Chap 3.2 Slides Flashcards
What did Egyptians worship?
Egyptians worshipped many gods
•Believed that gods controlled all natural events
Who were the chief gods and goddesses?
- God of sun always a key figure, Re in Old Kingdom
- Later linked to sky god, Amon, and known as Amon-Re
Who was the protector of the dead?
How did this decide?
Anubis
- The protector of the dead, weighed souls to decide fate
- Light souls had been good in life and were rewarded
- Unworthy souls fed to terrible monster
________ introduced civilization into Egypt
What was his story?
- Osiris introduced civilization into Egypt
- Brother Seth killed Osiris, scattered pieces of his body around Egypt
- Wife Isis reassembled pieces and brought Osiris back to life
- Osiris became new judge of dead, replacing Anubis
Who was Horus?
Horus
Son of the sky god Osiris and mortal virgin Isis
Born December 25th
Was killed and resurrected
Why were temples built?
What were they like?
Temples built to honor, provide homes for gods
Ruins can still be seen in Egypt
•Features
–Decorated with massive statues
–Elaborate paintings, detailed carvings
What were obelisks?
–Tall, thin pillars with pyramid-shaped tops
–Made from single piece of stone
–Carved with intricate designs
Why did Egyptians do mummification?
Central to Egyptian religion was the belief in an afterlife, a land of the dead where souls would go to live.
Because of this belief, Egyptians developed elaborate rituals regarding death and burial
What were the teachings of mummification?
- Physical body dies, releases ka
- Ka was individual’s personality
- Ka needed food and drink to survive
- Sought to prevent decomposition so ka would not vanish
Mummification was done to mostly whom?
- Developed process to prevent breakdown of body
- Mummification only for kings, royal family at first
- Process available later to any who could afford
What was the mummification process?
- Internal organs removed
- Heart left in body
- Body wrapped with linen strips
- Features painted on mummy to help ka recognize its body
Who were on the top layer of Egypt’s social structure?
- Pharaoh
- Priests, priestesses, scribes, military leaders, doctors, landowners
- All among wealthiest in Egypt
Who were the people at the next level?
- Next level included artisans, craftspeople and merchants
- People who produce things
Who were at the bottom of the social structure?
- 90% of society were peasant farmers
- Sometimes recruited to build large public works
- Recruited also for mines, army
What were typically buried with dead Egyptians?
- Dead Egyptians buried with possessions needed for afterlife
- Pharaohs and nobles buried also with treasures and riches
What were included in the pharaohs’ tombs?
- Filled with statues of servants
- Egyptians thought statues would come to life to serve ka
- Also contained models of animals, chariots and boats
What were the decorations in the tombs?
- Walls painted with scenes from person’s life
- Walls painted with stories about the gods
- Egyptians believed figures would come to life and maximize ka’s happiness
Were there lots of slaves?
Who were the slaves?
- Slaves were not a large part of the population
- Most convicted criminals or prisoners of war
Were Egyptians able to move up in society?
What was the fastest way to gain status?
- Egyptian society less rigid than other ancient civilizations
- Possible to move up in society
- Becoming scribe the fastest way to gain status
What was home and family life like?
- Varied from class to class
- Pharaohs had more than one wife, most men only one
- Pharaohs married sisters to keep royal blood pure
What were houses like?
- Most lived as family units with father as head of household
- Poor families lived in huts
- Rich families had brick homes
- Noble families lived in palaces
What was life like for women and children?
What were women able to do?
- Woman’s primary duty to care for home and children
- Egyptian women had more rights, could work outside home
- Could be priestess, own property, divorce husband
- Few children educated
- Played with toys
What were Egyptians’ appearance and clothing like?
- Egyptians paid close attention to their appearance
- Many shaved heads, wore wigs, as well as perfume and makeup
- Clothing of linen and wool
How long did Egyptian civilization last?
What did it achieve?
Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 2,000 years.
Made many tremendous advances, particularly in art, literature and science
What was Egyptian art like?
- Easily distinguished from art of other ancient civilizations
- Paintings
–Detailed and colorful
–Stories of gods
–Pictures of daily life
–Most on walls of tombs, temples
What were Egyptian statues like?
•Statues
–Large, imposing
–Most show gods, pharaohs
–Show power and majesty
What was the largest and most famous statue of all?
Great Sphynx, the largest and most famous
What was Egyptian writing like?
The Egyptians were great writers who recorded events in great detail and composed beautiful songs and stories
What was the Egyptian writing system?
Hieroglyphics
What was Hieroglyphics like?
Where was it written?
- The main Egyptian writing system
- Uses picture symbols to represent objects
- formal writing, stone monuments, religious texts
- Difficult to learn, time consuming
What was writing made on?
How were these made?
Egyptians used the pulp of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile to make paperlike sheets.
Many papyrus scrolls are still readable today.
What unlocked the mystery of Egyptian writing?
This translated hieroglyphs into _________
Rosetta Stone
•Same text in hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek
–Using Greek as guide to translate
–Unlocked the mystery of Egyptian writing
What is the Rosetta Stone?
Where was Rosetta Stone discovered?
–Discovered near Nile Delta village of Rosetta in 1799 By Napoleon’s army.
–Long passages of writing on the broken stone
Did Egyptians know math?
How did Egyptians use math?
- Egyptians understanding of arithmetic
- Also understood geometry
- This along with grasp of engineering helped them build pyramids
- Buildings still standing, so skills were great
What Science knowledge did the Egyptians have?
- Greatest scientific advances were in medicine
- Egyptians masters of human anatomy
- Doctors treated wounds, performed surgery, used medicines made from plants and animals
- Prescribed regimens of basic hygiene to prevent illness
