1. The Art of Ancient Egypt Chapter 7

2. Ancient Egypt 5000 BC Adopted Monotheistic Religion (belief in 1 diety/ god) Egyptians invented the harp, loved to sing and dance and organized huge theatrical events They settled near the Nile - people became food producers (agriculture) - relied on the animals they raised -lived in houses of mud, wood and reeds

3. Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt 2 large Kingdoms 1.Lower Egypt- at the mouth of the Nile 2.Upper Egypt- in a valley by a river MAP OF ANCIENT EGYPT with the Delta in the north (Lower Egypt) and the long Nile Valley to the south (Upper Egypt),

4. Major Periods in Ancient Egypt 1.Old Kingdom 2. Middle Kingdom 3.New Kingdom -each kingdom was divided into Dynasties (period which a single family provided a success of rulers) -the pharoah was forbidden to marry outside of the family

5. Old Kingdom 3100 BC Upper and Lower Kingdom united by a powerful pharoah names Menes Established a capital at Memphis and founded the 1 st of 31 dynasties Figure perhaps representing Menes on a victory tablet of Egyptian King Narmer, c. 2925–c. 2775 bc.

6. Middle Kingdom 2050-1800 BC Time of order, law and prosperity Pharoah was not as powerful Egypt was invaded by Hyksos (Asia) using horses and chariots For 200 years, the Hyksos forced the Egyptians to pay them homage The Egyptians learned to use the horses and chariots to overtake their invaders and restore their independence

7. New Kingdom 1570 BC 3 rd and most brilliant period Egypt’s rule over neighboring nations was extended Amenhotep III helped Egypt to reach it’s peak of power and influence Thebes became the royal capital and the most magnificent city in the world Amenhotep’s son and heir- Amenhotep IV tried to bring about changes in religion which focused on one supreme god- Aton (symbol- sun disk) He moved capital to Tel el-Amarna and changed his name to Akhenaton (it is well with Aton) Kingdom was in shambles and after Akhenaton’s death, Tel el- Amarna was destroyed and the capital was moved back to Thebes and old religion was restored 332BC, Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Egypt 30BC Egypt was made a Roman province

8. Egyptian Art All art remains in the form of temples, pyramids, stone statues, wall paintings and reliefs

9. Evolution of a Pyramid 1. Mastaba 2. Step Pyramid 3. Bent Pyramid 4. Pyramids at Giza

10. Evolution of a Pyramid Shape Developed gradually Originally they buried the dead in hidden pits and piles sand and stone over the top Over time, they began using sun-dried bricks to built mastabas- low-flat tombs Rectangle tombs with sloping sides, a chapel and false burial chambers were created Over time, they changed to form stepped pyramids Finally, pyramids were built without steps and a point was added to the top

11. The Pyramids Massive white monuments standing in brown sand

12. Construction of the Pyramids Thousands toiled for decades Limestone was quarried and drug to site and lifted in place no one is sure how they lifted each 2.5 ton stone

13. Pyramid of Khufu Greatest monument Covers 13 acres and could fit 5 of the largest cathedrals in the world at it’s base and still have room 2.3 million blocks of stone 480 feet high (48 story building) Design- built entirely on a perfectly square ground plan Made of solid limestone with passageways and small rooms

14. Pyramid of Khufu In the above picture of the great pyramid, note some of the fascinating features. Just to the lower right of the pyramid is an odd- shaped building, which is where a massive sun boat was discovered. To the right of that are several satellite pyramids, more than likely of Khufu's queens, or possibly of some of his sons. All around the pyramid are various mastabas, which were the structures that were the predecessors to the pyramids, which are probably tombs of various important figures of the time. Also, note the city in the background.

15. Egyptian Religion Egyptians placed importance on resurrection of the soul and eternal life after death Ka-soul At death, Ka would eave the body for a time and return and reunite with the body for the next world and immortality If the body were lost, Ka would wander for all of eternity Egyptians went to great lengths to protect the body after death Following a complicated embalming process, the body was wrapped and placed in a tomb to wait for Ka to return

16. Mummification The process of mummification, the form of embalming practiced by the ancient Egyptians, changed over time from the Old Kingdom (ca. 2750-2250 B.C.), when it was available only to kings, to the New Kingdom (ca. 1539-1070 B.C.), when it was available to everyone. The level of mummification depended on what one could afford. The most fully developed form involved four basic steps: 1. All of the internal organs, except the heart, were removed. Since the organs were the first parts of the body to decompose but were necessary in the afterlife, they were mummified and put in canopic jars that were placed in the tomb at the time of burial. The heart was believed to be the seat of intelligence and emotion and was, therefore, left in the body. The brain, on the other hand, was regarded as having no significant value and, beginning in the New Kingdom, was removed through the nose and discarded. 2. The body was packed and covered with natron, a salty drying agent, and left to dry out for forty to fifty days. By this time all the body's liquid had been absorbed and only the hair, skin, and bones were left. 3. The body cavity was stuffed with resin, sawdust, or linen and shaped to restore the deceased's form and features. 4. The body was then tightly wrapped in many layers of linen with numerous good luck charms, or amulets, wrapped between the layers. The most important amulet was the scarab beetle, which was placed over the heart. Jewelry was also placed among the bandages. At each stage of wrapping, a priest recited spells and prayers. This whole procedure could take as long as fifteen days. After the wrapping was complete, the body was put into a shroud. The entire mummification process took about seventy days.

