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Ancient Egypt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Wvw6BivVI&feature=BFa&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9. A look into the past…. Religious beliefs Burial procedures Important symbols and gods/goddess Funerary Architecture / The Pyramids Kings/ pharaohs Egyptian Art. Ancient History.
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Ancient Egypt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Wvw6BivVI&feature=BFa&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9
A look into the past… • Religious beliefs • Burial procedures • Important symbols and gods/goddess • Funerary Architecture / The Pyramids • Kings/ pharaohs • Egyptian Art
Ancient History • Lasted from about 3000BCE to 332BCE • 3 main periods of Anicent Egypt: • Old Kingdom (2649 – 2153 BCE) • Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 BCE) • New Kingdom (1550-1070BCE) • The Nile River provided the Egyptians with fertile soil and easy accessibility for transportation of goods for trade with other early societies.
Religious Beliefs • Polytheistic: believed in many gods, goddess /deities • Belief that the afterlife was a continuation of your life now through the Ka. (buried with personal possessions, objects for daily activities.) Death was simply a temporary interruption… • Gods often depicted in various forms; human beings, animal or a combination of both. (Human body with animal head). Harmony of universe achieved when humans and gods do their part. • Kings or Pharaoh were believed to be divine, linked to the sun god Ra (Re).
Name that god! • Anubis was the god of embalming and the dead Description: Man with a jackal head/a jackal. • Isis was a protective goddess. She used powerful magic spells to help people in need. Description: Woman with headdress in the shape of a throne / A pair of cow horns with a sun disk. • Horus was a god of the sky. Description: Man with the head of a hawk / a hawk. • Ra (Re) was the sun god and creation. He was the most important god of the ancient Egyptians. Description: Man with hawk head and headdress with a sun disk
Burial Procedures • Earliest times, the Egyptians buried their dead directly in the ground. Dry climate persevered them from decomposing. • Mummification: the process of drying out and preparing a body to ensure preservation. The process developed over time until perfected in the New Kingdom. • Took 70 days -removed the internal organs, brain through the nose - special mixture of salts called natron to dry out body. - body was then wrapped in linen with protective amulets between layers
Sarcophagus: (flesh-eater) stone box in which a mummified body is placed into. Through relief sculpture the individuals appearance is revealed pigments, like red granite ,amulets and ornaments with reliefs of spirits were also used to decorate them. - Pharaoh, royal family, and very wealthy individuals could afford to part-take in the tradition.
Old Kingdom & the Pyramids Mastaba Stepped Pyramids Stacked Mastaba’s decreasing size the higher up, creating “steps”. Djoser’s funerary complex Saqqara • A flat topped, one story building with slanted walls placed above the burial chambers. Made of mud bricks. 2667-2648BCE
Great Pyramids of Giza • 3 pyramids positioned in relation to stars of constellation Orion -3 stars on the belt. • West bank of Nile river. • Fake passage ways made to fool thieves, unsuccessful. • Made of limestone quarried from surrounding area or brought up from river. • Workers used sheer muscle power or use small logs as rollers, pouring water on sand to create a slippery surface for the sleds.
Symbols Ka: A spirit that lives in the body during life, and in death, needs a connection to the body hence mummification to survival. Ankh: key of life, the key of the Nile The eye of Horus: healing and protection. Scarab: symbol of spontaneous creation and the sun . Primordial mound: during creation this hill rose out of the sea of chaos to create dry land influence temple layouts and possibly the pyramids.
Khufu Pyramid • Oldest and largest made of limestone. • Many passages ways / shafts to fool thieves however failed to protect treasure. • covers 13 acres, and is 137m tall
Khafre Pyramid • Only still has the limestone veneer on top. • height: 136meters ( original 144 meters) • False passage ways but no treasure left.
Khafre • built 2nd pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx. • Made from diorite. • Representations of the gods show link of pharaoh with divine ( i.e. Horus through the falcon protective over king’s head.) • Hieroglyphs identify king by name. • Sense of overwhelming power and majesty.
The Great Sphinx • Limestone, by Khafre to protect his temple during the Old Kingdom. • Mythical creature with a lions body and a human head facing due East, symbolizing sun god = pharaoh. • The small temple between the paws was added 1,000 years later under the New Kingdom.
Menkaure’s Pyramid • Made of limestone (upper layers) and granite (lower layers) smallest of the pyramids. • South of the Menkare’s pyramids are 3 satellite pyramids lay incomplete. • 65.5 meter tall and 10.4 meter wide.
Valley of the Kings • Located on the Nile's west Upper Egypt. • During New Kingdom the valley became a burial ground for pharaohs, and queens. • hidden underground mausoleums.
Valley of the Kings From the Tomb of Tutankhamun
Temples • Earthly homes for Egyptian gods, only the Pharaoh and Priests allowed inside temples • Priests conduct ceremonies, sacrifices and magical incantations. • Heavy gates lead into a massive hall with great stone columns, a series of many other rooms. • Chambers gradually decreased in size/ lighting create an atmosphere of deepening mystery • The shrine contained the Naos (a stone tabernacle inside the shrine which housed a great statue to the god).
Egyptian Art Practices Drawing figures: • Head: profile. • Eyes: profile of face to frontal view. • Shoulders : profile ,but at waist twisted 90 degrees to show hips/ legs/feet in profile. • Arms/hands are both visible
Relief Sculpture • Sunken relief sculpture: walls were made smooth, artists craved stone away around figure. • Outlines are deeply craved permitting the modeling of 3D forms. • Colour, Form and Line!! • Hierartic-scale: the larger they appear more important the person is.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Wvw6BivVI&feature=BFa&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9 • http://www.answers.com/topic/sarcophagus • http://guardians.net/hawass/mortuary1.htm • http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/127/The-Old-Kingdom.html • http://www.garden-fountains.com/famous-statues/great-sphinx.htm • http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html#dc • Chapter 2: Art History second edition: Marylan