Egypt Notes

1. Egypt Notes

2. Dress like an Egyptian • Ordinary clothing was made from linen • The wealthier a person was, the higher the quality of linen his or her clothing was made from • Most people went barefoot or wore sandals • Everyone wore makeup • It helped protect their skin from the sun • Egyptian art and fashion didn’t change much in its 3,000 year history • This is hard to believe today when styles change frequently! • Jewelry was very popular in ancient Egypt, regardless of age, gender or social standing.

3. Government and Leaders • There were more than 200 pharoahs in the over 3,000-year history of ancient Egypt Next, record the two most interesting facts about government and leaders from the handout!

4. Group Jigsaw • Meet with your group. • Together, you have ten minutes to write 1-2 sentences summarizing the importance of your ruler. (The shorter and more concise, the better!) • Once you are finished, select a “scribe” to go to the board and record your sentences.

5. Ancient Egyptian Religion • Ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods. • They did not call their belief in these different deities a religion. To them, gods were simply a part of everyday life and a force of nature. • Religion was found in every aspect of ancient Egyptian society, including government, science, and art. • Temples were built as houses for the gods. • Because the afterlife was so important to them, bodies were mummified through a process called embalming. • This was a process that took over 70-days to complete!

6. Ancient Egyptian Architecture • Ancient Egyptians made it easy for us to learn about how they lived and what they believed because they built buildings that lasted! • Historians think it took 20,000 workers between 10 and 20 years to build the Great Pyramid.

7. Ancient Egyptian Architecture • Egypt gave an ancient obelisk to both the U.S. and to Great Britain. You can see them in New York City’s Central Park and on the bank of the Thames River in London. • Construction on a pharaoh's tomb began when he took office and continued until he died. The shorter a pharaoh’s life, the smaller his temple would be.

8. Language • Ancient Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics • These consisted of an alphabet of picture symbols. • Most Egyptians were not literate, meaning they could not read or write • During some of ancient Egypt’s history, only government officials called scribes were literate. • Because hieroglyphs were so hard to write quickly with, they developed other writing systems that were easier to scribble down in a hurry. • The hieroglyphic system was used mainly for tombs and temples, while hieratic writing and demotic writing were used for keeping records. • Hieroglyphs have also been found carved into stone and pottery and written with black ink scrolls on papyrus

11. Ancient Egyptian Math • Egyptians used a base 10 system of hieroglyphs for numerals. • This meant that they had separate symbols for one unit, one ten, one hundred, ect…

12. Interesting Facts • Cats were very important to ancient Egyptians. • Originally, cats were used to get rid of snakes, rats, and mice in households. Then they were kept as pets. • Many children, especially daughters, were named after cats. • Cats were seen to have mysterious and magical qualities.

13. Sacred Felines • An Egyptian myth tells of a battle won by releasing thousands of cats on to the enemy. • There were cat goddesses, the most famous of whom was Bastet. She was a household goddess protecting women, children, and cats. • Cat jewelry and statues were common. Cats were even mummified and buried with their owners. • At one point in Egyptian history, the penalty for killing a cat was death!

14. The Sphinx • Sphinxes were large stone statues carved to protect large buildings. • They represented the greatness of pharaohs and usually had the body of a lion and the head of a human, hawk, or ram. • The most well-known is the sphinx near the Great Pyramid of Giza. • Historians believe it was built around 2500 B.C., most likely in honor of Khafre, a pharaoh in the Fourth Dynasty.

15. The Persians: The Kind Conquerors • In 559 B.C., the Persians, an Indo-European people living on the vast plain east of Mesopotamia, witnessed the rise to power of a new king named Cyrus. • Within ten years, Cyrus led the Persians through a period of military expansion • By 539 B.C., he conquered Asia Minor, the New Babylonian Empire, all of Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the Phoenician cities. • A few years later, in 525, his son Cambyses, added Egypt to those nations controlled by the Persians. • King Cyrus was not a typical conqueror because he was tolerant and kind, and he allowed his subjects to maintain their customs, traditions, and religions. • Alexander the Great would defeat the Persians in about 331 B.C.

16. The Rise and Fall of Egypt • By 1087 B.C., the New Kingdom of Egypt ended. • Over the next 1000 years, Egypt experienced periods of rule by invaders including Libyans, Nubians, and Persians. • By the 4th century B.C., the Macedonian general, Alexander the Great, brought Egypt to its knees. • Three centuries later, Egypt became a province of the mighty Roman Empire. (Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of Marc Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) in the Battle of Actium)