Ancient Egypt: Kingdoms and Nile River

• King Scorpion was a warrior leader, and a figure of great importance for uniting the regional principalities of ancient Egypt.
• He lived in a time before the pharaonic dynasties, from 3300 to 3065 BC.

Old Kingdom of Egypt

• The Old Kingdom of Egypt is a period in ancient Egyptian history that lasted between 2686 and 2181 BC.
• During this time, the Old Kingdom consolidated its political, cultural, and religious system.

Middle Kingdom of Egypt

• The Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BC) is considered the classical era of Egypt.
• During this period, some of its best works of art and literature were produced.

New Kingdom of Egypt

• The New Kingdom of Egypt was a historical period beginning with the reunification of Egypt under Ahmose I (c. 1550 BC).

• It ended around 1070 BC with the arrival of sovereigns of Libyan origin to the throne.

• It is composed of dynasties XVIII, XIX, and XX.

• The Nile River is the only river in Egypt, and the longest in Africa.

• It is the second-longest in the world, extending north for approximately 4,000 miles from East Africa to the Mediterranean.

• The architecture of Ancient Egypt is one of the most impressive and enduring in history.

• It is characterized by monumentality, symmetry, and religious symbolism.

• It reflected the belief in life after death and the importance of gods and pharaohs.

Main Architectural Structures

• Pyramids served as monumental tombs for the pharaohs.
• The most famous are those of Giza (Keops, Kefrén, and Micerinos).
• Their design evolved from simple mastabas to stepped and smooth pyramids.
• Mastabas were rectangular tombs with flat roofs and inclined walls, used by nobles and high officials.
• They served as predecessors to the pyramids.
• Temples were constructions dedicated to the gods, such as Karnak and Luxor.
• They contained large pylons, courtyards, hypostyle halls (with columns), and sanctuaries.
• Hypogea were tombs excavated in the rock, such as those in the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried.
• Obelisks were stone monoliths carved in the shape of a quadrangular column with a pyramidal tip.
• They represented the rays of the sun and were dedicated to the gods, especially Ra, and were placed at the entrance of temples.

Egyptian Painting

• Egyptians painted on tombs, temples, and papyri with a two-dimensional style.

• They used vibrant colors like red, blue, yellow, green, black, and white.

• They had a hierarchical perspective where the size of the figures indicated their importance.

• The scenes represented gods, pharaohs, daily life, and the afterlife.

• They applied the fresco technique on dry plaster and used black outlines to define shapes.

• Egyptian architecture and painting had a strong connection with their religious beliefs and the idea of eternity.

• The pharaoh was the largest in depictions, symbolizing their power and divinity.

• Nobles and priests were of intermediate size.

• Egyptian art is a collection of artistic manifestations developed in Ancient Egypt from approximately 3000 BC until Roman domination.

• It is characterized by its symbolic, religious, and hierarchical style, reflecting the culture, beliefs, and customs of the Egyptian civilization.

• Characteristics include rigidity, frontality, hierarchical scale, and symbolic colors, mainly as funerary and religious art with little stylistic evolution.

• They used durable materials such as limestone, granite, basalt, and diorite to ensure the sculptures endured over time.

• Symbolic postures included sitting on a throne to represent power and stability, standing with one foot forward to represent movement and life, and the hands crossed over the chest to represent the funerary position.

• Colors were also symbolic sometimes sculptures were painted with red skin for men and yellow for women.

• In Egyptian mythology, the underworld was known as "Duat”.

• It held great importance in Egyptian cosmology.

Characteristics of the Egyptian Underworld

• "Duat" means "the place where the sun sets."
• The underworld was the kingdom of Osiris, governed by god Osiris, considered the king of the underworld.
• It was a place of judgment where one's behavior in life was evaluated and their destiny in the afterlife was determined.
• The underworld was considered a place of penumbra where the sunlight did not reach.

Different Levels of the Underworld

• Aaru: The highest level of the underworld, where the just and virtuous lived.
• Nehen: The intermediate level, where those who were neither completely good nor completely bad were found.
• Abtu: The lowest level, where the condemned and wicked were found.

Dangers of the Underworld

• Monsters and creatures: terrible monsters and creatures threatened the dead.
• Rivers of fire: rivers of fire that had to be crossed by the dead. The serpent Apophis: a monster that was in the underworld and threatened the dead. Importance of the underworld in Egyptian religion:
• the afterlife: a place where it was believed that life continued after death.
• Divine justice: where divine justice was carried out, where the behavior of individuals in life was evaluated.
• Protection of the gods: where the gods protected the righteous and punished the wicked.

Egyptian Contributions

• Textile linen: The fiber of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum, used to produce threads and fabrics for making clothing.
• The ancient Egyptians, in particular, greatly esteemed linen.
• They used it extensively for clothing, as a funeral shroud, and even as currency.
• Papyrus is a writing material made from the Cyperus papyrus plant.
• Egyptians used it to write hieroglyphs.
• Ancient Egyptians used it to make other objects, such as mats, curtains, footwear, and ropes.
• It became an important export commodity, traded with Greece and Rome.
• Makeup originated in ancient Egypt, where it was used as a symbol of wealth and power.
• Makeup was used by both men and women.
• It was considered a trait of power.
• It was believed that makeup attracted the gods.