...Egypt comes to life in this four-part miniseries, Egypt Beyond the Pyramids. Within the walls of recently excavated temples and tombs lie secrets that will challenge current ideas about ancient Egypt. Discoveries—from the enormous burial tomb called KV5 to the sacred temples of Karnak—show how ancient Egyptians lived, worked, worshipped, and honored their dead. To provide a deeper understanding of Egypt’s past, head archaeologist Dr. Kent Weeks, along with other Egyptologists, leads viewers into ancient temples and tombs—including the resting place of Pharaoh Ramesses II’s lost children—some recorded on film for the first time. Epic in scope, Egypt Beyond the Pyramids demonstrates that as archaeologists uncover more about the past, their discoveries yield more questions than answers. Curriculum Links Egypt Beyond the Pyramids is appropriate for middle and high school classes in world history, ancient history, and art history. National History Standards Egypt Beyond the Pyramids fulfills the following National Standards for History: Historical Thinking 1 (Chronological Thinking), 2 (Historical Comprehension), 3 (Historical Analysis and Interpretation), 4 (Historical Research Capabilities), World History, Era 2. EGYPT BEYOND THE PYRAMIDS THE HISTORY CHANNEL CLASSROOM PRESENTS EGYPT HOUR 1: MANSIONS OF THE SPIRITS Egypt Beyond the Pyramids: Mansions of the Spirits takes the viewer on an exploration of the magnificent temple of Karnak, home to the Egyptian god Amun; the...
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...2011 Egyptian Religion Religion is defined by many people as a belief in a “greater power” as well as personal morals. Most religions usually include a system of values as well as various practices. Egyptian religion included their ancient gods, the mythology of the gods, and other parts of their religion. For example their religion explained and included creation, death and the afterlife, and the cults that worshiped the gods. In Egypt, the king or pharaoh played a very important part in their religion and what the gods expected of the people also. Egyptian religion consisted of many myths and rituals too. Religion was a very influential part of Ancient Egyptian culture and shaped their ancient civilization of the Nile greatly. Like most other cultures, the ancient Egyptians wanted to find the meaning for their existence, but there were also other influences on their religion, such as the need to justify kingship, along with many others. Egyptians have numerous Gods in there culture and they feel that the Gods walk among them, invisibly on Earth. Ra is the most central God of the Egyptian gods. Known as the sun god, Ra was the most important element of life in ancient Egypt and represented light, warmth, and growth. Ra embodies the Egyptian beliefs of order and truth, and he signifies the cycle of birth, life and death. Of all the ancient Egyptian Gods Anubis is frequently the one referred to as the gatekeeper of the underworld and god of death. The Egyptian goddess...
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...of dancing, spiritual beliefs, and socializing. A lot of the Egyptians artwork had people celebrating something or the Sphinx, which shows they believe in afterlife. They believed death was a temporary interruption, rather than complete cessation of life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means like piety to the gods, preservation of the physical form through Mummification, and the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment. Also their artwork is colorful and bright. Egyptians also believed that being mummified was the only way to have an afterlife. Only if the corpse had been properly embalmed and entombed in a mastaba, could the dead live again in the Fields of Yalu a nd accompany the Sun on its daily ride. Egyptians believed in so much more than the life they were living, they felt as though they had something to look forward to after death so they did not fear it. I think the Egyptians had a very optimistic view of life, because when you looked at all the art worked of the Egyptians all it seemed to be describing is war, but just that they did had showed dancing and also religious activity. One thing about the Egyptians is that they always have a positive mind toward all their messages that they had deliver. But to my view of point is that it had a lot to do with how they looked at their life, because they surly had believed in an afterlife that seem to be much better. Also with the Egyptians their lives are much better than the Mesopotamia, because the...
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...The Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. The Egyptians saw life as a rehearsal for the perfect afterlife. In order to pass into the perfect afterlife, you needed to prepare for death. Egyptians prepared for the afterlife by embalmed the body after the person was deceased. The Egyptians mummified their dead because Ka, the essence of the person, needed a home in the afterlife. Ka lives on after death and passes into the perfect afterlife if the proper preparations were made before death. One key element needed in order to protect Ka was the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead depicts the final judgment made by Osiris and his wife Isis, and the Book of the Dead also includes prayers that prepared the spirit for the final judgment....
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...Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, which means the worship of many deities, except for during the reign of Akenaton. During the reign of Akenaton, more than 3,000 years of development, Egyptian religion underwent significant changes of emphasis and practice, but in all periods religion had a clear consistency in character and style. The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses. Some, such as Amun, Isis, Osiris, and Horus, were worshipped throughout the whole country, while others had only a local following. There were two essential foci of public religion: the king and the gods. Both are among the most characteristic features of Egyptian civilization. The king had a unique status between humanity and the gods, partook in the world of the gods, and constructed great, religiously motivated funerary monuments for his afterlife. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" contains the major ideas and beliefs in the ancient Egyptian religion. Because their religion stressed an afterlife, Egyptians devoted much time and wealth to preparing for survival in the next world. Tombs were placed if possible in the desert. Vast resources were expended on creating prestigious burial places for absolute rulers or wealthy officials. Tombs contained elaborate grave goods (mostly plundered soon after deposition), representations of “daily life,” or less commonly of religious subjects, and some texts that were intended to help the deceased attain...
