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World History. Chapter 2: Section Four. Egyptian Civ. . Religion affected daily life in Egypt What we know comes from inscriptions on walls and tombs. Gods and Goddesses. Sun god was tops – Re Became associated with Amon Called Amon-Re – great god
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World History Chapter 2: Section Four
Egyptian Civ. • Religion affected daily life in Egypt • What we know comes from inscriptions on walls and tombs
Gods and Goddesses • Sun god was tops – Re • Became associated with Amon • Called Amon-Re – great god • Pharaohs received right to rule from Amon-Re • Osiris and Isis – Osiris ruled underworld and the Nile – controlled annual flood • Isis – taught women to weave cloth, grind corn, spin flax and raise children
Amenhotep IV – tried to reshape religion • He served Aton – minor god • Changed name to Akhenaton • Ordered priests to only serve Aton • Most ignored him and after he died they went back to their old ways
Afterlife • All Egyptians believed in afterlife • Soul had to pass test to win eternal life • Ferried across lake of fire to Hall of Osiris – heart was weighed against the feather of truth • Sinners – fed to the Eater of Death • Worthy – field of food – live forever • To survive underworld – used book of the dead – spells, charms, formulas
Preparation of the Dead • Afterlife – much like life on Earth • Buried dead with everything they would need • Mummification - preservation of the body – embalm, wrap in cloth • At first only rulers/nobles • Then ordinary people and pets
Tutankhamen • New Kingdom – pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings • Tombs filled with treasure – robbed long ago • Tutankhamen’s tomb untouched and offered many artifacts and information • Solid gold coffin etc. on display in Cairo museum
Society • Pharaoh at the top with royal family • Government officials • High priests and priestesses • Merchants, scribes, artisans • Peasants and slaves • Most people were farmers – offseason – they worked for Pharaoh building palaces, temples, tombs
Social Change • Trade and warfare increased • More trade = more money = more business opportunities = more business for artisans
Women • Generally had a higher status than in other civilizations • Ramses II said a woman could go where she wanted and no one could stop her • Own property, business deals, buy and sell, go to court, obtain a divorce • Women made perfumes, textiles, doctors, managed estates, priests • Few women learned to read and write • If they did they were still excluded from government
Advances in Learning • Developed writing – multiple • Hieroglyphics – system of pictures represent objects, concepts or sounds • Often carved in stone • Hieratic – simpler writing for everyday use – cursive form of writing by simplifying hieroglyphs
Papyrus – paper like writing material from plants • Writing on this was easier than chiseling in stone • Official writing was still done in stone
Rosetta Stone • Meanings of hieroglyphs lost • 1800’s – Jean Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs by decoding the Rosetta Stone • Flat black stone – has the same passage in three languages – hieroglyphs, demotic script, Greek • By comparing them, found the meaning of many hieroglyphs • Scholars could now read ancient records of Egypt
Science and Math • Accumulated knowledge in medicine, astronomy, math • Physicians believed in magic • Learned about the body through mummification • Could diagnose and cure • Performed surgeries • Used herbal remedies • Mapped constellations –calendar 12 months, 30 days • Geometry to survey land and build pyramids
Egyptian Art and Literature • Statues, paintings, poems, stories, carvings • Show everyday scenes in life: Farming, family life, ceremonies • The larger the person drawn / Carved = importance • Sphinx – pharaoh as lion / man
Literature • Oldest – hymns and prayers to gods, proverbs and love poems