It’s Egypt!
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It’s Egypt! Ancient Egyptians believed that everything they knew and experienced was part of a cycle, from the annual flood of the Nile River that nourished their land to the daily rising and setting of the sun. Even their own lives were a cycle, which moved from birth to death to rebirth. Explore more about Egyptian life! Grade Level: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 Collection: Ancient Art Culture/Region: Africa, Egypt Subject Area: Fine Arts, History and Social Science, Visual Arts Activity Type: Art in Depth WHERE IS EGYPT? Egypt is in Africa! Egypt is a country on the continent of Africa. Ancient Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile, one of the longest rivers in the world. Ancient Egyptians called their land kemet, which meant “black land,” after the rich soil that fed Egypt’s crops. The English name Egypt comes from the Greek name for the land, Aegyptos, after an Egyptian king in Greek mythology. Modern Egyptians call their nation Misr, an Arabic word meaning “country”. Ancient Egypt was protected by natural borders including deserts to the east and west and the Mediterranean Sea to the north DAILY LIFE AND THE NILE The Nile was the source of life for the ancient Egyptians. Thousands of years ago, the Nile flooded every year. When the floodwaters decreased, they left behind rich, fertile soil for farming. This cycle of flooding, crop growth, death, and regrowth helped define many aspects of daily life, including the calendar, work, transportation, food, and religion. Today, the Aswan Dam, completed in 1970, controls the flow of water in the Nile to keep it from flooding.
Transcript of It’s Egypt!
It’s Egypt!
Ancient Egyptians believed that everything they knew andexperienced was part of a cycle, from the annual flood of theNile River that nourished their land to the daily rising andsetting of the sun. Even their own lives were a cycle, whichmoved from birth to death to rebirth. Explore more aboutEgyptian life!
Grade Level: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8Collection: Ancient ArtCulture/Region: Africa, EgyptSubject Area: Fine Arts, History and Social Science,
Visual ArtsActivity Type: Art in Depth
WHERE IS EGYPT?
Egypt is in Africa!
Egypt is a country on the continent of Africa. AncientEgyptian civilization developed along the Nile, one ofthe longest rivers in the world. Ancient Egyptianscalled their land kemet, which meant “black land,”after the rich soil that fed Egypt’s crops. The Englishname Egypt comes from the Greek name for theland, Aegyptos, after an Egyptian king in Greekmythology. Modern Egyptians call their nation Misr,an Arabic word meaning “country”. Ancient Egypt wasprotected by natural borders including deserts to theeast and west and the Mediterranean Sea to thenorth
DAILY LIFE AND THE NILE
The Nile was the source of life for the ancient Egyptians. Thousands of years ago, the Nile floodedevery year. When the floodwaters decreased, they left behind rich, fertile soil for farming. This cycleof flooding, crop growth, death, and regrowth helped define many aspects of daily life, including thecalendar, work, transportation, food, and religion.
Today, the Aswan Dam, completed in 1970, controls the flow of water in the Nile to keep it from flooding.
Farming and Food
In a land that was mostly desert, the most importantthing the Nile provided was good soil for growingcrops. The main crops were flax, papyrus, and wheat.
Flax was used to make clothing, rope, and baskets,and the papyrus plant was made into paper. Wheatprovided bread, which was an important part of theEgyptian diet.
This painting from a tomb in Deir el Medina depictsfarming in ancient Egypt.
A relief of an ancient Egyptian calendarfrom Kom Ombo, the temple of Horus andSobek.
The Calendar
Like our calendar, the ancient Egyptian calendar wasbased on a 365-day year. The Egyptian year wasdivided into 3 seasons based on the cycles of theNile.
The Three Seasons:
June–September: The Inundation or FloodingSeason
Fields were flooded; no farming could be done. Manyfarmers worked for the pharaoh (king), buildingpyramids or temples or going to war.
October-February: The Growing Season
Floodwaters receded, leaving behind rich, black soil.Seeds were planted.
March-May: The Harvesting Season
Crops were harvested and stored before the Nileflooded again.
Transportation
The Nile was like a highway for the ancient Egyptians.Boats carried people and trade goods along the greatriver. Since the Egyptians did not build many roads,most major cities were located along the banks of theNile.
Miniature objects were often placed in tombs. Thegreat number of boat models found in tombs reflectsthe Nile’s importance in Egyptian life. Many burialsincluded two or more boat models, one for sailingupstream and another for downstream.
Boat Model, 2010 - 1961 BC, wood coated withplaster, painted, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. WilliamsFund, 53.30.3
HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING
The Egyptian culture was among the first to invent writing. They used symbols called hieroglyphsfor sounds, words, and ideas. There are over 700 hieroglyphs! This system of writing is calledhieroglyphic, and the individual characters are called hieroglyphs.
Hieroglyphs represent sounds, not letters and could be written and read left to right, right to left, or top tobottom.
