Famous Pharaohs

Creation Beliefs in Ancient Egypt

The sun rises over the
circular mound of
creation as goddesses
pour out the primeval
waters around it

Ancient Egyptian ideas about the creation of the world offer peculiarly valuable insights into the way these orderly, agricultural people saw themselves and their land. Several versions of the creation myth exist, and each evokes images of the Nile River's flood cycle and the increase of bountiful crops on the silt left behind by losing floodwaters. According to one widely given creation myth, eight deities lay in among the darkness and disarray of a great watery void ahead the world existed.

God Nun, the embodiment of
the primordial waters,
lifts the barque of Ra
into the sky at the
moment of creation

The god Nun personated the water, and the creation of the world began when an earthen mound arose from him. Amun or in one version Ra, the sun god, rose from this mound. In otherwise version of creation, a lotus broken from the waters of Nun, and Amun appeared from within the lotus. Amun, from within himself, brought forth the deities who presented air (Shu) and moisture (Tefnut); then Tefnut gave birth to the sky (Goddess Nut) and the earth (God Geb). Humans were often conceived to be the products of Amun or Ra's tears.

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Deities and Ancient Egyptians

A general realizing of the worldview of the ancient Egyptians is the best grooming for this brief examination of their throwing array of deities. The term "world view" refers the set of widely held feeling that people of a specific culture hold to excuse what they maintain in their world. The ancient Egyptians interpreted every natural event in terms of the family relationship between natural and supernatural forces. Those phenomena that figured conspicuously in their lives enclosed the annual cycle of the flood of the Nile River (or inundation), the extended size and frozen harshness of the surrounding desert, and the daily cycle of the sun's coming into court in the east, gradual movement crossways the sky, and eventual disappearing in the west. The ancient Egyptians got a world view in which these and other events and checks were imputed to the actions of multiple, concerned gods and goddesses of Egypt.

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Leisure Activities in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians taken their leisure time with many pleasant natural processes. They loved good food, drink, music, singing, and dancing. The upper class watched professed dancers at formal banquets. A number of musical instruments accompanied the dancers. The flute, oboe, trumpet, and an cat's-paw resembling a clarinet were the nearly common wind official documents; stringed instruments included various types of harps, lutings, and lyres; and tambourines and thumps were the normal percussion section instruments. In rituals, sistra and glossas were used. Other leisure activenesses included hunting, fowling, and fishing for sport. Hunters practiced a bow and arrow for most game--ibex, gazelle, wild cattle, ostriches, and hares. Fowling and fishing took place in marshlands. For fowling, Egyptians used a hold stick that acted like a boomerang, fair the bird and bumping it out of the sky. For fishing a long, double-barbed lance was used.

The ancient Egyptians enjoyed pets. The dog was the nearly common. Cats as well went popular. The wealthy sometimes had monkeys or baboons.

Members of literate homes (5 percent at about) enjoyed reading. In the gentle of their homes, the ancient Egyptians played a number of card games, the most favorite being senet. Ancient Egyptian children had games and entertainments corresponding to those of Egyptian children today. A number of clean toys like balls and dolls have been seen in tombs. Many details of the Egyptians' daily lives still remain hidden. As archaeologists break more tomb paintings and uncover extra artifacts from burial sites and towns, our noesis of their taking culture increments.

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The Home in Ancient Egypt

Frontispiece of a house
toward the street,
second Theban period

As in our current society, the size and appearance of an Egyptian house reckoned on the family's wealth and the placement of the building. A typical non professional's home in a city would have a small court facing a close street with a hardly a rooms at the back; It had windows come out high in the walls and reported with wicket work to exclude heat and the sun's glare. Steps at the rear of the house led up to a flat roof, where the family often slept to enjoy the picnics blowing off the desert. Houses were constructed of dried mud bricks. Although these bricks were inexpensive and enabled fast building, they were not extended over a long period of time.