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...relied on the gods to explain natural phenomena and why things in the world, were the way they were. Both equally depended on the gods' good intentions to acquire what they desired. In their individual religions, they both believed that there was a hierarchy between the gods, with a central core or a primary faction of gods and goddess that controlled and ruled everything- including humans and lower gods alike. In Egyptian mythology, entities were not just objects; they were much more they represented gods. The sun was the Falcon god Ra, the Nile River was the god Hapy, and the air was the god Shu. Furthermore, in Greek mythology, entities were not just simple objects either: lightning represented the wrath of Zeus, and the moon represented the beauty of the goddess Artemis, with the Sun representing healing from her twin brother Apollo. In each society, their gods ruled over some form of dominion- either physical or non-physical. Regarding the darkest dominion the underworld, where the dead resides, the god Hades is ruler to the Greeks. However, to Egyptians, Anubis is the god of the dead. Simultaneously, both have their own creation story of the world or how the gods became the way, they are. In...
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...is an inevitable part of life for all human beings. No matter the time period, culture, or geographic location, all individuals possess opinions, beliefs, and rituals involving this unifying but tragic fate of all human beings. Differences aside throughout history, special attention has been paid to those who experience death. Most commonly, a proper burial that is in accordance with the individual’s time period, culture, and beliefs is given by those close to the deceased. Often ornate monuments are left behind at the time of burial to honor the individual or house their remains, sometimes both. As a consequence, many civilizations throughout history have their own distinctive pieces of art spawned by death in their society. Examination of funerary art from various ancient civilizations tells much about the group it belongs to by providing insight about their culture as well as their traditions and beliefs associated with death. The majority of the monuments that the ancient Egyptians left behind were associated with death. The purpose of these monuments was to ensure safety and happiness in the next life. The construction of the Stepped Pyramid and mortuary precinct of Djoser reflects just that. It is one of the oldest stone structures in Egypt and the first of many grandiose royal tombs to come. The Egyptians believed that one’s ka, a life force accompanying a person from birth, could inhabit the deceased’s corpse and live on forever. The Egyptian belief in immortality and...
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...Nature served as an explanation for forces occurring after death. Through being able to observe the characteristics of nature around them they knew to be real, like the sun cycles and river flows, Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians accredited the environmental patterns to patterns happening in the afterlife. Thus, nature served as a backbone and an outline through which afterlife myths were constructed. In both lands, the journey of death was a supernatural journey consisting of crossing a river, with the help of cosmology, to an unknown place. 248: O spirits who are in the waters Take heed of the lake You will purify yourself in the celestial waters Follow behind your sun… with Re united in darkness 249: And you will rise in the horizon…where...
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...Egypt? Introduction: Our research paper will be based on the racial project in Egypt, and how people are acting upon this racial project without even realizing it. A lot of people don’t usually realize when and how they are being racist against an Egyptian person who is considered one of their own. Egyptians tend to think they are the nicest and least racists of all people around the world, but after conducting our research we will begin to discover whether or not this is the case. After conducting research and observations, we came across the fact that the Egyptian people differentiate each other under the categories of religion. There are only two types of religions identified by the Egyptian government and are written in ID cards, those two religions are Islam and Christianity. Even though, there are some Egyptians who believe in other types of religions, the government does not recognize these religions, so they cannot be identified with what they believe in. So, what happens is that they are forced to be identified as either a Muslim or a Christian in their ID’s whether they believe in either form of religion because the Egyptian government and its people base religion as one of the main pillars of society and life and refuse to accept other forms found in Egypt such as Judaism, Baha’i, Atheism and Agnosticism. The question here lies within the context of the people and the government. Why would the government and its people for that matter feel that they can...
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...Many of the great works of ancient Egypt depicts regular and detailed depictions of human beings and the nature. Moreover, due to the highly religious nature of ancient Egyptian civilization, Egyptian artists have depicted gods, goddesses, and Pharaohs. The function was to describe their divine nature. Ancient Egyptian art is characterized by the idea of order. Symbolism and the use of simple geometry played an important role in establishing sense of order. Nonetheless, many Egyptian arts were not meant to be seen and were hidden from the commoners. For instance, the magnificent treasures of Tutankhamun were not to be seen by people. The first dwellers of the Nile Valley started making engraved drawings on the steep high faces of rocks, in the early eighth millennium BC .They were believed to be a manner of recording data. The depiction of the essential day today activities of their lives, like wild games, hunting scenes, river boating and domesticating animals were among the drawings. The art of the Predynastic period has endured in the form of carved stone , ivory grave goods, pottery vessels, which were placed near the dead body in burial cavities. Figures of living beings dedicated in fulfillment of a vow, were often female statuettes made of pottery and ivory. They may have related to early fertility followers of religious beliefs, as they amplified sexual features. Some of the painted scenes on pottery vessels show the prehistoric rock-carvings and styles and preoccupations...
