TIMELINE: EGYPT JAE7Q8O468 JAE7Q8O468

EGYPT BACK HISTORY: As races became better survivors and populations grew, territorial disputes and conflicts began to take place. Many of these first conflicts began in what is now known as the “cradles of civilization” – the Yellow River, Incus River, Tigris River, and the Nile River Valleys. People were forced to build fortifications, found armies, and unify under a system of government.

EGYPT Egypt was one of the most rigid and conservative civilizations ever to evolve. The basic pattern for Egyptian institutions, beliefs, artistic ideas, and religion were founded during its first few centuries of existence. The Egyptians became very stable, and as a result their civilization lasted thousands of years.

EGYPT Our knowledge of Egyptian civilization comes almost entirely from the art, artifacts, and contents of the tombs of the kings and the remains of their architectural grandeur.

The Great Pyramids ** The first pyramids were constructed as successors to the low rectangular tombs, called Mastabas * King Zoser the most important ruler of the 3 rd dynasty built the first pyramid * He had Imhotep build his memorial tomb on a rock ledge at Sakkara – Imhotep is the first artist in history whose name is known

The Step Pyramid of King Zoser,

OLD KINGDOM During the 4 th Dynasty, Pyramid building reached a climax in the 3 Great Pyramids at Giza Thousands of people died in the construction – The stones weighed 40 tones and were floated on rafts across the Nile during flooding season and hauled to the edge – The largest of the Great Pyramids was built for Cheops about 2530 BC – This pyramid has over 2 million blocks of limestone

The Great Pyramids Besides all the possessions belonging to the dead that went into the tombs, the walls were covered with painted relief sculptures showing various activities of the persons buried there as well as workers and relatives

The Great Sphinx The Great Spinx was 240 feet in length The body of a liion and head of Chefren, is was damaged by vandalism and the sandblasting winds of the Sahara

Old Kingdom The statues unearthed in and near the Great pyramids are of three types Standing, seated, and sitting Most of the statues have stylized and formal appearance They look straight ahead and each left food is slightly forward There are no open spaces piercing the block; arms and legs are attached

Old Kingdom Statues

Middle Kingdom In the Middle Kingdom the princes of Thebes finally grew powerful enough to establish a comparatively peaceful rule that lasted 2 dynasties Architecture shifted from pyramids to the Construction of funerary temples built near Thebes

Middle Kingdom/Old Kingdom funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut The Queen spent much of her reign constructing the temple, often strapping a false beard to her chin and wearing men's clothing when she visited

Art continued to flourish in the Middle Kingdom with craftspeople still holding an honored position in society middle-kingdom middle-kingdom Art work of the Middle Kingdom

New Kingdom new-kingdom-presentation new-kingdom-presentation About 1567 BC the princes of Thebes overthrew the invaders and established the New Kingdom This began with the 8 th dynasty – Known as the Golden Age The Kingdom flourished and so did the artist and architects they grew in skill and creative expression

New Kingdom Huge monuments were built and many tiny decorative figures were also carved Egyptian rulers began constructing their tombs as soon as they were crowned During the 8 th century many of the temples built were created specifically for the worship of gods and the homes of priests Among the greatest was the Temple of Amun at karnak

Temple of Amun at Karnak The Hypostyle hall was the most dramatic structure consisting of 135 columns that created a forest like feelinkg

Relief Sculptures – were covering the walls of the tombs of the pharaoh and queens, depicting life in the time period

New Kingdom Many huge temples and complexes were built during the new kingdom The figures on the temples were in registers, layers. Many gods were in the forms of animals This is the first time you see artwork done realistically rather than stylistically, Especially during the reign of Akhenaton He had a realistic sculpture done of his wife Nefertiti.

Akhenaton Rule Akhenaton wife Nefertiti. He built the largest private home in the world at the time. He changed his name and declared a single new supreme god in Aten the sun god. He declared himself a god Was succeeded by King TUT

Ramses II Ruled for about 67 years and had a multitude fo statues of himself placed throughout the land 4 figures of Ramses are carved directly out the standing cliff The construction of the Aswan dam in recent years caused this site to be flooded the preserve it the entire temple and the sculptures were cut apart lifted to the plain above and reassembled under the direction of American engineers

Architecture The Egyptian temples were built using the post and lintel method.

Architecture Who borrowed the post and lintel method from the Egyptians?

Middle East

Greece

Rome

EGYPT Do we still see the post and lintel method being used today?

Temples Egypt’s elaborately decorated temples were part of huge complexes of buildings and halls used for religious and governmental rituals. The Sphinx is one such temple complex. It is carved from a rocky ledge and portrays the body of a lion and the head of a Chefran, an Egyptian pharaoh.

Temples Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and commemoration of pharaohs in Ancient Egypt and in regions under Egyptian control. Housing and caring for the gods were the obligations of pharaohs, who therefore dedicated prodigious resources to temple construction and maintenance.

Temple of Kom Ombo

Temple of Hatshepsut

Temple of Abu Simbel

Temple of Luxor

Pyramids There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods

Sculpture It was common for the pharaohs to have great statues of themselves spread over the kingdoms to remind people of their jurisdiction.

Art Other Egyptian Art: Dresses Jewelry Household objects Furniture Boxes Vases Gold, copper, bronze Clay Wood