C-Notes #2

Nile and the "Two Lands"

• Upper Egypt 500 miles long; Lower Egypt wide land that encompasses the Nile delta region.
• Nile was the major provider of life revered in both lore and writings; personified as gods.
• Around 3,100 BC, the two lands were united under the rule of pharaoh Narmer.

• Pharaoh: all-powerful, worshipped as a god intimately connected to major Egyptian gods and goddesses.
• Pharaohs were able to have multiple wives.
• The route to financial and social success was through the palace; one had to be born into royalty or perhaps be a high priest.
• Women had many more rights back then than in many other societies at the time.
• They were able to receive land and money, as well as divorcing husbands.

• Gods were often portrayed with animal heads or bodies.
• Maat: represents harmony and balance of the universe (can be compared with Yin and Yang).
• Egyptians believed in an afterlife (otherwise known as ka) and mummified bodies them for post-death journey.
• At the time of death, souls need to justify themselves and be sent to either an after-world paradise or the jaws of a monster.

• Technology Advancements
• Hieroglyphics (circa 3,100 BC) - earliest Egyptian writing that look like small pictures.
• Papyrus (made from mashed Nile reeds) is an Egyptian script that is written in ink.
• Papyrus was stored in scrolls.
• Papyrus were the books of Ancient Egypt.
• Calendar with 12 months and 365 days to make better sense of seasonal cycles.
• Egyptians had exact knowledge of human anatomy.
• So, they wrote extensively on health issues and created potions and cures to treat common ailments.
• Sailboats created to increase transportation ability on the Nile river.
• Buildings at the time.
• Pyramids are massive stone tombs which were originally covered in marble and then stripped from their former beauty during the Muslim conquest.
• Temple of Amon at Karnak is the largest religious building (with 54,000 ft^2) in the world.
• Sculptures and interior paintings depicted humans and gods in regulated poses: profile, without perspective.