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...cultures can be difficult when there is not a lot of documentation about daily events and actions, as these two aspects of life are the ones that tell us most about the needs and beliefs of a culture. Learning about the needs and beliefs of ancient Egyptian culture brings up these barriers. In order to get an idea of the events and actions that pertained to the needs and beliefs of ancient Egyptians, we can look at certain physical artifacts from the time. Art and everyday objects can explain a lot about the daily events and actions of ancient Egyptians. However, these objects cannot give a thorough explanation about aspects of the culture on their own. In order to make the most out of the interpretation of ancient artifacts, they must be compared to similar artifacts from a culture that is known by the individual conducting the comparison. Finding the similarities and differences between the objects’ appearance and usage can lead to conclusions about the culture as a whole. One aspect of Egyptian culture that can be learned about and analyzed through certain artifacts is the depiction of women, and how women were viewed by other members of ancient Egyptian society. The way women are depicted in art during the times of ancient Egypt, can help show how they perceived in Egyptian culture. In order to gage this perception two similar representations of women from different cultures (one from ancient Egyptian society, and one from Western society that most are familiar with) must...
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...Art History October 07, 2012 Art of Ancient Egypt – Chapter 03 The antiquity and continuity of Egyptian civilization were legendary, the period of roughly three thousand years during which Egyptian architecture, painting, and sculpture remained essentially the same. The main purpose of Egyptian art was to serve the needs of the royalty, especially the king and his retainers, both in this life and the next. Egyptian art reflected an idealized world, the ideal of the human figure developed early among the Egyptians, with body parts sized according to a set of standard proportions (Hartt 72). The poses of these figures are rigid, both feet planted firmly on the ground, with rigid knees, and the left leg placed slightly in front of the other. Egyptian art also incorporated certain fictions in order to express a larger truth, as an example, the beautifully shape of the pharaohs will mostly show the image of the ideal leader of Egypt, even if he/she is not exactly like that in reality, the message that the sculpture will pass is the power and magnificence. The great age of mature ancient Egyptian civilization can be divided into three periods: Old Kingdom - in this time period the Sphinx and Great Pyramid at Giza were built; the royal statues emphasize the majesty and divinity of the pharaoh. A curious detail about the colors used in sculptures is that usually to differ male from female, the artisans would utilize brown(men) and yellow(women), emphasizing that men were mostly...
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...changes that occurred around eight thousands B.C, desiccation swallowed large, prolific lands of Egypt, structuring the Sahara and forcing the living tribal groups to leave and seek for survival. Eventually, they settled along the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea down to the Nile River and around its banks around three thousands B.C. The stability that ancient Egyptians found after years of unsettlement provided them the ability to structure an enormous, civilized empire that extended for long periods of time. Egypt began gaining supremacy and power. It reached its height in almost all aspects of life; culturally, educationally, religiously, spiritually, medically, and Leisurely. The main purpose of my paper is to demonstrate the significant role of music in the ancient Egyptian civilization, musician's social organization, gender roles in musical performances, and the ancient musical instruments that were invented and are used until nowadays....
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...the Nile River. Today, as in the ancient period, most of the country’s population is concentrated along the river, fully 20% of it around Cairo. Modern Egyptian society is identified not with the ancient civilization but with the Arab culture is overwhelmingly identified with Islam, the religion followed by 90% of Egypt’s population (Library). Much about women’s position in modern Egypt can be traced to a famous verse of the Koran: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because the support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband’s) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all) (Koran 4.34) Islam is strongly implicated in the generally inferior and subordinate social position of women. Particularly among the rural and lower socioeconomic classes – largely illiterate – an ethos of patriarchy predicated of Islamic law, or the sharia, has long been standard custom and practice. Over the course of the 20th century Egyptian women achieved education and status as working professionals and by 1982 women comprised 14% of all workers in Egypt (Library). There is also a history...
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...The artwork that was the product of the remarkable Ancient Egyptian culture was as beautiful as it was powerful. As we delve into the history of the Egyptian paintings and relief sculptures we begin to discover that there are many different styles commonly used. Some of the characteristics shown were a twisted perspective, frontalism, and a twisted poses these representations were very important to the Egyptian culture. Ancient Egypt lasted from about 3000 B.C. to about 1000 B.C. Art symbolized Egyptian beliefs and daily life. Today in western culture, we generally consider art a form of self-expression. For the ancient Egyptians however, it was mostly religious. The Egyptians took art very serious and strict. It followed very specific rules. Egyptians believed that imperfect art (art that did not adhere to the strict rules) upset the gods. When examining two-dimensional ancient Egyptian are, such as paintings and relief sculptures, it is very important not to make interpretations about what is depicted. It requires some background knowledge in order for correct interpretation. It is important to keep in mind the actual purpose of Egyptian art and how they kept their style so consistent. The cannon was a standardized set of rules that ancient Egyptian artist used in proportioning art work. It was developed during the Old Kingdom. It was used thought Pharaonic Egypt. The canon law, to which Egyptian artist were mandated to regularize dimensions and scale, was followed. According...
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