming increased to higher

grounds of the Nile River.

2. A resurgence of art, literary

works, and small scale works.

1. Ideas of the afterlife now

followed by common people.

The Middle Kingdom cont.

The block statue is a type of

memorial statue that first emerged

in the Middle Kingdom of Ancient

Egypt. The block statue grew in

popularity in the New Kingdom

and the Third Intermediate Period,

and by the Late Period, this type of

statue was the most common.

These statues were used in temples

typically as funerary monuments of

non-royal yet important

individuals.

Block-statue of Pa-Ankh-Ra, ship master, bearing a statue of Ptah.

Harwa, attendant to the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Amenirdis I Block statue for Khay, Scribe for the general staff, showing

titulary god of the scribe, Thoth-(a baboon)

The Speos Artemidos (Grotto of Artemis) is an archaeological site in Egypt. It is located

about 2 km south of the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan, and about 28 km south of

Al Minya. Today, the site is a small village known as Istabl Antar.

The New Kingdom or Empire 1552 B.C.E. to 1200 B.C.E. 1. The New Kingdom is known for its

military expansion.

2. Theban King AHMOSE [AR-mohz]

first pushed back the Hyksos.

1. This was the Bronze Age period for

Egypt, choosing to adopt metal…

1. Controlled the entire Nile Basin,

and eastern Mediterranean coast.

2. Fell to Persia in 525 B.C.E.

A fragmentary statue of Ahmose I, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

6. Capital was established

at Thebes.

7. Concealment was a

major concern for Kings.

8. A switch from pyramids

to temples…

9. The Funerary Temple of

Queen Hatshepsut.

HATSHEPSUT [hat-SHEP-sut]

meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies

1. Wife of King Thutmose II.

2. Became regent/advisor of King

Thutmose III, her son-in-law...

after her husband died.

3. One of the most successful

pharaohs, reigning longer than

any other woman of Egyptian

dynasty.

4. According to scholars she was co-

regent from 1479 to 1458 B.C.E.

5. Hatshepsut was one of the most

prolific builders in ancient Egypt.

A stone statue of Hatshepsut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qukfARxNu2M

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, located beneath the

cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile near the Valley

of the Kings in Egypt.

The relief sculpture within Hatshepsut’s temple recites the tale of the divine birth of a

female pharaoh – the first of its kind. The text and pictorial cycle also tell of an expedition

to the Land of Punt, an exotic country on the Red Sea coast. While the statues and

ornamentation have since been stolen or destroyed, the temple once was home to two

statues of Osiris, a sphinx avenue as well as many sculptures of the Queen in different

attitudes – standing, sitting, or kneeling. Many of these portraits were destroyed at the

order of her stepson Thutmose III after her death.

Moreover, the Osirian statues of

Hatshepsut—as with other pharaohs—

depict the dead pharaoh as Osiris, with

the body and regalia of that deity. All

of the statues of Hatshepsut at her

tomb follow that tradition. The promise

of resurrection after death was a tenet

of the cult of Osiris. Since many

statues of Hatshepsut depicted in this

fashion have been put on display in

museums and those images have been

widely published, viewers who lack an

understanding of the religious

significance of these depictions have

been misled. Aside from the face

depicting Hatshepsut, these statues

closely resemble those of other kings as

Osiris, following religious traditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L01bDlX5pTA

Ramesses II Ramesses the Great

(born c. 1303 BC; died July or August

1213 BC; reigned 1279–1213 BC)

• Third Pharaoh of the 19th

Dynasty of Egypt. • Ramesses II led several

military expeditions into the

Levant...

• At age fourteen, Ramesses

was appointed Prince Regent

by his father Seti I.

• Built cities, temples, and

monuments. Died at the age

of 90 or 91. • Buried in the Valley of Kings

Areas of the Levant under Ramesses II

The Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was the climactic

engagement in a campaign that Ramesses fought in Syria, against

the resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatallis. Ramesses's forces were

caught in a Hittite ambush and outnumbered at Kadesh when they

counterattacked and routed the Hittites, whose survivors abandoned

their chariots and swam the Orontes river back to the safe city walls.

The pharaoh's mummy reveals an aquiline nose and strong jaw, and stands at about 1.7 meters, (5’, 7”)