Section 2 The Old Kingdom

Main Ideas *Pharaohs ruled as gods and were at the top of the social structure *Religion shaped Egyptian life *The pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs *Egyptian government and religion were connected during the Old Kingdom

Key Terms and People *Old Kingdom *Khufu *nobles *afterlife *mummies *elite *pyramids *engineering Academic vocabulary: acquire method

How do you feel about working for the pharaoh? Stop and Think If you were there…. You are a peasant farmer in Ancient Egypt. To you, the pharaoh is a god, a descendant of the sun god, Re. You depend on his strength and wisdom. For part of the year, you are busy planting crops in your fields. But at other times, you work for the pharaoh. You are currently helping to build a great tomb in which the pharaoh and many of his belongings will be buried when he dies. How do you feel about working for the pharaoh?

Early Egyptian Society Old Kingdom – 2700 BC to 2200 BC – ruled by the Third Dynasty Belief that the pharaoh was both a king and a god The pharaoh had absolute power over all the land and people The pharaoh was blamed for disease and poor crops Pharaohs hired government officials (usually from family)

Khufu Ruled in the 2500s BC Most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom Legend says he was cruel Workers were well fed Many monuments built to him

Egyptian Society

The Social Structure *Egypt had about 2 million people Upper Class: pharaoh and nobles Middle Class: scribes and craftspeople Lower Class: (80% of population) farmers, servants, and slaves

Egypt and its Neighbors . Egypt traded these items with its surrounding neighbors: *gold *ivory *stone *slaves *incense *myrrh *wood

Religion and Egyptian Life Polytheistic Very religious Afterlife was the focus

The Gods of Egypt Egyptians built temples to the gods Ptah – creator of the world Re (Amon-Re) – the sun god Osiris – the god of the underworld Isis – the goddess of magic Horus – a sky god / god of the pharaohs

Afterlife “a happy place” Ideal world where all people are young and happy Ka -a person’s life force -The person’s ka left the body and became a spirit -It has all the same needs as the person when he/she was living -to fulfill the ka’s needs, people filled tombs with objects for the afterlife (food, drinks, furniture, clothing, tools, jewels, weapons)

Burial Practices *The body had to be preserved for the afterlife *The body could not decay because the ka would not recognize it *Egyptians embalmed and wrapped the body – mummification *For royalty and other elite members https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Ooz4wivs0

The Pyramids The pyramids of Egypt were built as tombs for the pharaohs. *began building during the Old Kingdom *largest pyramid – The Great Pyramid of Khufu *the size was a symbol of the pharaoh’s greatness *Pyramids were important to the people of Ancient Egypt because they believed their own afterlife was linked to the eternal life of the pharaoh. http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-egyptian- pyramids/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-building-the- pyramids