Egyptian Civilization Chapter 2 Section 4 Egyptian Civilization

Religion Shapes Life Early on > Chief God > Sun God > Re Later on >Lord of the Gods > Amon-Re Osiris > God of the Dead & the Nile Wife > Isis > Goddess Egyptians related more to these two gods Promised faithful > life after death Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) tried to change religion Wanted worship of Aton (minor god)

View of Afterlife Had to pass a test to win eternal life Mummification Osiris the judge Book of the Dead Mummification Preservation of dead bodies First rulers & nobles > later ordinary Egyptians Howard Carter discovers Tutankhamen “King Tut” Only minor king Chamber was filled with treasures

Egyptian Society Peasants Worked the land Pharaoh Govt. Officials & High Priests Merchants, Scribes, Artisans Peasants (farmers) Peasants Worked the land In the off season they worked for the pharaoh Egyptian women High status Inherit property, divorce, etc. Not just confined to the house

Advances in Learning Developed writing > hieroglyphics Used as records Created cursive writing > hieratic Also learned to make paper like material from papyrus Deciphered writings from the Rosetta Stone Learned anatomy > mummification Egyptian calendar is basis for ours Developed geometry to survey the land

Egyptian Art & Literature Statues Wall paintings Carvings on temples Literature Emergence of folk tales The Tale of Sinuhe