...has one of the richest cultural and religious histories in the world. The level of advancement of the ancient Egyptian culture was higher than that of its neighbors. The Egyptian culture helped in the advancement of various aspects of humanity. The significance of the Egyptian culture in the modern day world makes it one of the most studied cultures in the world. Contemporary mathematics has its roots in the ancient Egyptian culture. Ancient Egyptians used various form to express their culture. Of all the forms used to express Ancient Egyptian culture, none is more significant than the Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptian art give insights into the ancient Egyptian culture. In ancient Egypt, sculpture had a significant religious and political importance. Art symbolized various seasons and religious practices. Sculpture continues to have a significant political and religious importance in the contemporary world, just as it did in the ancient Egyptian culture. The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is one of the sculptures that symbolize ancient Egyptian culture. The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is 2.5 meters high and is a portrait of the king with very youthful features. The head has double crowns, which represent the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt. The upper crown of ancient Egyptian kings was white with the lower crown being red. In essence, the king was the symbol of the unification of the ‘two lands’ (Kuhrt 125). Egyptian art for kings was usually slightly...
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...Compare and contrast essay: Ancient Egypt and Greece The ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek civilizations are two of the oldest known civilizations in our history. The Egyptian civilization, based in the eastern part of North Africa, is believed to have started around 3150 BC and continued till the end of the Pharaoh rule in 31 BC. The ancient Greek civilization is believed to have been in effect from 1100 BC till about 146 BC. Many similarities and differences existed between these two civilizations, as even though they co-existed during a certain timeframe (1150 BC to 146 BC), they were located in different geographical areas. Because of these differences in geography, both these civilizations were subjected to different kinds of exposure, which included contact with other civilization and cultural inheritance. In the political sphere, we find that the Egyptian civilization had stronger emphasis on central authority, while the Greeks had a more decentralized structure, where powers were distributed over the cities and the states as well. As far as art is concerned, we find that the Egyptians were more involved in creating great monumental and gaudy structures, while the Greeks were more involved in creating smaller, more literary pieces of art. One of the biggest reasons why these two civilizations had these differences is due to their geography. The Egyptians had easy access to large stones that they could bring in to their country and use them to erect such monumental...
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...Many of the great works of ancient Egypt depicts regular and detailed depictions of human beings and the nature. Moreover, due to the highly religious nature of ancient Egyptian civilization, Egyptian artists have depicted gods, goddesses, and Pharaohs. The function was to describe their divine nature. Ancient Egyptian art is characterized by the idea of order. Symbolism and the use of simple geometry played an important role in establishing sense of order. Nonetheless, many Egyptian arts were not meant to be seen and were hidden from the commoners. For instance, the magnificent treasures of Tutankhamun were not to be seen by people. The first dwellers of the Nile Valley started making engraved drawings on the steep high faces of rocks, in the early eighth millennium BC .They were believed to be a manner of recording data. The depiction of the essential day today activities of their lives, like wild games, hunting scenes, river boating and domesticating animals were among the drawings. The art of the Predynastic period has endured in the form of carved stone , ivory grave goods, pottery vessels, which were placed near the dead body in burial cavities. Figures of living beings dedicated in fulfillment of a vow, were often female statuettes made of pottery and ivory. They may have related to early fertility followers of religious beliefs, as they amplified sexual features. Some of the painted scenes on pottery vessels show the prehistoric rock-carvings and styles and preoccupations...
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...The Egyptian Religion and the Pharaoh Religion is a worldwide phenomenon which dominates the way people go about living their lives. It dictates how the world came to be, how people should act, what people should believe in, and even what happens after death. Today, there are a countless number of religions which influence society, including Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Although times are changing, religion has played essential roles in the creation of civilizations since the beginning of time, even before the existence of the religions we have today. In ancient civilizations, it was believed that rulers were the key to the gods and Ancient Egyptian history is an example of this. Egypt, although primarily known for their pyramids, has...
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...The Ancient Egyptians view of the underworld was very unique and different, especially when compared to the beliefs of modern day religions. The myth “The Death of Osiris” played a major role in their faith in a continued existence after death, their complex funeral rites, and their desire for immortality. This influenced their everyday life and was a prominent role in their myth, religion and culture. The Osiris myth is arguably one of the most well known Egyptian myths to this day. This myth revolves primarily on the death and rebirth Osiris. It shows his transcendence from the primeval king of Egypt to the king of the dead, Osiris. The myth of Osiris is the most influential myth in Ancient Egyptian times due to the significance of Osiris’...
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...Egyptian art is expressed in many forms, such as paintings and sculptures. It is both physically attractive, and highly symbolic. Because of the highly religious nature of Ancient Egyptian civilization, many of the great works of ancient Egypt depict gods, goddesses, and Pharaohs, who were also considered divine. During my visit to the Metropolitan museum of art, I performed an analysis on the Egyptian sculpture of Isis-Aphrodite, a symbolic goddess in Egyptian culture. The sculpture of Isis-Aphrodite dates to the Roman period. This time period was around the second century A.D. The Metropolitan museum of art purchased the sculpture in 1991. The piece of Isis-Aphrodite is a terracotta figure. It is made of alluvial clay. It is painted with brown, black, red, and pink paint on a white englobe. This rather small delicately painted figurine of Isis gives great gratification to sight upon first glance. It has a height of only 19.5 inches, and a width of approximately 5 inches. It is however, truly astonishing. The sculpture has a narrow expressionless face. She has brown shoulder length hair is fixed with twists like curls, and bangs. Aside from a few elaborate accessories, Isis is nude. Isis wears a large attention grabbing crown on her head, which steals the emphasis from other features. The crown is actually an exaggerated calathos (the crown of Egyptian Greco-Roman deities) emblazoned with the sun disk and horns of Isis. She also wears a bracelet, anklet, and sash. The...