17. Pyramids and Tombs The most impressive were built for Pharoahs The pharoahs were seens as gods the pharoah also joined the other gods in the afterlife: Re- sun god Osiris- god of the Nile and ruler of the underworld Isis- great mother god Osiris Re Isis

18. Sarcophagus Each pyramid housed and protected the pharoah’s body and the treasure he world take from this world to the next Sarcophagus- stone coffin Pharoah’s body was placed in the sarcophagus and set in a burial chamber located in the center of the pyramid Dead end passages and false burial chambers were also included in the tomb to confuse grave robbers Destruction of the body was the most horrible form of vengeance

19. Temples Built to honor a particular god Famous- Temple of Amon at Karnak Dedicated to all powerful chief of god of Thebes

20. Egyptian Sculpture and Painting Sculpture Sculptures of the pharoahs were placed inside tombs to make sure Ka would still have a body to unite with Acted as a substitute in case the body was stolen or destroyed

21. Sphinx Carved from rock on site Head of pharoah in the 4 th dynasty, possibly Khafre placed in the body of a reclining lion

22. Khafre 2600 BC Looks straight ahead, eyes seem alive Symbol- eternal strength Right hand forms a fist, possibly gripping something as a symbol of power Falcon (representing Horus, god of the sky) was placed behind his head to remind viewers of pharoah’s divinity Khafre- descendant of Re- sun god Hieroglyphics on side proclaiming him king of Upper and Lower Egypt

23. Rules of Egyptian Art Strict set of rules: 1. every part of the body must be shown from the most familiar point of view 2. head, arms, legs and feet were always shown in profile (side view) 3. Eyes and shoulders were seen from the front 4. Bodies were distorted and unnatural 5. Egyptians were greatly concerned with life after death and paintings and sculpture were substitutes for the body 6. Complete image was vital 7. If a body was without an arm, it would mean that Ka would enter a body without an arm and be forced to spend the rest of eternity in an armless body

24. Art in Ancient Egyptian Tombs At one time, it was customary for a pharoah to have his wife, servants and slaves sealed in the tomb with him. When he died, he would have his loved ones with him for all of eternity This practice was discontinued Relief sculptures and round sculptures were substituted for real people and placed in the tomb

25. Hieroglyphics Early form of picture writing Symbols representing object included in paintings to tell a story

26. The Rosetta Stone A black stone slab with writing in three scripts that provided the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone, which dates from the 2nd century BC, was found by French troops in the Nile Valley of Egypt in 1799. By then the ability to read hieroglyphics had been lost for more than a thousand years. Cracking the code of the hieroglyphs in the early 1800s was enormously important for understanding the history and culture of ancient Egypt. In 1798 French general Napoleon Bonaparte sent a naval fleet to challenge British power in Egypt. Many French scholars traveled with the fleet, including geographers, geologists, botanists, and linguists. During France’s three-year occupation of the Nile Valley, the French expedition collected a vast amount of information about Egypt and a great number of Egyptian antiquities. The most spectacular of these antiquities was the Rosetta Stone, which was found in 1799 at a fort at Rashid, a town near the mouth of the Nile that was known as Rosetta to Europeans. Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign foundered, and his forces surrendered to Britain in 1801. Under the subsequent treaty, the Rosetta Stone, along with many other Egyptian antiquities, became the property of Britain. These antiquities formed the basis of the Egyptian collection of the British Museum in London. The Rosetta Stone has been on display at the British Museum since 1802. The stone was long thought to be of basalt but is now believed to be a type of volcanic rock that resembles granite and is known as granitoid. The Rosetta Stone was inscribed in 196 BC with a decree praising 13-year-old Egyptian king Ptolemy IV on the first anniversary of his coronation. The inscription appears in three scripts, hieroglyphic (an ancient Egyptian script using symbols), demotic (a simplified Egyptian script used for everyday writing), and Greek (the language introduced after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great). Because scholars could read Greek with no problem and the three texts recorded the same decree, the Rosetta Stone was quickly recognized as a stupendous discovery.

27. The Rosetta Stone