Statue of Seated Scribe: Sema-Tawy-Tefnakht, 664–610 BC, alabaster, AdolphD. andWilkins C. Williams Fund, 51.19.4
Scribes
Writing was a valuable skill in ancient Egypt, butnot everyone could read and write. Scribes werepeople who were specially trained in reading andwriting. They studied for many years to learnthousands of complicated hieroglyphs. Studentswould start training as young as six or sevenyears old.
This scribe is named Sematawteftnakht, and heworked for a pharaoh over 2,500 years ago. Likemany scribes in paintings and other artworks, he isshown with crossed legs and holding a papyrus scrollon his lap.
Thoth
The ancient Egyptians believed that the god Thothinvented writing. The god of writing and wisdom, hewas often shown with the head of an ibis bird,although he could also be depicted as a baboon.Thoth helped maintain order and balance in Egyptianlife.
Figure of Thoth (detail), 525–342 BC, faience, Arthurand Margaret GlasgowEndowment, 85.1547
EGYPTIAN RELIGION: ORDER, BALANCE, AND CYCLE
The Egyptian universe centered on a strong belief in ma’at, a word that can mean truth, justice, balance,and order. Ancient Egyptians believed that without ma’at, the world would fall apart. The pharaoh, or ruler,of Egypt, was considered the son of the god Ra and acted as a link between the people and the gods. Hisrole was to maintain a good relationship with the gods to keep the order, or ma’at, of the universe. Ma’atallowed each day to start and the Nile to flood every year so the Egyptians could grow food.
Many stories about Egyptian gods and goddesses involve recurring cycles and attempts to maintain orderand balance.
Ra and the Cycle of the Sun
Ancient Egyptians explained the cycle of the day asthe actions of Ra, god of the sun. They believed Rasailed across the sky in a boat during the day as thesun and at the end of the day, he sailed to theunderworld and it became night. At dawn, afteremerging from the underworld, Ra was reborn, andthere was light as the sun rose. Ra’s journey into theunderworld was like the soul’s journey after deathinto the afterlife.
Ra’s entire journey took twenty-four hours and wasnot always easy. Different forms of Ra ruled overdifferent parts of the day.
Scroll through the images below to explore theparts of his journey!
Gods and Goddesses
Religion was very important to the lives of ancient Egyptians, and they worshipped hundreds of gods andgoddesses. The gods and goddesses were often shown with the head of the animal that they sharedpowerful qualities with.
Can you match the god or goddess to the animal they look like?
The Cycle of Life: Death, Rebirth and Mummification
The ancient Egyptians believed that after people died in this world, they continued living in another world.As long as order, or ma’at, was maintained, a person could live on after death provided certain steps weretaken. For example, the body had to be preserved through mummification and given everything needed inthe afterlife.
Mummification was a very long and expensive process. Mummies were wrapped and placed in coffins andburied in tombs or graves.
Spells and special instructions were often written in hieroglyphs on coffins and in tombs to offer protectionand ward off evil. Protective amulets, similar to lucky charms, were also sometimes wrapped with themummy.
The images below are of VMFA’s mummy Tjeby (cheb-ee). Can you find the eyes on the coffin? TheEgyptians painted these eyes on the outside of coffins so that Tjeby could see the rising sun each day. TheEgyptians thought that, just as the sun is reborn every morning, people are reborn in the next world.
The First Mummy: The Story of Osiris
Osiris was once a great god-king of the living whoruled with his goddess wife Isis. Osiris’s brother,Seth, was very jealous and wanted to be king, sohe made a plan to trick Osiris and become kinghimself.
Seth offered a beautiful chest to anyone who could fit
inside it. When Osiris laid down in the chest, Sethslammed it shut and threw it into the Nile. Isis lookedall over to find Osiris, but Seth found Osiris first, cuthis body into pieces, and scattered them over theearth.
Isis eventually found all the pieces and put Osiris’body back together, wrapping them in bandages,making the first mummy. Isis then used her powersto bring Osiris back to life, but Osiris left the world ofthe living and went to the afterlife, where he becameLord of the Underworld and God of the Dead. AncientEgyptians hoped to be reborn into the afterlife andmeet Osiris.
Osiris, ca. 663-341 BC, bronze with ivory (stone) inlay,Purchased with funds provided by the WestmorelandDavis Memorial Foundation, 55.32.2
Test Your Knowledge of Ancient Egypt!
Take this quiz to see how much you have learned. All of the answers can be found in this resource.
SUGGESTED ART ACTIVITIES
Symbols
A symbol is something that stands for something else. Egyptian gods and goddesses are oftenshown with symbols that represent an important quality they have. What symbol would you chooseto represent something about yourself? Draw it or write about what it stands for, or symbolizes.
Packing for the Afterlife
Objects from daily life were placed with the dead for use in the afterlife. Objects included vases forfood, shoes, games, and even razors for shaving. If you were an ancient Egyptian, what objectswould you take with you? Draw them or make a list!
