Egyptian Culture and Literature

c. 3100 BCE – 100 BCE

Source: Literature: World Masterpieces. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995.

EGYPTIAN ORIGINS: “The gift of the Nile” (p. 8)

  • Egyptian civilization rose on the banks of the Nile, a river in North East Africa.
  • The Nile flooded every July, replenishing farmland
  • The Nile was also used for travel and trade, as well as fishing

HISTORY: Old, Middle, and NewKingdoms(p.8)

  • At first Egypt was divided into upper Egypt in the south and lower Egypt in the north
  • c.3100 BCE Menes, king of upper Egypt, conquered lower Egypt, creating one country
  • The period of the pharaohs can be divided into:

Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE)

Middle Kingdom (2050-1800BCE)

New Kingdom (1570-1090 BCE) [Empire Age]

  • Between periods, Egypt was vulnerable to invasions and civil wars though its topography (mainly desert and with a sea border) did somewhat protect it
  • Unlike the Mesopotamian kings, the Egyptian pharaohs were looked upon as gods
  • Pharaohs made peasants/slaves build them pyramids, which would house their bodies after death

EGYPTIAN SOCIETY: A Pyramid (pp. 8-9)

Pyramid = Symbol of the afterlife

Egyptian Social Ladder (highest to lowest):

Pharaoh

Priests (connection between Egyptian godsand people)

This class originally developed hieroglyphics at around the same time that Sumerians developed cuneiform (c.3100 BCE), though it was written on papyrus.

Nobles (same social levelas priests, but worked in government; had both privileges and money)

Middle class – more numerousthan above classes (artisans, merchants, physicians; served those above)

Peasants and slaves – most numerous class. Had to pay much of their crop yield to pharaohs and served on pharaohs’ construction gangs)

CULTURE (pp. 9-10)

  • Religion was a key aspect of Egyptian culture
  • Many of the gods were associated with nature
  • Amon-Re (sun god) was chiefdeity
  • Osiris (god of the Nile) also god of the underworld: death and rebirth is linked with rise and fall of the Nile
  • All Egyptians very concerned with life after death (see “Egyptian Book of the Dead” pp. 36-37)
  • Amenhotep IV (ruled during New Kingdom) changed religion by only worshiping one god: Aton (monotheism)
  • After Amenhotep IV, Egyptians reverted to polytheism
  • Development of geometry (to help with surveying land)
  • Creation of 12 month, 365 day calendar (created to predict yearly floods)
  • Old Kingdom literature was characterized by sacred hymns which were cold and formal.
  • Middle Kingdom literature began to reflect personal feelings
  • New Kingdom literature continued the trend with flowering of graceful writing and freedom of speech (see pastoral poetry pp. 31-34).