A Glimpse of Egypt

1
A Glimpse of Egypt

• What was the miracle of ancient Egypt?
• How did a Scorpion unite a kingdom?
• Why was death such an important part of life?
• How did the pyramids build Egypt?
• How did Egypt live out the resurrection story?

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Elsewhere

• In the land of Sumer Mesopotamia
• Firsts Independent city-states, kingship and
  aristocracy, system of writing, epic hero,
  cultural innovations, massive building projects
• Misery Unpredictable floods (Tigris Euphrates)
• Fear Cruel gods, death, awful afterlife
• Gilgamesh failure to achieve eternal youth
• Death is certain for all Sumerians.

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Egypt The gift of the Nile.

• Resurrection
• Nile floods revive Black Land with rich silt
• Legend of the god Osiris Victory over death
• Polytheism
• Gods for the people
• Amun Associated with sun, fertility, kingship
• Early dynastic rule
• King Menes United Upper Lower Egypt

4
The Journey through Death

• Journey of the spirit of the deceased
• Series of riddles and morality tests determine
  ones passage to the good afterlife
• Body must remain intact and recognizable
• Mummification

5
Book of the Dead

• Funerary Text
• Collection of hymns, spells, instructions
• Maps through the underworld
• Negative confessions
• Hieroglyphic writing
• Translated by archaeologists via
• the Rosetta Stone

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Egyptian History

• Old Kingdom
• Age of Pyramids
• Middle Kingdom
• Prosperity and Decline
• New Kingdom
• Age of Empire Building

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The Old Kingdom

• Site Saqqara
• Pharaoh Djosers massive step-temple
• Site Giza
• Pharaoh Khufus Great Pyramid
• A labor for the divine
• Volunteers and paid laborers
• Religion, government, art/architecture, writing,
  job specialization, public works

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The Middle Kingdom

• Expansion
• Campaigns in Nubia and Libya
• Trade networks in Middle East
• Invasion
• Hyksos subdue Egypt on chariots

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The New Kingdom

• Removal of the Hyksos
• Massive building projects
• Era of conquest and expansion
• Absolute power of the Pharaoh
• Hatshepsut, the Queen Pharaoh
• Akhenaton, the religious rebel
• Tutankhamun, the boy king
• Ramesses II, the Great