Transcript Egypt: Pyramids on the Nile

Egypt: Pyramids on the Nile
The Geography of Egypt
Nile River, 4,100 miles long,
longest in the world
Yearly flooding
July rains in east Africa
Watered crops using irrigation
Worshipped as a god
Regular as clock work
Desert shut out invaders
Divided into two kingdoms
Pharaohs Rule as Gods
Different from Mesopotamia
Kings were not representatives for gods, they were
gods
Theocracy
Government which is based on religious authority
Pharaoh called the sun, controlled the Nile, and helped
the crops to grow
Egyptian Culture
Approached life more confidently than Mesopotamia
Polytheistic
Gods were Re, the sun god
Osiris, god of the dead
Anubis, god and guide of the underworld
Mummification
Involved drying out the body to preserve it from decay
Tombs were built and filled to aid an individual on the
way to the afterlife
Preparation for Underworld
Pyramid
Egyptian Society
Egyptian Art
Egypt: The Art of Immortality
Egyptian society was obsessed with immortality
Art remained constant for 3,000 years
Overriding concern was the afterlife
Colossal architecture was built to surround the
pharaoh's spirit
Most of what we know comes from these tombs
Palette of King Narmer, 3000 BC
Palette of King Narmer
It records the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
The Palatte reflects the Egyptians belief that the creation
of the “Kingdom of the Two Lands” was a single great
event
Became a blueprint for figure representation for the next
3000 years
Intertwined necks of the animals may be another
reference to Egypt’s unification
Egyptian Statues
Statues were intended to last for eternity
Made of hard substances
Granite and diorite
Whether standing of sitting they had few projecting
parts
The pose was always frontal and bisymmetrical with
arms close to the torso
Human anatomy was usually at its best an
approximation
Khafre from Gizeh, 2500 BC
Khafre
Statues filled an important function in Egyptian tombs
Images of the deceased served as vessels for the ka
This statue found by the Sphinx
Made of diorite - hard stone
Khafre is idealized - shown as well developed, flawless
body, ideal proportions
The purpose is to proclaim godlike nature of Egyptian
kingship
King Tut
Akhenaten
Akhenaten and King Tut
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