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Chapter 3: Nile Civilizations
Section 2 - Egyptian Culture
Section 2 - Egyptian Culture
Main Idea
The ancient Egyptians are famous for their religion, their
burial practices, and their advances in art, writing and
science.
Objectives
• What were the main principles of Egyptian religion?
• Why did Egyptians practice mummification and burial?
• What was daily life like in ancient Egypt?
• What advances did Egyptians make in art, writing and
science?
Section 2 - Egyptian Culture
Imhotep lived during the Third
Dynasty and became the vizier of
King Zoser (Djoser) and high priest
of the sun god Re. Imhotep was a
scribe, chief lector, priest, architect,
astronomer and magician (medicine
and magic were used together.) For
3000 years he was worshipped as a
god in Greece and Rome. One of his
best-known sayings is: "Eat, drink,
and be merry, for tomorrow we shall
die.”
I. Egyptian Religion
Egyptians worshipped hundreds of gods;
believed gods controlled all natural events
Chief Egyptian deities: 1) Horus, son of Osiris, a sky god closely connected with the
king. 2) Set, enemy of Horus and Osiris, god of storms and disorder. 3) Thoth, a moon
deity and god of writing, counting and wisdom. 4) Khnum, a ram god who shapes men
and their kas on his potter's wheel. 5) Hathor, goddess of love birth and death. 6) Sobek,
the crocodile god, Lord of the Faiyum. 7) Ra, the sun god in his many forms. 8) Amon, a
creator god often linked with Ra. 9) Ptah, another creator god and the patron of
craftsmen. 1O) Anubis, god of mummification. 11) Osiris, god of agriculture and ruler of
the dead. 12) Isis, sister and wife of Osiris, mother of Horus and Mistress of Magic.
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Sun god: Re in Old Kingdom, later linked to
creator god, Amon, and became Amon-Re
In one of his many
forms, Ra has the head
of a falcon and the sundisk of Wadjet resting
on his head.
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Anubis: Protector of the dead, god of
mummification
This scene portrays the weighing of a royal scribe’s
heart against a feather representing truth
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Osiris - king of the underworld, god of the
dead
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Isis - wife and sister of Osiris, mother of
Horus
Egyptian goddess Isis, tomb painting, ca. 1360 BC
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Horus - god of the sky, protector of the
pharaohs
A. Chief gods and goddesses
Seth (Set) – god of chaos, storms, the desert;
brother of Osiris and Isis
B. Temples and Religious Practices
Temples were built to honor and provide
homes for gods
Hall of Columns at Karnak
B. Temples and Religious Practices
Obelisks - made from a single piece of stone,
carved with designs
Unfinished obelisk at Aswan
Obelisk of Ramses II,
Luxor Temple
B. Temples and Religious Practices
Priests performed rituals to keep the gods alive
B. Temples and Religious Practices
Commoners only worshiped gods at annual
festivals
II. Mummification and Burial
Belief in afterlife led to rituals for death and
burial
II. Mummification and Burial
When physical body died, it released ka;
ka vanished if body decomposed
Ka is the life force or spiritual double of the person. Ba is represented
as a human-headed bird that leaves the body when a person dies. The
face of Ba was the exact likeness of that of the deceased person.
II. Mummification and Burial
Mummification - process to prevent
breakdown of body; only for royalty at first
II. Mummification and Burial
Internal organs (except heart) removed; body
wrapped with linen strips
The liver, the lungs, the stomach,
and the intestines were each placed
in a separate Canopic Jars
II. Mummification and Burial
Dead were buried with possessions needed
for the afterlife
King Tut’s Tomb
II. Mummification and Burial
Tombs painted with scenes from person’s life;
Book of the Dead guided ka on journey to
afterlife
Book of the Dead from Thebes
Late 18th Dynasty, 1350-1300 BC
III. Daily Life
A. Social Structure
Highly stratified society – pharaoh, religious
and military leaders at top
A. Social Structure
Artisans and merchants next; 90% were
peasant farmers or laborers
B. Home and Family Life
Lifestyle varied between classes; pharaohs
had several wives, often married their sisters
Ramses II had over 200
wives and concubines, 96
sons and 60 daughters
B. Home and Family Life
Women were equal to husbands; children
learned from parents
3,400-year-old bust of
Nefertiti,
Egyptian queen and
the Great Royal Wife
of the pharaoh
Akhenaten
Neues Museum in Berlin
B. Home and Family Life
Egyptians concerned with appearance; free
time occupied with sports and games
The large collection of grooming
items – combs, shaving tools and
different kinds of oils that were
used as make-up – found in
Egyptian tombs and coffins bears
testament to their interest in
beauty. Wigs were also very
popular and could be found in a
variety of colors such as blue,
green, yellow and gold. Moreover,
in spite of their dark skin, many
Egyptian women liked to use gold
and yellow wigs to beautify
themselves.
IV. Art, Writing, and Science
King Tutankhamen and Queen
Ankhesenamun (fromTut’s throne)
A. Egyptian Art
Paintings were distinctive, detailed and colorful;
variety of subjects
Murals in the Tomb of Sennedjem
A. Egyptian Art
Statues large and imposing - most depicted
gods or pharaohs
Monuments of Pharaoh Amenhotep III guard the
entrance of a long-vanished temple
B. Egyptian Writing
Hieroglyphics - main writing system; picture
symbols represented objects
B. Egyptian Writing
Two other systems: hieratic for religious texts;
demotic for legal and literary writing
Demotic script (meaning 'writing for documents') developed
by the year 660 BC and was used until about 425 AD
B. Egyptian Writing
Used the papyrus plant to make paper-like
sheets
Egypt is important for papyrus in
two respects. First, papyrus
plants grew almost exclusively in
the region of the Nile delta.
Secondly, the dry climate of
Egypt made it possible for papyri
to endure, in many cases, for
over 2 millennia. “Paper” is made
from the papyrus plant by
separating it with a needle point
into very thin strips as broad as
possible. The choice quality
comes from the center, and
thence in the order of slicing.
The first use of papyrus is
believed to have been 4000 BC.
B. Egyptian Writing
1799 - Discovery of Rosetta Stone unlocked
Egyptian writing: it was the same text in Greek,
demotic, and hieroglyphics
C. Math and Science
Had thorough understanding of arithmetic,
geometry, and engineering principles
C. Math and Science
Made great scientific advances in medicine;
became masters of human anatomy