The Art of Ancient Egypt

1. The Art of Ancient Egypt Growth of the Egyptian Civilization

2. Egyptian Civilization • Around 5000BC prehistoric hunters and their families settled in the fertile valley of the Nile River. • Because they did not have to search for food, they began to build more permanent houses. • This settled existence brought about an increase in population and led to a growth of villages and towns.

3. Three Major Periods of Egyptian History • The history of Egypt can be broken up into three different time periods. • The Old Kingdom – 500 years • The Middle Kingdom – 250 years • The New Kingdom – 1,200 years • Each kingdom is further divided up into dynasties. • Dynasty – a period during which a single family provided a succession of rulers.

4. The Old Kingdom – 500 years • The earliest most dynamic period began around 3100BC • Upper and Lower Egypt were united by a powerful pharaoh names Menes • The Old Kingdom came to an end when the country was split into small states which soon broke out in disorder and civil war.

5. The Middle Kingdom- 250 years • Egypt is unified again into a single state and order is restored. • A time of law, order, and prosperity.

6. The New Kingdom- 1,200 years • Began in 1570BC • Most brilliant period • Warrior pharaohs used their expertise with horses and chariots to extend Egypt’s rule to neighboring nations.

7. The Pyramids • Try to picture the pyramids as they once were; covered with a smooth layer of polished white limestone. • What purpose did they serve? How were they built? What was inside?

8. The Pyramid of Khufu c.2545-2520 • Presents rigid, straight contour lines that clearly define and accent the simple triangular shape of this monumental structure. • The five largest cathedrals in the world could all fit within it’s massive base, with room to spare. • It was made by piling 2.3 million blocks of stone to a height of 480 feet. This makes the pyramid as tall as a 48-story building. • Built for the pharaoh Khufu. • Pharaoh – a ruler that governed with complete authority

9. The Design of the Pyramids • Each pyramid was built on an almost perfectly square ground plan. • The pyramid base is much greater than the height. • Because the pyramid is wider than it is tall it lacks upward movement. Rather than a soaring quality the shape and proportions suggest solidity and permanence. • Looking at it from the outside, you might expect the inside to be spacious. This is not the case.

10. Pyramid Interior • Why build such a massive structure and then provide such little space inside? • Religion influenced every phase of Egyptian life.

11. Influence of Religion • Great importance was placed on the resurrection of the soul and eternal life in a spirit world after death. • Believed that the soul, or ka, came into being with the body and remained in the body until death. • At death, the ka would leave the body the body for a time and then eventually reunite with the body again for the journey to the next world and immortality. • If the body were lost or destroyed the ka would be forced to spend eternity wandering aimlessly.

12. Influence of Religion • If the body were lost or destroyed the ka would be forced to spend eternity wandering aimlessly. • For this reason Egyptians went to great lengths to preserve and protect the body after death. • Following a complicated embalming process, the body was wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a sarcophagus in the burial chamber, where it would be safe until the ka’s return. • Sarcophagus – stone coffin

13. Sarcaphagus

14. Pyramids as Tombs • The most impressive tombs were built for the pharaohs. • Each pharaoh was more than a king; in the eyes of the people, he was also a god. • Each pyramid was built to house and protect the body of the pharaoh and the treasures he would take with him from this world to the next. • His body was sealed in a sarcophagus, a stone coffin and then placed in the burial chamber near the center of the pyramid.

15. Evolution of the Pyramid Shape • Originally, the Egyptians buried their dead in hidden pits and piled sand and stone over the top. • This changed when they began to use sun-dried bricks to build mastabas. • Mastaba – a low, flat tomb with sloping sides.

16. Evolution of Pyramid Shape • In time, several mastabas of diminishing size were stacked on top of each other to form a step pyramid. • Finally they were built without steps

17. Temples • During the Middle Kingdom the construction of Pyramids was seen as impractical. • This lead to the construction of elaborate temples cut into the cliffs of the Nile River valley. • Each temple was built by the command of the pharaoh and was dedicated to his favorite god. • When the pharaoh died the temple would become a funeral chapel where people brought offerings for the pharaoh’s ka.

18. The Temple of Amon c.1279-1212 • A temple was enlarged by several pharaohs until it reached it’s tremendous proportions. • Dedicated to the all-powerful chief god of Thebes.

19. Temple of Hatshepsut

20. Vocabulary Dynasty – a period during which a single family provided a succession of rulers. Mastaba – a low, flat tomb with sloping sides. Pharaoh – a ruler that governed with complete authority Sarcophagus – stone coffin