Egypt Questions Flashcards
2 sections of Egypt and location?
Upper (south) and lower (north) Egypt
Who is manetho and what is his list?
Manetho - Egyptian priest and historian
Made chronological list of rulers
Ra is god of…
Sun
Nenes headdress
Striped blue and linen head cloth having cobra and vulture at front used as royal headdress
What does white crown represent and what does it look like?
Plain, knobbed top. Upper Egypt
What about the red crown?
Has that loopy thing
Lower Egypt
Double crown?
Unified Egypt.
Has both knob and swirly thing.
What does falcon represent?
Horus
When did the early dynastic period exist?
2950-2575 bce
Describe the side of the narmer palette where he is wearing the white crown.
Narmer - first king
His name appears on top, sides by bull men. (Hathor)
Carved in low relief
Hieratic scale - narmer bigger
Narmer wears white crown and bulls tail (strength)
Attendant behind him holding sandals
Bashes enemy with club. Horus stands above foe holding rope tied around neck of man whose head is attached to block of sprouting papyrus
Below narmers feet lay 2 defeated enemies
What did papyrus represent?
Lower Egypt
Describe the side of the narmer palette where he is wearing the red crown.
Narmer marches behind his minister of state and 4 men carrying standards that may symbolize different regions of country.
In front, under Horus, lie two row of decapitated bodies, heads between their legs
In center, elongated necks of two feline creatures form palette, each held on a leash by attendant.
Intertwined necks may symbolize union of Two Lands.
At bottom, bull(king) menaces fallen for outside fortress gates
Who was Imhotep?
Designer of djoser’s tomb complex - earliest known monumental architecture in Egypt.
When was the old kingdom?
2575 - 2150 bce
What were the progression of tombs?
Mastaba, stepped pyramid, pyramid
What did slanted pyramid sides symbolize?
Rays of sun
What are the names of the great pyramids (left to right) and size and what kingdom are they from?
Menkaure, khafre, Khufu
(Smallest > largest)
Old kingdom
What was the valley temple of khafre made of?
Limestone and red granite
Describe statue of khafre.
4th dynasty - anorthosite gneiss
Sitting erect on elegant but simple throne.
Horus perches on back of throne, protectively holding kings head with wings.
Lions (regal authority) form thrones legs
Intertwined lotus and papyrus beneath seat symbolize power over upper and lower
What is symbol of upper Egypt?
Lotus
Describe menkaure and a queen.
4th dynasty - graywacke with traces of red and black paint
Separate, but close in size. Joined by stone in back.
Queen’s embrace - right hand comes from behind onto ribs.
King is athletic, youthful. Wears only kilt and head cloth.
Strides with left foot forward.
Polish never finished probably because king died
Describe Pepy II and his mother
6th dynasty - old kingdom
Pepy is small but wears head cloth and kilt and seated on mothers lap
Inscriptions on side
Queen wears headdress “mother of upper and loyal Egypt”
Queen’s arms and legs are free from stone block throne
Describe the seated scribe.
5th dynasty
Round head and face, alert expression, cropped hair
Sits holding papyrus scroll and pen
Pupils are off center - illusion of motion
Fat is good because means no work
Describe ti and the hippopotamus hunt
5th dynasty-old kingdom-painted limestone
River as if seen from above - band of parallel lines under boats.
Creatures in river in profile
Boats stand on top of river
Ti in twisted perspective while hunters in more natural positions
Top - background
What did hippos symbolize?
Seth - god of darkness
Because hippos destroyed crops therefore bad
When was the Middle Kingdom?
1975 - 1640 bce
Describe head of sensuret III
12th dynasty-middle
Portrait statue - reflect wise man, but lonely, saddened, and burdened by weight of responsibilities
Drooping eyelids, sunken eyes, sagging cheeks
Describe pectoral of senusret II
12th-gold
2 Horus falcons at base with coiled cobras on top wearing ankh
Rope forms cartouche. Scarab beetle below. Below that, kneeling male figure helps falcons support double arch of notched palm ribs (millions of years)
“May the sun god gave eternal life to senusret II”
Describe faïence hippo.
12th
Watery blue, painted lotus blossoms to give impression of standing amongst aquatic plants
Describe stele of amenemhat I
12th - painted limestone
Funeral stele. Table with food watches by woman (hapi)
Family sits on lion legged bench and all wear green jewelry and white linen garments
King(right) and son clasp hands while iyi holds shoulder of son
Describe Hatshepsut enthroned
She wears royal garments of men (kilt, beard, headdress, bull’s tail)
Describe Hatshepsut’s temple at deir el-bahri
Her funerary temple
Structure was not tomb, but temple.
On cliffs, follows axial plan.
Raises causeway leads to first open court. Then ramp to pools of water.
Imposes image of authority with alternating open garden spaces and grandiose architectural forms.
Describe Akhenaten and his family
Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and 3 daughters
Shows new openness and figural style
Done in sunken relief
Parents sit in cushioned thrones
Queens throne has plant of unified Egypt (nefi might have been coruler)
They receive blessings of stem (sun) which is holding ankhs to their nose - giving breath of life
Conveys engaging behavior of children and loving concern of parents
Describe queen tiy
18th
Akhenaten’s mother
Personality emerges from exquisite bone structure of dark skinned face, arched brows, uptilted eyes, slightly pouting lips
Brown cap covered with blue grass beads placed over funeral headdress
Describe portrait of Nefertiti
18th - new
Refined, regular features, long neck, heavy lidded eyes - too ideal to be human
Dramatic use of color - blue, red, green, gold
Describe Tutankhamen’s inner coffin
Surface decorated with colored glass and semiprecious gemstones.
Crook and flail, nemes head cloth
Full lips and thin bridged nose suggest influence of amaranth style
Describe rameses II at Abu simbel
4 colossal statues,
Proclaims military and diplomatic success
Nefertari is lower than his leg which she affectionately caresses
What are the languages on the Rosetta Stone? (Top to bottom)
Hieroglyphic, demotic, greek
Describe queen nefertari making an offering to Isis
19th - wall painting
Queen wears vulture skinned headdress, royal collar, long white gown.
Isis sits on throne behind table of offerings, holding long scepter and ankh.
Wears headdress surmounted by horns of Hathor framing sun disk
Describe judgment of hunefer before Osiris
19 - book of dead
Anubis leads him to spot where heart will be weighed against feather of truth
To the right, eater of the dead (crocodile lion) waits for signal to eat
But hunefer passes test and Horus presents him to Osiris, who floats on lake of natron
His 4 sons, each entrusted with a vital organ, stand atop huge lotus blossom
At top, hunefer accepted into afterlife kneel before 9 gods of Heliopolis (sacred city of ra) and 5 personifications of life sustaining principals
Describe mummy wrapping of a young boy
Mummy was “soft sculpture” with Ronan style portrait
Painted on wood panel in hot colored wax, inserted over face
Had great staring eyes