Two plans of houses, Medinet Habu

Egyptian bases had kitchens, and most kitchens were fit with cylindrical, baked clay range for preparing. The basic cooking equipment was a two hands pottery saucepan.

Ancient house with vaulted
floors, against the northern
wall of the great
temple of Medinet Habu

The few furnishings in the ancient Egyptian home were easy in design, although the craftsmanship varied. The most common set up of piece of furniture was a low stool, used by all Egyptians admitting the pharaoh. These were made from wood, had leather or braided rush places, and had three or four legs. Usually the three-legged make was used for work because floors were shifting. They used tables, which were often low, for eating and good.

The Egyptian bed had a wooden shape with legs often shaped like the legs of animals; a woven rush mat served as "springs." At one end of the bed was a foot-board; at the different end, a wooden or stone headrest, which was equal to our rest.

Lamps were old to light the house after dark. They were, for the most part, simple pottery or stone bowls containing oil and a taper. The ancient Egyptians did not have closets as we have in modern houses. They practiced wooden boxfuls or baskets to store their home goods. Their food was laid in in wheel-made pottery.

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Dress in Ancient Egypt

The clothing of women and
men of several social
classes

The dress of the ancient Egyptians consisted not only of the clothes they bore but also of the certain costume jewelry that didst to adorn the usually plain clothes. White linen was most commonly used for clothing though wool was used quite ofttimes. Garments were covered around the body rather than tailored, and tailoring was kept to a minimum. Colored or patterned cloth was seldom used. Prior to the New Kingdom the base dress for men was a kilt, which fell just above the knee. It was made from a rectangular piece of linen covered around the body and tied at the shank with a knot or fastened with a buckle. In the New Kingdom men usually wore a short under kilt over which attended a long, heavily ruffled skirt that was knotted at the hips with a adorned sash. Besides worn was a short, wide cape dealing the upper part of the body and hanging from the shoulders.

Egyptian woman with
a sticky dress with
straps

Anticipatory to the New Kingdom, women wore simple sheath clothes coming from the breast to just above the ankle, but in the New Kingdom dresses became much more elegant. The sheath dress was dead, but only as an undergarment. A heavily pleated decorated robe was worn on top.

Children and those concerned in rigorous exercise frequently wore no clothes at totally. Both boys' and girls' heads were commonly shaved exclude for a long, braided side lock. Although the Egyptians spent much of their time barefoot, both men and women sometimes wore sandals made from papyrus, palm leaves, or leather tied by leather thongs. The basic sandal had a thong that passed between the first and second toenails and related to a bar that went crossways the instep. Sandals were always taken in the presence of a superior. An integral part of the Egyptian costume was a wig or a hairpiece attached to the natural hair. Because of the intense heat, many Egyptians shaved their heads or cut their hair very brief, although some kept their hair very long and intricately coiffed.

Any men and women worn jewelry such as earrings, bracelets, anklet, rings, and beaded necklaces. They agreed into their jewelry many minerals letting in amethyst, garnet, jasper, onyx, aquamarine, and lapis lazuli, likewise as copper, gold, and shells. Because the Egyptians were very nonrational, frequently their jewelry dominated amulets.

Cosmetics were not only an serious part of Egyptian dress but likewise a matter of personal hygienics and health. Many items related to cosmetics have been found in tombs and are illustrated in tomb pictures. Oils and creams were of vital grandness against the hot Egyptian sun and dry winds. Eye paint, both green and black, is probably the most typical of the Egyptian cosmetics. The green paint was malachite, an oxide of copper. The black paint, named kohl, was a sulfate of lead and, in the late Middle and New Kingdoms, was soot. Kohl was commonly kept in a small pot that had a flat bottom, wide rim, tiny mouth, and a flat, disk-shaped lid. Many kohl pots have been found in Egyptian tombs. To color their cheeks, the Egyptians used red green mixed with a base of fat or gum resin; ocher may have also been used as lipstick. Henna, a reddish-brown dye, was surely used to color hair and perhaps also the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and nails.

