Egypt!

1. Egypt! Ivy Phillips

2. The Nile • The Nile is 4,132 miles long- the longest river in the world. • It brings life to Egypt, which is quite dry and barren. • For the Ancient Egyptians, the Nile was a blessing because it gave them a source of water. They no longer had to wander around looking for water because they had to world’s largest river at their disposal.

3. Egyptian Religion • The ancient Egyptians were very polytheistic. They had over 2,000 gods to choose from! • Some of their main gods were Ra, Osiris, Amon-Ra. • The people in Egypt believed that the Pharaoh was the human form of a god, so naturally he was the head of all Egypt. After him were the Priests. • The most important aspect of Egyptian Religion is death. Everyone started getting ready for their descent into the Underworld because it was the only place that was better than life on Earth.

4. Pharaohs • Originally Egypt was split in two halves: Upper and Lower Egypt. There were two Pharaohs during this time. King Menes put an end to this separation when he took over Lower Egypt. • When we think of Pharaohs we automatically think of pyramids. Pyramids were built to serve as a giant tomb for the Pharaoh so he could have a place to live in the afterlife. • Some of the most famous Pharaohs were Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut, Sneferu, and Khufu.

5. Hieroglyphics • Many people in Ancient Egypt did not know how to write or even understand Hieroglyphics. In fact, they were only used for special celebrations. • What the mundane people used to write with was Hieroglyphs. These were simpler, and easier for the average Egyptian to write. • However, average people could not read very well or at all. This was left to the scribes. Without the scribes, many of the scrolls found today, would not have been written.

6. Pyramids • To get the Pharaoh ready for the Afterlife, pyramids were made to serve as a house for the Pharaoh’s spirit. • The first Pyramids weren’t very advanced until Djoser designed the first extravagant step pyramid. It was a big step in pyramid architecture. • Later, King Sneferu had three different pyramids built for him. Two of these were failures, but the third was a success. • Sneferu’s son, Khufu, carried on his father’s legacy and had The Great Pyramid built. It is the most popular pyramid in Egypt. • Pharaohs were not the only people who could have pyramids. Queens had pyramids, too (although they were considerable smaller).

7. Sphinx • Khufu’s Great Pyramid was so large that it needed something to guard it. The Sphinx was built near it to protect the tomb. • The Sphinx is a giant limestone statue of a lion with the head of a Pharaoh. • The Sphinx is a symbol of power, so it makes sense that different Pharaohs had their face carved on the face of the Sphinxes.

8. Mummies! • In Ancient Egypt people believed that your body must be mummified in order for you to go to the Afterlife. • Priests/doctors would remove the organs from a dead person’s body and carefully seal them inside jars (yuk!). • The mummy was then put inside a coffin or sarcophagus and buried.

9. Pictures Used… • http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1556/new-hope-on-the-nile • http://www.mylot.com/w/photokeywords/egyptian+pyramids.aspx • http://naturalknowledge247.wordpress.com/2012/02/ • http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/rf-k-egyptian-mummy.htm • http://m.eb.com/assembly/115046 • All Clip Art Images courtesy of Word Clip Art.

10. Website Used for Information http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215618/home.htm