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ANCIENT EGYPT: Introduction, Pre-Dynastic Period, Palette of Narmer
ANCIENT EGYPT: Introduction, Pre-Dynastic Period, Palette of Narmer
I.
THE NILE AND EGYPT
A. The world’s longest river – it flows northward toward the Mediterranean
Sea for 4100 miles --- longer than the distance from NJ to CA!
1. Herodotus – The Greek historian said that “Egypt was the gift of the
Nile.”
B. Upper and Lower Egypt
1. For most of their history ancient Egyptians knew only the lower
part of the Nile – the last 750 miles before it empties into the sea.
2. Upper Egypt (think UP river and thus to the south) – a skinny strip
of land never more than 12 miles wide.
3. Lower Egypt (began about 100 miles before the river reached the
Mediterranean Sea. At that point, branches of the river fanned out
to form the Nile Delta. The Nile Delta covers an area of about 14,500
square miles.
C. The Nile as a Transportation Link
1. Northbound – the current moves ships along
2. Southbound – the prevailing winds push the sails of ship
3. Benefited the commerce of Egyptian cities
D. The Nile flood – “Egypt is the gift of the Nile.”
1. Rainfall in Central Africa and melting snows from the Ethiopian
highlands caused the Nile to flood each year, reaching its highest
point in Egypt by the end of August. The average flood measured 25
feet high, enough to flood the whole valley up to the desert. When
the waters receded, the soaked earth was covered with a fresh
deposit of rich, dark, silt.
a. Kemet – Egyptians actually called their homeland Kemet,
meaning “The Black.” In contrast, they referred to the desert as
Deshret, meaning “The Red.”
E. Worshipping the Nile
1. Hapy – The Egyptians worshipped the Nile as a god they called
Hapy. Hapy gave them life and seldom turned against them. Thus,
the Egyptians were careful to observe all the rituals that were
supposed to please Hapy and keep Egypt safe. In a religious festival
on the Nile’s banks, they sang: “Hail to thee, O Nile, that issues from
the earth and comes to keep Egypt alive.”
F. From villages to a united kingdom
1. Farm villages – Egyptians lived in farm villages as far back as 6000
BCE
2. Nomes – eventually the villages united into agricultural districts
called nomes. Each nome had its own rituals, gods and chieftain.
3. Two kingdoms – by 3200 BCE, the nomes of Egypt were divided
into two groups under two kings. One king ruled Lower Egypt and
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ANCIENT EGYPT: Introduction, Pre-Dynastic Period, Palette of Narmer
wore a red crown. The other king ruled Upper Egypt and wore a tall
white crown shaped like a bowling pin.
4. Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt
a. Strong-willed king of Upper Egypt
b. United Egypt about 3100 BCE
c. Established his capital in the city of Memphis, at the spot
where Lower and Upper Egypt converged.
5. Palette of Narmer
a. Commemorates how Narmer (aka Menes) unified of Upper
and Lower Egypt
b. Palettes were used to mix black eye make-up. This black eye
liner protected the eyes from the sun.
c. Palette of Narmer was most likely a ceremonial palette and not
used for this everyday purpose
d. One of the earliest surviving works in Egyptian art (3150 BCE)
e. The palette is carved in bas relief.
f. The images are arranged in registers.
g. The sculptor used hierarchical scale. Naturally, Narmer is the
largest figure.
h. Narmer is shown on Side A wearing the crown of Upper Egypt.
He is shown subduing a defeated enemy who probably
represents Lower Egypt. Narmer holds him by the hair, an act
that symbolizes conquest and domination.
i. The sandal bearer holds Narmer’s sandals indicating that
Narmer stands on holy ground and his acts are sanctified by
the gods. He is involved in a sacred act. (Recall that God told
Moses to remove his shoes before He appeared to Moses as the
burning bush)
j. The top register depicts Hathor twice (pronounced hattor) –
the goddess of the heavens and protector of the pharaoh’s
family and has Narmer’s serekh (name in hieroglyphics) in the
center
k. The bottom register shows two more enemies fleeing from allpowerful Narmer.
l. The hawk is the god Horus, a powerful sky god and associated
with the pharaohs. He holds a creature with a human’s head
and six papyrus blossoms symbolizing Lower Egypt.
m. On Side B, Narmer is again barefoot. He walks in a procession
to inspect the decapitated bodies of the enemy. Note his is now
wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. The artist gives you an
aerial view of the scene for clarity of the story. Optical realism
would show only some of the bodies. This view gives you more
information --- A great number of enemy soldiers have been
killed.
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ANCIENT EGYPT: Introduction, Pre-Dynastic Period, Palette of Narmer
n. Narmer is shown twice on Side B. On the bottom register, he is
depicted as a horned bull trampling his enemy and attacking a
city.
o. In the center register, there are two creatures which are
sometimes called “serpopards,” because of their leopard bodies
but serpentine necks.
p. Why are their necks intertwined?
q. What was the purpose of the Palette of Narmer? What are
three ways it conveyed its message?
II.
Organizing Egyptian History
A. How did the ancient Egyptians organize their history?
1. Manetho, a fourth century BCE Egyptian priest, divided the history
into 30 dynasties or royal families.
2. Archaeologists use Manetho’s list of pharaohs, other inscriptions in
temples and royal burial sites, and solar calendars to date recorded
events and place the pharaohs in correct chronological order
3. The research is still ongoing, and the history changes. This is
currently the best we know.
B. Periods of Egyptian History
1. Predynastic Period – 3300 – 2960 BCE
2. Early Dynastic Period (Dynasties 1-2) 2960 – 2649 BCE
3. OLD KINGDOM (Dynasties 3-6) 2649 – 2150 BCE
4. First Intermediate Period (Dynasties 7-11) 2143 – 1991 BCE
5. MIDDLE KINGDOM (Dynasties 12-14) 1991 – 1700 BCE
6. Second Intermediate Period (Dynasties 15-17) 1640 – 1550 BCE
7. NEW KINGDOM (Dynasties 18-20) 1550 – 1070 BCE
8. Third Intermediate Period (Dynasties 21-25) 1070 – 660 BCE
9. Late Dynastic Period (Dynasties 26-30) 688 – 342 BCE
10. Ptolemaic Period (after Alexander the Great visited – governed by
one of his generals) 332 – 30 BCE
11. Roman province
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