Ancient Eqypt

Ancient Eqypt

1. RELIGION

   • GODS
     • Osiris- the God of the death - ruler of the Afterlife. Thought of as the first Pharaoh
     • Isis- the wife of Osiris and Goddess of the rebirth. Know for her generosity.
     • Anubis- God of Mummification, distinguishable by his jackal head
     • Horus- god of the sky + ruler of the world of the living- protector of the Pharaoh- man with head of hawk
     • Sobek- God of military prowess + the Nile- protected against the dangers if the Nile, including crocodiles- man with head of crocodile
     • Hathor- Goddess of fertility, dance, song, women, childbirth, perfume, joy and love- woman with cow horns and sun disk on head
     • Thoth- God of writing and knowledge/ wisdom- man with the head of an Ibis holding writing palette- sometimes represented as a baboon
     • Re/Ra- Sun God ,most important of Gods -man with hawk headers + sun disk resting on top of it
     • Seth- God of Chaos + brother to Osiris. represented everything that threatened harmony in Eqypt
     • Polytheistic- over 2000 Gods
   • Mummification
     • Needed so Ba and Ka could recognise body so they could rejoin and live forever.
       • Older version- buried in desert sand- still with few of possessions necessary for Afterlife
       • (1) washed in Nile water + palm wine (2) Organs removed (3) Organs put in Canopic jars (4) Brain removed (5)Body stuffed with natron salts - 70 days (inside as well) 40 days- natron taken out,body filled with sand /sawdust and covered with natron-continued for 30 days (6) wrapped in linen (7) stored away
         • Canopic Jars - Human Jar = Liver, Baboon jar = Lungs, Jackal Jar = Stomach, Falcon Jar- intestines
   • Afterlife
     • Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. If heart was equal/ lighter than the feather of ma'at = went to Valley of Reeds. Heavier- Ammit ate your heart and you became part of Nun
       • Ammit not a God- rather beast- part crocodile, hippo and lion. Known as the devourer of dead/hearts.

2. Social Structure

3. Geography

   • Located near the Middle East, Saudi Arabia
   • Over 90% of land is desert- called the Red Land
   • Red Land provide good protection + made it harder for enemies to invade
   • Nile River
     • Floods annually - rises 10 metres- recedes leaving layer of rich soil
     • Year divided into seasons around Nile
       • Akhet- Flood Season, Mid July- October
         • Peret- Seed time, November- February
           • Shemu- Harvest time, March- June
       • Transport- current flows south to north- travel down, wind blows north to south, sail up to travel back up
     • Food- crops, fish, aquatic animal

4. Pharaoh

   • Crowns
     • Red Crowns- symbolised control over Lower Egypt
     • Blue Crowns ( the Khepresh)- worn in battle or ceremonies
     • White Crown- symbolised control over Upper Eqypt
     • Atef Crown- worn during some religious rituals- representative of ma'at
     • Double Crown- joining of two lands - pharaoh ruling them
     • The Nemes Headdress- main crown of pharaoh
   • Pharaoh's Power
     • Ensures Nile Floods
     • Ensures enough food
     • Egypts army could defend against enemies
     • Ensures ma'at at heart of Egyptian life
     • Ensures Gods look kindly over people
   • Both God and King- political leader and god,

5. Contact

   • Trade
     • Sinai Desert- metals- gold, tin, silver, lead, copper + turquoise
     • Libya- lions + leopard skins
     • Nubia- metal- gold, tin, silver lead, copper + most slaves + ivory ( hippo, elephant )
     • Bactria (Iran) - Lapis- Lazuli (stone) + Kohl- makeup
     • Punt- Incense + Myrrh + Oil + Ebony (wood) + other trees
     • Byblos (Lebanon)- Cedar Wood
   • Conflict
     • Reasons- securing access to trade ( in areas with natural resources) + when threatened by neighbours
       • Major Enemies- Hyksos- NE (very early in history) + Libyans- W + Nubians- S

6. Laguage

   • Hieroglyphs - over 2000 symbols

Images and files in the map