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Family in Ancient Egypt

An ancient Egyptian family

The center family was the great social unit of ancient Egypt. The father was responsible for the economic better being of the family. Upper-class men often became scriveners or priests, while lower-class men often were farmers, hunters, potters, or other craftsmen. The mother managed the household, accepting servants, and cared for the breeding of the children. Upper-class

Children stuck at home until they reached marriageable age (about twenty years for males, younger of the previous for females). Although Egyptian youngsters had toys and are occasionally represented at play, much of their time was spent setting for adulthood. For example, peasant children gone with their parents into the fields; the male offspring of crafters often served as apprentices to their fathers. Many privileged children received formal education to become a scribe. Priests in temples taught some calling youngsters, and children of the nobility sometimes received private statement from tutors or taken to be an officer in the ground forces.

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Ancient Egypt Geography

Geography of Ancient Egypt

The geography of ancient Egypt was mastered, as is nowadays, by the compounding of lack of rainfall and the Nile. The Famous Greek historian Herodotus named Egypt the "gift of the Nile", since the kingdom owed its survival to the yearly glutting of the Nile and the resulting lodging of fertile silt.

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Trade in Ancient Egypt

Trade in Ancient Egypt (New Kingdom Period)

The involves of ancient advanced societies like Egypt were not fully fulfilled by their own resourcefulness, so trade routes were got to reach distant countries. The ancient Egyptians most oftentimes visited the countries along the Mediterranean Sea and the Upper Nile River to the south because they were immediately connected to Egypt and contained materials that the Egyptians desired. At several times in their history, the ancient Egyptians set up trade paths to Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Syro-Palestine, Punt, and Nubia. Egyptian records as early as the Predynastic Period list some tokens that were worked into Egypt, taking leopard peels, giraffe tails, monkeys or baboons, cattle, ivory, ostrich plumes and eggs, and gold. Punt (whose location is variable) was a major source for incense, while Syro-Palestine provided cedar, oils and salves, and horses.
Land travel was longitudinal and dangerous because of contingent attack by nomadic peoples. Donkeys were the only transport and throng animals used by the Egyptians until horses were brought to Egypt in Dynasty XVIII (1539-1295 B.C.). Horses were valuable and used only for sitting or for pulling chariots. The domesticated camel was not enclosed in Egypt until after 500 B.C.

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The Fertility of Egypt

The Fertility soil of Egypt

If scrimped for space, Egypt was ready in her soil and in her spot. The rich alluvium, continually growing deeper and deeper, and top-dressed each year by nature's rich hand, was of an inexhaustible fertility, and bore pronto year after year a threefold harvest first a grain crop, and then two crops of grasses or esculent vegetables. The wheat sown given a hundredfold to the granger, and was gathered at harvest-time in pound-foolish abundance"as the backbone of the sea, very much,"till men "left numbering" (Gen. xli. 49). Flax and doora were largely cultivated, and enormous quantities were produced of the most organic vegetables, such as Lens culinaris, garlic, leeks, onion plants, endive, radish plants, melons, cucumbers, sugars, and the like, which formed a most heavy element in the food of the people. The vine was also grown in many comes out, as along the flanks of the hills between Thebes and Memphis, in the lavatory of the Faiyum, at Anthylla in the Mareotis at Sebennytus (immediately Semnood), and at Plisthin, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The date-palm, forming naturally from the soil in clumps, or plantations, or planted in boulevards, everywhere offered its golden flocks to the wayfarer, dropping its fruit into his lap. Wheat, however, was passim antiquity the chief ware of Egypt, which was thought the granary of the world, the refuge and imagination of all the neighbouring commonwealths in time of dearth, and on which in the later republican, and in the gentle times, Rome almost all depended for her sustenance.

If the soil was so all that could be wished, still more than advantageous was the situation. Egypt was the only country of the ancient world which had ready admission to two seas, the Northern Sea, or "Sea of the Greeks," and the Eastern Sea, or "Sea of the Arabians and the Indians." Phnicia might carry her dealings by the bad travel of caravans across 15 degrees of forsake from her cities on the Levantine seacoast to the inner break of the Persian Gulf, and thus get a share in the trade of the East at a vast expenditure of time and trouble. Assyria and Babylonia might for a time, when at the height of their dominion, obtain a temporary take on lands which were not their individual, and boast that they spread from the "sea of the early" to "that of the setting sun" from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea; but Egypt, at all times and under all settings, commands by her geographic position an admission both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea, where of nothing can strip her. Suez must invariably be hers, for the Isthmus is her natural bounds, and her water-system has been connected with the head of the Arabian Gulf for more than 3000 years; and, in the absence of any severe State in Arabia or Abyssinia, the entire western coast of the Red Sea falls course under her influence with its great roads and harbours. Thus Egypt had two great releases for her yields, and two great inlets by which she taken the productions of other states. Her ships could issue from the Nilotic ports and trade with Phnicia, or Carthage, or Italy, or Greece, changing her corn and wine and glass and furniture and works in metallurgy for Etruscan vessels, or Grecian statues, or purple Tynan robes, or tin brought by Carthaginian merchant ships from the Scilly islands and from Cornwall; or they could part from Heroopolis, or Myos Hormus, or some port cold to the southeastern, and pass by way of the Red Sea to the spice-region of "Araby the Blest," or to the Abyssinian timber-region, or to the shores of Zanzibar and Mozambique, or heavy Arabia to Teredon on the Persian Gulf, or maybe to Ceylon or India. The products of the distant east, even of "far Cathay," certainly flowed into the land, for they have been dug out of the ancient tombs; but whether they were obtained by direct or by alternate commerce must be admitted to be open.

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The Strategic Geographical Location of Egypt

Egypt was the only country of the ancient world which had make admittance to two great seas, the Northern Sea, or "Med. Sea," and the Eastern Sea, or "Red Sea." Phnicia might carry her dealings by the pretty travel of vans across fifteen points of desert from her cities on the Levantine coast to the inner niche of the Persian Gulf, and thus get a part in the trade of the East at a vast expenditure of time and bother. Assyria and Babylonia might for a time, when at the height of their dominion, find a temporary hold on lands which were not their own, and gas that they stretched from the "sea of the rising" to "that of the doing sun"from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean; but Egypt, at whole times and under all lots, commands by her true position an admission both to the Mediterranean Sea and to the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea, whereof nothing can strip her. Suez must incessantly be hers, for the Band is her natural edge, and her water-system has been affiliated with the head of the Arabian Gulf for more than 3000 years; and, in the absence of any strong State in Arabia or Abyssinia, the entire western seashore of the Red Sea falls naturally under her mold with its great roadsteads and shields. Thus Egypt had two great releases for her outputs, and two great intakes by which she received the productions of other countries. Her ships could cut from the ports of the Nile and trade with Phnicia, or Carthage, or Italy, or Greece, exchanging her corn and wine and glass and furniture and works in metallurgy for Etruscan vases, or Grecian statues, or purple Tynan robes, or tin taken by Carthaginian bottoms from the Scilly islands and from Cornwall; or they could part from Heroopolis, or Myos Hormus, or some port further to the southward, and run by way of the Red Sea to the spice-region of "Araby the Blest," or to the Abyssinian timber-region, or to the shorings of Zanzibar and Mozambique countries, or round Arabia to Teredon on the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf), or peradventure to Ceylon or India. The products of the further east, even of "far Cathay," certainly fed into the land, for they have been dug out of the ancient tombs; but whether they were got by direct or by indirect commerce must be held to be doubtful.

