Transcript Chapter 2, Section 2

Chapter 2, Section 2
Egypt’s
Old
Kingdom
Old Kingdom Rulers
• Old Kingdom lasted from 2600 BC to 2300 BC.
• The Egyptian kings, pharaohs, lived with their
families in grand palaces.
• The pharaoh was an all-powerful ruler who
guided Egypt’s every activity.
Old Kingdom Rulers
• Why did Egyptians willingly serve the
pharaoh?
–They believed the unity of the kingdom
depended on a strong leader
–They considered the pharaoh to be the
son of Re, the Egyptian sun god
Old Kingdom Rulers
• Whenever he appeared in public,
people played music on flutes &
cymbals.
• Bystanders long the road had to bow
down and “smell the earth.”
Old Kingdom Rulers
• Egyptians thought their pharaoh was a god on
earth who controlled Egypt’s welfare.
Egypt’s Religion
• Egyptians worshipped
many deities, or gods and
goddesses.
• The Egyptians believed
these deities controlled
the forces of nature and
human activities.
Egypt’s Religion
• Egyptian Gods:
1. Re – Sun God
2. Hapi – ruled the Nile River
3. Isis – goddess who represented the
loyal wife & mother; she ruled over the
dead with her husband Osiris
Egypt’s Religion
• The Egyptians believed that life in the in the
next world would be better than on Earth.
• For centuries, Egyptians believed that only the
pharaohs could enjoy the afterlife.
• They thought the pharaoh needed a body to
make the journey to the afterlife.
Egypt’s Religion
• To protect the pharaoh’s body, the Egyptians
used embalming.
– Priests removed the body’s organs
– Salt applied to body & body stored to dry
– Body filled with perfumes & spices & stitched up
– Body cleaned with oils & tightly wrapped with linen
– The wrapped body was now a mummy
– It was placed inside many wooden coffins
– Ready to placed in a tomb
Egypt’s Medicine
• Skilled at sewing cuts
and setting broken
bones
• Became the world’s
first specialists in
medicine
• Wrote the world’s first
medical books on
papyrus
The Pyramids
• The pyramids were
tombs for the pharaohs.
• They were the size of
city blocks.
• They also held items the
pharaoh would need for
the afterlife.
How the Pyramids Were Built
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thousands of people
Years to build
Built during the Nile flooding season
Sits on a square base facing the north
Had a number system based on 10
Created fractions
Artisans used tools to cut stone into blocks
Pulled the blocks over “paved” roads of logs
How the Pyramids Were Built
• Loaded the stones onto barges on the Nile
• Had ramps to push/pull to set the stones in
place
The Great Pyramid
• About 2540 B.C. the
grandest of
pyramids was built.
• It is 10 miles from
Cairo.
• This pyramid was
built for King Khufu
& is still standing in
Giza on the west
bank of the Nile.
The Great Pyramid
• It covers an area the size of 9 football fields.
• Contains 2 million stone blocks.