AoW: Ancient Egypt Information Name: ______
Ancient Egypt was one of the greatest and most powerful civilizations in the history of the world. It lasted for over 3000 years from 3150 BC to 30 BC.
The Nile River
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was located along the Nile River in northeast Africa. The Nile was the source of much of the Ancient Egypt's wealth and is generally regarded as the longest river in the world. Great Egyptian cities grew up along the Nile as the Egyptian people became experts in irrigation and were able to use the water from the Nile to grow rich and profitable crops. The Nile provided food, soil, water, and transportation for the Egyptians. Great floods would come each year and would provide fertile soil for growing food.There were 3 seasons of the Nile, the FLOODING, GROWING and HARVEST season. The Three Seasons of the Nile allowed Egypt to develop a very advanced civilization that allowed them to have a stable and reliable economy and society.
Culture
Ancient Egypt was rich in culture including government, religion, arts, and writing. The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the Pharoah. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'. The pharaoh represented the gods on Earth and was believed to have some “godly” or divine powers. He performed rituals and built temples to honor the many gods Egyptians believed in. Writing was also important in keeping the government running. The writing was in the form of hieroglyphics and was written on walls as well as on paper. Papyrus is a material prepared in ancient Egypt from the stem of a water plant. This material was used to make sheets to write or paint on. Only scribes could read and write and they were considered powerful people.
Pyramids and Treasure: The Pharaohs of Egypt were often buried in giant pyramids or in secret tombs. They believed that they needed treasure to be buried with them to help them in the afterlife. As a result, archeologists have well preserved artifacts and tombs to examine in order to find out how the Ancient Egyptians lived.
Temples: Many Pharaohs built large temples in honor of their gods. These temples would have large statues, gardens, memorials, and a place of worship. Towns would have their own temples as well for their own local gods.
Afterlife: The Egyptians believed that there was a life after death. They thought that people had two important parts: a "ka", or life force that they only had while alive, and a "ba" which was more like a soul. If the "ka" and "ba" could be united in the afterworld the person would live in the afterlife. A key component was that the body be preserved for this to happen. This is why the Egyptians used the embalming process, or mummification, to preserve the dead.
End of the Empire: The Ancient Egyptian Empire began to weaken in about 700 BC. It was conquered by a number of other civilizations. The first to conquer Egypt was the Assyrian Empire, followed a hundred or so years later by the Persian Empire. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Egypt and set up his own ruling family called the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Finally, the Romans came in 30 BC and Egypt became a province of Rome.
Fun Facts about Ancient Egypt
· Egyptian men and women wore makeup. It was thought to have healing powers, plus it helped protect their skin from the sun.
· They used moldy bread to help with infections.
· They were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and paper called papyrus.
· The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had numerous inventions including ways to build buildings, medicine, cosmetics, the calendar, the plow for farming, musical instruments, and even toothpaste.
· Ancient Egypt plays a major role in the Bible. The Israelites were held captive there as slaves for many years. Moses helped them escape and led them to the Promised Land.
· The Pharaoh kept his hair covered. It was not to be seen by regular people.
· Cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt
Major Gods and Goddesses: There were some gods and goddesses that were more important and prominent than others. Here are some of the more important ones:
Ra or Re - Ra was the sun god and the most important god to the Ancient Egyptians. Ra was drawn as a man with a hawk head and a headdress with a sun disk.
Isis - Isis was the mother goddess. It was thought that she would protect and help people in need. She was drawn as a woman with a headdress in the shape of a throne.
Osiris - Osiris was ruler of the underworld and god of the dead. He was the husband of Isis and father of Horus. Osiris was drawn as a mummified man with a feathered headdress.
Horus - Horus was the god of the sky. Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris. He was drawn as a man with the head of a hawk. The ruler of the Egyptians, Pharaoh, was thought to be the living version Horus. In this way Pharaoh was the leader of the Egyptian religion and the people's representative to the gods.
Thoth - Thoth was the god of knowledge. He blessed the Egyptians with writing, medicine, and mathematics. He was also god of the moon. Thoth is drawn as a man with an Ibis bird head. Sometimes he was represented as a baboon.