February 25

Today in class, we took more notes from the Egyptian power point.
Land of the Pharaohs
The Nile and the "Two lands"
-Upper Egypt was a 500 mile long strip of fertile land along the Nile; Lower Egypt was the wide land of the Nile delta, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea
-The Nile was the major provider of life for the Egyptians and was much revered in love and writing
-around 3100BC the two land were united under a "pharaoh"

Government by a God-King
-Pharaoh- all powerful, worshiped as a god and intimately connected to the other major Egyptian gods and goddesses
-Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe, which they called the "Maat"
-Multiple wives, and all routes to financial and social success were through the palace
-Women could inherit money and land, and divorce their husbands, though only a tiny few ever wielded real political power

The Writing of the Words of God
-earliest Egyptian writing formed c.3100BC and were small pictures known as hieroglyphs
-Hieroglyphics represented religious words, or parts of words, and most commonly adorned temples
-Hieratic script was a shorthand developed by scribes and priests
-Usually written in ink on papyrus, which was made from mashed Nile reeds

Calendars and Sailboats
-created with 12 months and 365 days to make sense of the seasonal cycles
-Egyptian doctors wrote extensively on health issues and created potions and cures for a number of common ailments
-Wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile

Pyramids and Temples
-Massive tombs, originally covered in marble
-The temple of Amon at Karnak- largest religious building in world, also made out of blocks
-Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted humans and gods in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective