Egypt
New and Old
Egypt
• One of the 5 cradles of civilization or
“cultural hearths”.
• Recorded history from 5000 BC
• Home of the Great Pyramids & the
Sphinx
Cairo & Nile 1
The
Modern-day
Nile runs Cairo,
through
Egypt
Cairo
Cairo & Nile 2
Cairo & Nile 3
Cairo & hajib
Cairo street with
Muslim woman
wearing a “hajib”.
Map of Ancient Egypt & the Nile
The Nile
The Nile
Which direction does it flow?
…to the north…towards the Mediterranean Sea.
Why was it important to the ancient Egyptians?
1. Earliest gathering place of nomads.
2. Source of fresh water for all their basic needs.
3. Source of “alluvial soil” for their crops.
Trivia: What was a “nilometer”?
A device to measure water flow on the Nile.
Two Nilometers used in ancient Egypt
Map of Ancient Egypt & the Nile
The Nile
What were the rulers of
Egypt called?
Pharaohs
Pharaoh is Greek for “great house” which meant
the temple and the ruler inside.
The Pharaohs:
More than 170 rulers of Egypt for over 3000 years.
Amenhotep III: Ruled for 39 years (died at age 50).
Akhenaten: Son of Amenhotep III. Told his people
only he would talk to God. Kicked out the priests.
King Tut: The boy king and son of Akhenaten.
Became pharaoh at age 8 or 9. Died at 18 or 19.
Married with 2 still-born children.
Cleopatra: The last Pharaoh: she was the famous
Queen that loved a Roman General: Mark Antony (he
killed himself when he heard (falsely) that Cleopatra
was dead. Cleopatra then killed herself by a snake
bite).
Khufu: (Cheops) Built the biggest pyramid.
Ramses II: The warrior-king. Became pharaoh at
age 20 and ruled for 67 years.
King Tut’s death mask
King Tut’s coffin….solid gold.
King Tut wrapped up
King Tut unwrapped
King Tut’s chair….covered with gold.
Shows a picture of him and his wife.
…in
pyramid!
Where
did a
they
find King Tut?
There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt…
….but only a few are famous.
Step Pyramid
1
The “Step” pyramid was
the first of all the pyramids.
Have you seen something
like this before?
The Aztecs:
Temple of the Moon
…In Mexico!!
Maidum
Maidum
Pyramid 2
Pyramid 2
The Maidum pyramid was the 2nd pyramid built.
This picture only shows a portion since the
bottom is covered with tons of sand.
Bent Pyramid 3
PayThe
attention
“Bent” to
Pyramid
the sides…they
was the 3rd
were
pyramid
orginally
built.
smooth.
Red Pyramid 4
The 1st “true” pyramid is the “Red” Pyramid.
The pyramid was made of red limestone.
Egyptologists have found the names of the work gangs on
some of the stones.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops
Cheops Pyramid 1
Cheops 2
• Built for Cheops…ruler
of Egypt in 2500 B.C. (Ruled
for only 23 years)
• 480 feet high
• 6.8 million tons of
limestone (2 million blocks)
• Originally flat with white sides!
• Built by skilled workers
as part of their “taxes”
• Construction took 80 years
• Each side faces a cardinal
direction (North, South, etc.)
• Has windows to the stars.
Giza Pyramids 5
Sphinx & Pyramid 1
Sphinx & Pyramid 2
Egyptians believed the sphinx guarded
the temple gates and the “underworld”.
Sphinx & Pyramid 3
Map of Ancient Egypt & the Nile
The Nile
AbuSimbel 1
Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel
Temple of Hathor
Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel
Map of Ancient Egypt & the Nile
The Nile
Luxor Avenue
Avenue to temple lined with Ramses II and an obelisk.
Ramses II
More Luxor ruins
More ruins at Luxor
Luxor again
They worshipped snakes!
Colossi at Hemnon
The Collosi of Memnon
• Stood in front of an ancient Egyptian temple
Ruins at Luxor
Buildings at Luxor
Notice the hieroglypics
The sun god: Ra
These ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphics couldn’t
be read prior to the early
1800’s!
Hieroglyphics
Spider
pig, spider
pig,
whatever
a
The following was found on the walls of the
tomb of Pharaoh Homeratu, near the
ancient city: Field of the Springs:
does
spider
pig
does.
Okay…how did they figure out
what all those pictures were?
Written in 196 B.C.
Written in three languages.
The Rosetta Stone
Written by the priests to
honor the pharaoh and to
proclaim all the good
things he had done
Found in 1799 by the
French while building a
fort.
Translated, primarily, by
a French scholar that
could read Greek & Coptic
The Rosetta Stone
Now it can be seen in the
British museum.
Hieroglypics
(Language of the
religion)
Rosetta Stone 2
Demotic
(Common language)
Greek
(Language of the
Rulers)
How to read hieroglyphics:
•
•
•
•
•
Hieroglyphics are pictures that equal sounds.
It is phonetic…no unnecessary letters!
It uses almost NO vowels.
Combine pictures to make words.
Water = W T R =
•
Mr. Bird = MR BRD =
Now it’s your turn!