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The High Desert

The High Desert (Eastern Desert)

The fourth geographic feature was the high desert, a barren area that was crossed only by trade caravans or organized groups searching for stone and unstructured resources, such as calcite, gold, copper, amethyst, carnelian, and diorite. Individual oases excavated in the high desert were cultivated to grow valuable crops like grapes and dates. These areas were essential links in trade with more last areas and were as well used as properties to house exiled captives.

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The Low Desert

The Low Desert

The Nile and the Western and Eastern Desert

The third geographic feature was a strip of higher land, located on either side of the floodplain, which was not laced by the River Nile. This was the low desert, a zone of little flora. It was a place where men hunted animals such as antelope, hares, and lions. Because the broken desert was dry and could not be farmed, the Egyptians settled their cemeteries there. Through the Predynastic Period (4500-3100 B.C.), they buried the passed straight in the sands, which saved their bodies naturally. Start with the Early Dynastic Period (3100-2750 B.C.), however, the Egyptians began to wrap the deceased in tombs, losing the preservative rewards of the desert sand. Because they thought the body had to be canned to assure an afterlife, they were drawn to develop an artificial technique of preserving the body, a outgrowth we call mummification.

Egypt, the Gift of the Nile

Then, the true Egypt be the tract that we have discovered the Nile valley, with the Faiyum and the Delta the lily stalk, the bud, and the flower we can well see how it came to be said of old, that "Egypt was the gift of the river." Not that the lively Greek, who first used the construction, divined precisely the scientific truth of the matter. The figure of Herodotus saw Africa, to begin with, doubly severed from Asia by two parallel fjords, one running inland northwards from the Indian Ocean, as the Red Sea does to this day, and the other understanding inland souths from the Mediterranean Sea to an equal or greater distance! The Nile, he said, pouring itself into this latter fjord, had by degrees filled it up, and had then gone on and by further deposits turned into land a great piece of the "sea of the Greeks," as was broad from the expulsion of the shore of the Delta beyond the general coast of Africa eastward and western; and, he brought, "I am sure, for my personal part, that if the Nile should please to amuse his waters from their show bed to the Red Sea, he would fill it up and turn it into strong land in the space of 20000 years, or perchance in half that time for he is a mighty river and a most energetic one." Here, in this last expression, he is exhaustively right, though the method of the Nile's energy has been other than he reckoned. The Nile, working from its extended sources in the tropical regions, has gradually trumped itself out a deep bed in the sand and rock of the desert, which must have originally great across the whole of northern Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Having outdone itself out this bed to a depth, in places, of three hundred feet from the desert level, it has then proceeded partially to fill it up with its own deposits. Occupying, when it is at its height, the entire bed, and presenting at that time the visual aspect of a vast lake, or successiveness of lakes, it deposes every day a part of sediment over the whole space which it continues: then, cutting gradually, it leaves at the base of the hills, on both sides, or at any rate on one, a strip of land fresh dressed with mud, which gets wider daily as the waters still retire, until yards grow into furlongs, and furlongs into mis, and at last the withered stream is content with a close channel a few hundred yards in width, and results the rest of its bed to the embraces of sun and air, and, if he so wills, to the industry of man. The land thus left open is Egypt is the temporarily nude bed of the Nile, which it tames and recovers during a portion of each year, when Egypt goes away from view, save where human labour has by heaps and embankments worked artificial islands that put up their heads above the blow of waters, for the nearly part crowned with constructions.

There is one elision to this broad and wide statement. The Faiyum is no part of the natural bed of the Nile, and has not been trumped out by its energy. It is a natural imprint in the western desert, separated off from the Nile valley by a wind of limestone hills from 200 to 500 feet in height, and, separated from the natural process of man, would have been arid, treeless, and waterless. Still, it hails from the Nile all its value, all its magnificence, all its fertility. Human energy at some unlikely period inserted into the low tract through an artificial channel from the Nile, cut in some places through the rock, the life-giving fluid; and this fluid, bearing the idolized Nile sediment, has sufficed to spread fertility over the entire neighborhood, and to make the desert bloom like a garden.

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