Nouvelle Génération: Ancient Egypt Facts

The ancient Egyptian civilization has been an attractive exploration subject for hundreds of years. Here is a list of the most interesting facts about aspects of the ancient Egyptian life, religion, architecture and more.

Ancient Egypt - When & Where It All Started

Chronology

Ancient Egypt is divided into three separate periods: Old Kingdom (2686-2134 B.C.); Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.); New Kingdom (1552-1070 B.C.)
The earliest settlers in the Nile River valley came into the region around 3,500 B.C. This was called the Predynastic period because it was before any of the dynasties began.
Hieroglyphs came onto the scene around 3,100 B.C. This was around the same time when the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes, also known as King Narmer, unified Upper and Lower Egypt.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara was built around 2,700 B.C. It’s called the Step Pyramid because it wasn’t smoothed out, but rather consisted of steps.

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© Ed Yourdon - Djoser's Step Pyramid

Geography

The capital cities included Memphis (2950 B.C.-2180 B.C.); Thebes (2135 B.C. off and on until 1279 B.C.); Alexandria (332 B.C. to 641 A.D.) and Amarna (during the reign of Akhenaten, around 1332 B.C.).
Other important cities included Elephantine, Crocodilopolis, Hermopolis, Kom Ombo and Abydos.
The Nile River runs south to north and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. It is the world’s longest river at 4,100 miles. Egypt is just one of the countries the river flows through.

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Saharan dust over Egypt

The Importance of the Nile River

Egypt is built around the Nile River because it is the lifeblood for transporting goods and materials from one area to another.
Ancient Egypt was split into two distinct regions: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt represents the southern region while Lower Egypt represents the northern region. The regions are reflective of the flow of the Nile River (from south to north).
The Nile River provided fertile land to the ancient Egyptians so they could grow wheat, flax and papyrus, which in addition to paper, was made into sandals, rope and baskets.
A Nilometer, found in some temples, was used to measure the height of annual flooding of the Nile River.

©Jiseon Shin - View of the Nile and the desert banks

Everyday Life for a Commoner in Ancient Egypt

The people of ancient Egypt had many jobs such as craftspeople, scribes, priests and priestesses, farmers and soldiers.
The average girl married at around the age of 12.
Daily bathing was common in the Nile River, where deadly hippopotami lived.
Women could obtain high-ranking jobs like administrators, supervisors and priestesses.
They ate lamb, goat, vegetables, fruit and a lot of bread. They also drank a lot of barley beer.
Everyone wore jewelry and makeup (usually eye paint). Looking nice held extreme importance. They usually dressed in clothes made of white linen.

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© rob koopman - Relief of ancient Egyptians in the tomb of Merymery

Technology & Inventions

Hieroglyphics date back to as early as 3,300 B.C. and were used for the next consecutive 3,500 years.
Ancient Egyptians had a great grasp of math and geometry. They used the geometry to accurately build pyramids, temples and other buildings. They used math in everyday business transactions.
They invented door locks that used keys, the first keys used were up to two feet in length.
Ancient Egyptians wanted to be hygienic and because the desert sand caused problems with their teeth, they invented toothpaste out of eggshells, ox hooves (ground up), ashes, etc. and they invented the toothbrush.
Ship building was an important part of their progress. They started with papyrus reeds in building small boats, and then later built larger boats and ships out of cedar wood.
They invented the earliest known paper out of sheets of papyrus. The word “paper” actually comes from the word “papyrus.”

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©Eisabeth.Skene - Writing on the Rosetta Stone

The Great Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

Hatshepsut, a rare female pharaoh, ruled from 1473-1458 B.C. As the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, she reigned longer than any other female pharaoh. She is credited as being one of the most successful pharaohs of all time.
Thutmose III, who took over the throne from his step mother, Hatshepsut, was known for his bravery after winning the Battle of Megiddo. He ruled from 1479 B.C. to 1425 B.C.
King Tut is famous because he was the youngest pharaoh in the history of Egypt. He took the throne at the age of only nine or ten, then tragically died at the age of 18. His tomb was discovered in 1922 and was significant because it had remained in nearly perfect condition since the king’s entombment. His reign lasted from 1334 B.C. to 1325 B.C.
The “Heretic” King, Akhenaten, ruled from 1379 B.C. to 1334 B.C. His reign proved to be the only time in ancient Egyptian history when monotheism was practiced. He worshiped only one god, Aten, and started a religious revolution.
Ramses II (Ramses the Great) ruled from 1279 B.C. to 1212 B.C. He died at the age of 92 and won the Battle of Kadesh by defeating the Hittites in 1274 B.C. Nefertari, his great royal consort (chief queen) was known for her remarkable beauty.
Cleopatra VII was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Her story is perhaps the best known of all the pharaohs because of her romantic entanglements and Egypt becoming part of the Roman Empire after her death.

