1 / 16

The Ancient Egyptians

The Ancient Egyptians. Part I 7,000 to 3,100 BCE. The Nile River, North Africa. The Nile is the longest river in the world and runs South to North, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. The Gift of the Nile. Two major Neolithic civilizations before 7000 BCE Lower Egypt in the North

mufutau-bell
Download Presentation

The Ancient Egyptians

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Ancient Egyptians Part I 7,000 to 3,100 BCE

  2. The Nile River, North Africa The Nile is the longest river in the world and runs South to North, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea

  3. The Gift of the Nile Two major Neolithic civilizations before 7000 BCE Lower Egypt in the North Agricultural Communities Used stone tools Made Ivory and bone objects (art) Made hand-built pottery Each had own, local gods confined to a particular district, or nome Upper Egypt in the South Upper Egypt in the South along the Nile River

  4. Flooding and Rebirth:The central Theme to Egyptian Religion • Each year, the Nile would flood, soaking the earth along the river banks with rich, black silt from the swollen river, creating incredibly fertile soil. • The Ancient Egyptians became dependent on this flood, as well as the sunny, cloudless sky. • When these two natural events changed or failed to occur, the Egyptians turned to their gods for help. • “Every natural phenomenon, especially the daily return of the sun and the annual flood of the Nile, seemed a continual rebirth”

  5. Religion • Polytheists • Gods manifest in every aspect of nature • Influenced human lives and ordered the universe • They could appear in human or animal form • They could appear in various combinations of human and animal forms

  6. Egyptian Gods

  7. Religion (cont.) • Gods had “spheres of influence” that could intersect or overlap, producing many compound deities. • Single gods could have multiple aspects • Horus-the-child: the potential power of a child • Horus-in-the-horizon: the power or day break or sunset • Like most polytheists, they incorporated new deities from other cultures into their own, creating new combinations of gods with a combination of powers.

  8. Death and the Afterlife • Death was not the end but the transition to a similar existence on another plane • Many personal items were also placed along side of the deceased to ensure a fortuitous afterlife • Three parts to the soul: • the ka, akh, and ba • The ka, or soul, was said to be able to enter into the afterlife either through his/ her preserved body or an image of the deceased • The akh was resided in the heavens • The ba moved freely in and out of the body, depicted as a bird with a human head • Many of the art we see is Funerary Art found along with the preserved human remains due to the dry, desert climate

  9. King Tut

  10. The Boy King

  11. Pharaohs • After the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in 3,100 BCE, Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs, or Kings. • Absolute rule • Art was used as political propaganda, promoting the pharaoh as the absolute ruler of the people deemed fit to rule by the devine right of the gods

  12. The Egyptian Concept of Kingship • A divine state • Kings mediated between their people and the gods • The pharaohs themselves were considered gods • Insestuous marriages to keep the royal liniage as tighly nit as possible • to set the royal family apart from their people so that they could maintain power • to be more like the gods • political reasons • Usually only for men (there are a few exceptions)

  13. King Menes’ Reign • First king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt “For thousands of years under his rule, Egypt had many periods of durable power, when artists worked for the state and its rulers within the confines of a political and religious hierarchy” (Art Across Time, p.82)

  14. Palette of Narmer3100 BCE Upper Egypt Side white crown Lower Egypt Side red crown

  15. Upper Egypt Thought to be King Menes, the first pharaoh of Egypt wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt Image of power Low relief Egyptian Convention: Conceptual view of human figure Side view of head with one eye Both shoulders in view One foot in front of the other System of hierarchical proportions King largest, enemy lower, slave smaller holding king’s shoes (on holy ground) Gods always watching (Horus)

  16. Lower Egypt Top Register: 1) King Menes in red crown, again, larger than everyone else; ten decapitated bodies of his enemies lay with their heads between their legs meant to be seen as from above Central Register:2) two felines (serpapards) frame an indented circle meant for mixing eye makeup Lower Register:3) a bull (Menes) subdues another fallen enemy before architectural symbols

More Related