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Ancient Egypt
ANCIENT EGYPT
I. Geography and location
A. NE Africa
1. Southeast of ancient Greece
and ancient
Italy
B. Mediterranean
Sea -- to the
north
C. Red Sea –
to the east
D. Deserts called “red land”
1. Spread out on both sides
of the river
a. Western Desert – most
of the Sahara
b. Eastern Desert – smaller
2. Useless for farming
3. Offered protection
from foreign
attack
E. Nile River
1. World’s longest
river -- 4,000
miles
2. Source in
mountains
of East
Africa
3. Forms S shape 1,000 miles long
just north of where the
Blue Nile and White Nile meet
4. Forms six cataracts or rock filled
rapids
a. The first cataract forms the
southern border of ancient
Egypt
5. Nile Delta – a triangular plain at
the mouth of the Nile River
6. Flowed north and emptied into
the Mediterranean Sea
7. Flooded
annually
providing
rich farmland
a. Grain
1.) Wheat
2.) Barley
3.) Flax
8. Provided transportation
a. Traveled the Nile in small
boats made from papyrus
steered with oars and poles
b. Worked well for short trips
9. Drinking water,
bathing, and
recreation
II. Government
A. Type of government
system was a
monarchy—rule by one
B. Title for ruler
1. Kings
2. Pharaohs (after united) –
people considered pharaohs
living gods on earth
C. Famous rulers
1. Hatshepsut—the world’s
first woman ruler
greatly increased
Egypt’s wealth through trade.
2. Menes--united Upper and Lower
Egypt and combined the red
crown of Upper Egypt
with the white crown of
Lower Egypt forming
the double crown.
D. Three Kingdoms
1. Old Kingdom (2700BCE—2200BCE)
a. “The Pyramid Age”
b. Pyramids were used as burial tombs for
pharaohs during this time.
2. Middle Kingdom (2100BCE)
a. Egypt’s Golden Age
b. Trade, arts, literature flourished
c. Strong armies defended Egypt
d. Pharaohs buried in hidden tombs
3. New Kingdom (1500BCE—1000BCE)
a. Egypt expanded its borders through
military conquest,
became a world power
b. Pharaohs buried in the
Valley of the Kings
E. Social Pyramid
1. Pharaoh at the top
2. Vizier—reported to the Pharaoh and was judge
of the high court
3. Nobles, priests, doctors, engineers
4. Scribes
5. Artisans –
craftsmen
6. Farmers,
soldiers,
tomb builders
7. Slaves
III. Religion
A. The ancient Egyptians were
polytheistic or believed in many gods
1. Amon Ra (Re) or Ra--main god; sun god
a. Human form
b. Falcon head crowned with a sun disk and cobra
c. Often shown holding the Ankh, the key of life
2. Anubis--god of mummification
a. Head of a jackal
b. Tail of a lion
c. Body of a man
3. Osiris--god of the dead
4. Isis--wife of Osiris
B. Monotheism – a belief in one God
1. Aten – the sun god
a. Creator of the world
b. Affected the world through his active
presence
2. Practiced only for a brief time under King
Akhenaten
a. Upon his death, the Egyptians reverted
back to worshipping their former gods
C. Believed in an afterlife—belongings
were buried with kings and
pharaohs; they would need them
in the next world
D. Mummification—the process of
preparing the dead for burial
E. All most all homes had cats
1. They were thought to have
magical powers
a.) It was believed that cats
were able to protect homes
and children.
2. Hurting a cat was a serious crime.
a.) A person could be sentenced to death for
killing a cat.
IV. Art and architecture
A. Pyramids—burial tombs for kings and pharaohs
1. Contained burial chamber with treasure
2. Smaller rooms served as burial places for family
members and servants
B. Great Sphinx—lion’s body with the head of a pharaoh
1. The Great Sphinx faces the sunrise and guards the
pyramid tombs
C. Obelisk – vertical stone column topped with a pyramid
1. Monument with names written on them
2. Ancient Egyptians believed if their name was not
written down by the time of their death then they disappeared forever
D. Temples—Abu Simbel
1. 180 feet long
2. 90 feet high
3. Decorated with 60 feet high statues of Ramses II
E. King Tut’s death mask
1. Made of gold, inlaid colored glass, and semiprecious stones
F. Pottery – Used for cooking, storing food, and holding water
1. Used pottery to reflect their creativity
a. Made from coiled clay and later from a pottery wheel
b. Color was added
c. Designs were scratched on the surface
V. Law
A. Pharaoh’s had absolute power, or complete
control over their people
B. Whatever the pharaoh decided became law.
1. He decided when the fields would be planted
2. He demanded crops from the workers at
harvest time
VI. Writing
A. Hieroglyphics--picture symbols written
on walls of tombs
1. Could be written in any direction: right to
left, left to right, top to bottom, or bottom
to top
2. Had to look like art
B. Hieratic
1. Faster than hieroglyphics
2. Written by scribes on papyrus
paper for record keeping
C. Book of the Dead—instructions
for preparing the dead
D. Rosetta Stone– (discovered near Rosetta, Egypt)
1. Before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, no one knew the
meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics .
2. The stone contained same story in hieroglyphics, Demonic, and
Greek
3. Since scholars could read Demonic and Greek they could figure
out the meaning of the hieroglyphics
4. Once scholars had translated more of the
writing on the stone, they used it as a basis
to work on other Egyptian hieroglyphs.
5. The Rosetta Stone became the ‘key’ to
unlocking the door to the messages and
writings found in so many areas of Egypt.