Ancient EgyptiansI. Geography

1. Nile River valley

2. Warm Climate

-Many Crops

-Livestock

3. Surrounded by desert

-Protection from invaders

II. A United Egypt

1. King Menes 3,000 BC

a. United Upper and Lower Egypt

b. Capital at Memphis

c. Created a Dynasty

-rule by family

-generation after generation

III. The Pharaohs

1. Absolute power

2. Own all property

3. Make all decisions

4. Maintain armies

5. Usually men

a. Thatmose III

b. Ramses II

c. Hatshepsut

-1st woman pharaoh

IV. Egyptian Religion

Re- Sun God

Osiris- God of the dead (after-world)

Isis- Wife of Osiris

Set- Osiris’ evil brother

Ka- a person’s eternal soul

1. Power of Priests

a. Direct worship

b. Keep gods happy

-happy gods = prosperous harvest

-unhappy gods = famine

Amon-Re & Tut-Ankh-Amon

Egyptian god who represented the dead Pharaoh. He was the god of dying and resurrecting nature, the judge of the dead, and was represented as a mummy. Product of a virgin birth.

As a winged goddess she may represent the wind. In the Osiris legend there are references to Isis wailing and moaning like the wind. She is also continually travelling up and down the land in search of her lost husband. Upon finding Osiris' body, she takes the shape of one of the swiftest birds, a kite. Flapping and darting above his dead body she wails in mourning. She restores life to Osiris by flapping her wings and filling his mouth and nose with air. Isis was a great enchantress

God of storms, chaos and the desert; depicted as a man with the head of a (presently) unknown animal, with an elongated snout and upright, rectangular ears

V. The Pyramids

1. Houses for mummies

c. Dead Pharaohs

2. Built by 1000s of workers

3. Filled with valued objects

a. Gold

b. Food

c. Pets

d. “After-world needs”

4. Painted walls

a. scenes of Pharaoh’s life

5. Tutankhamen (King Tut)

a. Revealed new info about

Pyramids and Pharaohs

Accompanying the Pyramids of Giza is, the Sphinx, a gigantic figure of a lion with the head of a pharaoh.

Inside pyramids such as this one for King Pepi I, passageways lead to a main burial chamber. Designs varied for each pyramid.

VI. Cultural and Scientific Achievements

1. System of writing

a. Hieroglyphics

2. Papyrus

a. paper

3. Modern Calendar

4. Mathematics

5. Medicine

In this calendar the 12 signs of the Zodiac are in the center, along with people and animals.  Supporting the zodiac is the god Horus (8 times) and 4 female goddesses.   Horus represents the 4 directions, the goddess represent the 4 seasons.  The months are represented by the adding the goddesses and Horus, for a total of twelve.   If we add the total number of hands it is 24, or the hours in the day.  If we take the number of fingers(10) and multiply it by 12 (8 Horus, 4 goddesses) the answer is 120.  Dividing 120 by 2 we get 60 - 60 for the 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 for the 60 seconds in a minute.   The hieroglyphics on the side tell the story.