15 Sep 2015
School
Department
Course
Professor
Sept. 3: Ancient Egypt – an Overview
Geography of Egypt: importance of the Nile
•Nile was basis for existence
•Kemet (black – fertile soil) vs. Deshret (dry red desert)
•Cycle of Nile: Flooding Growing Drought
•Upper Egypt vs. Lower (Nile Delta)
-King embodies duality
• Hieroglyph for unification
-Large windpipe with double lung at bottom
-Horus, papyrus for Lower
-Seth, lily for Upper
•Causeways connect land of dead and living
-Built with mud from land of living to extend
fertile soil and life
•Barques: divine boats for gods to visit each
other during festivals
•Creation myth and cosmogony: Atum (sun god) emerges from watery soup (Nu) and
mixes with water to birth next gen of gods
•Multiple gods representing certain phenomena and representing aspects of Egyptian life
•Kingship has divine essence – lives on when king dies, king embodies principle
•Temple become mini cosmos, strong fortress to keep out evil and chaos
-Vegetal columns – natural world turned into stone, signifies abundance of water
environment
•Ma’at = personification of division in Egypt, feather used to weigh heart of dead, often
shown with pharaoh because it’s their job to maintain cosmic order
-Cultural continuity because change is dangerous to Ma’at (especially seen in
temples from different millennia)
CHRONOLOGY: know big picture
Dynasties Eras