© josep salvia i boté - Statue of Ramses II

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© Mary Harrsch - King Tut's Sarcophagus

Incredible Ancient Egyptian Architecture

Pyramids & Temples

Temples were built to honor the gods and goddesses, and were believed to be their homes. They were made of stone and built as places of worship for that particular god or goddess.
Luxor Temple, located on the eastern bank of the Nile River in Thebes, is dedicated to Amun, Chrons, and Mut. The temple was started in 1,400 B.C. by Amenhotep III while additions were made centuries later by Ramesses II.
The Great Sphinx on the Giza Plateau. The builder and date of creation are continually under debate, however, it is generally accepted that the pharaoh Khafre built it around 2,500 B.C. It is one of the oldest and largest monuments in the entire world.
Abu Simbel is located in Upper Egypt on the west bank of Lake Nasser. Carved from the side of the mountain around 1257 B.C. by Ramesses the Great, it had to be relocated for its preservation in the 1960’s.
The Pyramids of Giza were built around 2,600 B.C. and were made up of Khufu’s Pyramid (the largest), Khafre’s Pyramid (the second largest) and Menkaure’s Pyramid (the smallest). Khufu’s pyramid stands 455 feet tall and is made up of over two million blocks of stone.
Karnak is a temple located in Thebes and remains one of the largest places of worship in the world today. It was mainly built during the New Kingdom and is comprised of several temples as well as a 50,000 square foot Hypostyle hall.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara holds the grand distinction of being the first pyramid ever built in ancient Egypt. Imhotep, the pharaoh’s Vizier, constructed the 204 foot tall pyramid in the 27th century B.C.
The Valley of the Kings holds 60 tombs, some as large as 100 and more chambers and some as small as a single underground room.

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© Bruno Girin - The pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure

Religion

Gods & Goddesses the Ancient Egyptians Loved and Feared

The ancient Egyptians worshiped over 2,000 gods and goddesses. Many had the same characteristics and were called by different names in different parts of the country.
It was believed that each pharaoh was the “living Horus”. Horus was represented as having the head of a hawk and was the pharaoh’s personal protector.
Amun was the King of the Gods. As the most powerful of all of the gods, he had the head of a ram. He became even more powerful when he combined with the sun god, Ra, to become Amun Ra or Amun Re.
Aten was one form of Ra, and became King of the Gods during the time when Akhenaten (the Heretic King) ruled Egypt. Akhenaten believed Aten to be the only true god.
Osiris, the husband and brother of Isis, appeared as a mummified man and was God of the Dead, Resurrection and Fertility. He also ruled the underworld.
Isis was a protector goddess, and was wife/sister to Osiris and mother to Horus. She wore a pair of cow horns and a sun disk.
Geb was God of the Earth. He was also the brother and husband of Nut, the sky goddess. Geb was represented as a man with a goose on his head.
Hathor was the Goddess of Love and Joy and a protector goddess. She had the ears of a cow and wore a sun disk with a headdress of horns.
Sobek protected the king. He was represented as having the head of a crocodile, or took the form of a crocodile. The ancient Egyptians feared and loved him.
Connected with the moon, Thoth was often represented as a baboon. The ancient Egyptians believed Thoth gave them hieroglyphics as he was the God of Writing and Knowledge.
Nut arched across the sky as she was the Sky Goddess. Her body created a beautiful canopy of stars over the earth. She was sister/wife to Geb and birthed Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys.

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Creation Myths

There were different creation myths for different cities, each city, or cult, relying more heavily on one god for the creation of the world, over another.
The different creation myths were associated with Thebes, Hermopolis, Memphis and Heliopolis.
Common elements in all of the ancient Egyptian creation myths included Nu being the waters of chaos where life had arisen, the sun, and the "cosmic egg."

Festivals

The Feast of Wagy was a festival of the dead. It took place at the beginning of the Egyptian new year and honored Osiris. Ancient Egyptians often honored the dead with offerings of food, drink and prayer during the festival.
The Feast of Sokar honored Sokar, the falcon deity. This planting festival took place before the ancient Egyptians sowed their crops. To begin the festival, the pharaoh performed a ritual-like hoeing, and a processional was held with Sokar’s statue on the Henu barque.
The Feast of Min started with a ceremonial cutting of the first sheaf of grain. This grain was offered to Min. After which the public celebrated fertility and abundance in their crops and livestock.

Funeral Rituals

Mummification involved embalming the body after removing all of the internal organs except for the heart. The organs, themselves, were mummified and placed in Canopic jars alongside the individual’s sarcophagus. The brain was discarded as the ancients believed it had no relative significance. They believed the heart was the seat of reason and emotion and so it stayed inside the body. Packed in natron, the body was left out to dry for 40-50 days. Afterward, the body was wrapped tightly in linen
Magic rituals were performed after mummification to ensure that the person’s soul would enter the afterlife. By opening the mummy’s mouth, the priest re-animated the person saying a spell. After that, he touched the body or their sarcophagus with a copper blade. This further ensured that the person could speak, move and breathe in the afterlife. This was referred to as the Opening of the Mouth ceremony.

The Afterlife

To meet the Gates of Yaru (the afterlife) the deceased had to overcome many dangers including monsters, snakes and boiling lakes. Spells could be cast to help them get through these perils, and these spells were written out and left in or near the sarcophagus.
The deceased had to pass the Hall of Two Truths which involved the weighing of the heart. The heart was weighed against the Feather of Truth by Thoth, Anubis and Osiris. If the deceased passed the test, they could enter the afterlife. If they didn't, their heart was eaten by Ammit, a horrifying monster.

Depiction of the Weighing of the Heart

Sacred Texts

The Egyptian Book of the Dead – This book describes the deceased person’s journey into the afterlife.
The Pyramid Texts – These are funerary inscriptions taken from the earliest pyramids.
The Narmer Palette – Also called the Great Hierakonpolis Pallete. Dates back to 31st century B.C. Believed by historians to portray the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Narmer.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Ancient Egypt Facts