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...Book Review Summary of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John H. Walton Chapter 1 Chapter 1 is Walton’s introduction to the discussion concerning the congruence of the Old Testament with the world surrounding it. This chapter discusses the history, methodology, and reasoning behind comparative Old Testament studies. It then concludes with the principles and goals each student should possess as he or she studies the Old Testament. His synopsis of comparative Old Testament studies begins with the resurgence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeological studies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[1] He then moves on to discuss the impact of Friedrich Delitzsch’s lectures concerning how the writers of the Old Testament borrowed from extrabiblical sources set the stage for many secular ideologies removing the special revelation aspect from the Bible. This allowed two things to take place. First, it brought out the comparative study of the Bible into a critical realm; and second, it made Assyriology, Egyptology, and Hittitology serious academic disciplines which have greatly enhanced modern man’s understanding of these ancient cultures. While Walton discusses several forms of Old Testament study, his opinion favors comparative studies. He starts with explaining the reasoning for sound methodological comparative study and moves on to answer the “why” it should be performed over other studies. In his view, it expands...
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...Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, which means the worship of many deities, except for during the reign of Akenaton. During the reign of Akenaton, more than 3,000 years of development, Egyptian religion underwent significant changes of emphasis and practice, but in all periods religion had a clear consistency in character and style. The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses. Some, such as Amun, Isis, Osiris, and Horus, were worshipped throughout the whole country, while others had only a local following. There were two essential foci of public religion: the king and the gods. Both are among the most characteristic features of Egyptian civilization. The king had a unique status between humanity and the gods, partook in the world of the gods, and constructed great, religiously motivated funerary monuments for his afterlife. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" contains the major ideas and beliefs in the ancient Egyptian religion. Because their religion stressed an afterlife, Egyptians devoted much time and wealth to preparing for survival in the next world. Tombs were placed if possible in the desert. Vast resources were expended on creating prestigious burial places for absolute rulers or wealthy officials. Tombs contained elaborate grave goods (mostly plundered soon after deposition), representations of “daily life,” or less commonly of religious subjects, and some texts that were intended to help the deceased attain...
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...been the First humans, the Sumerians, the Ancient Americans, Jewish, Christian, or any religion in between, each era was a bit different. The comparison and contrast to one another have different aspects to how they perceive the afterlife or what happens before and after death. As time passed, many different religious faiths existed. How each transpired was solely based on the era. In ancient times, there were a variety of religious faiths in existence. However, there were three that stood out from the rest. The first was the Mesopotamian faith (early ancient times), which was of great importance within Mesopotamian culture. For Mesopotamians, the gods were living realities who affected all aspects of life. The center of each Mesopotamian community was the temple complex, which consisted of ziggurat with a temple at the top. It was here that the main god or goddess, in the form of a statue, resided. It would be here that all religious ceremonies took place. This temple complex would dominate both individual and commercial life, thus demonstrating the close relationship between religion and culture within Mesopotamia and the belief that there was an afterlife of immortality. The second was the Egyptian faith. Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians held their faith in high regard. They had a vast number of gods, all of which were associated with heavenly bodies and natural forces’. However, there was one period in Egyptian history that only one god was worshiped...
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...Akhenaten was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned about 3,500 years ago in the 18th dynasty. He made some major alterations to various aspects of Egyptian culture, the most notable one being his religious revolution. Akhenaten's reformation was meant to convert Egyptian polytheism, belief in Amun-ra, the god of gods, in favour of the worship of a single god, Aten the sun disk. He was seen as a reformer because his religion focused one god, but his major emphasis was on the Aten's realness and existence. By being able to see ones god, it provides a level of reality as opposed to believing the words of others. He was viewed as a tyrant for taking his religion too far, denying the existence of other gods, and destroying any evidence of the past religion of Amun-ra including the name of his own father. Even his name before embarking on this deity revolution was Amenhotep IV. In his 5th year of reign he rejected this name meaning “Amun is satisfied”, he changed it to Akhenaten, meaning “the living image of Aten”. Egyptians once followed several gods and goddesses, each of which had its own priests, temples, shrines and rituals. Akhenaten ordered the construction of a new capital city known as Amarna “the horizon of the sun” to escape priesthood of Amun-ra. Everything in Thebes was packed up and Akhenaten and his followers left for Amarna. By centralizing himself as the creator of the new god Aten, Akhenaten gave himself control over both politics and religion, two of the most...
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...OBST 590 - Old Testament Introduction Book Summary II Ancient Near Eastern Thought and The Old Testament By Walton ___________________ Submitted to Dr. Ashraf Basilious 27 February 2013 CONTENTS iNTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I REVIEW 2 chapter ii review 4 CHAPTER III REVIEW 6 CHAPTER IV REVIEW 7 CHAPTER V REVIEW 9 CHAPTER VI REVIEW 11 CHAPTER VII REVIEW 13 CHAPTER VIII REVIEW 15 CHAPTER IX REVIEW 17 CHAPTER X REVIEW 18 CHAPTER XI REVIEW 20 CHAPTER XII REVIEW 22 CHAPTER XIII REVIEW 23 CHAPTER XIV REVIEW 24 CONCLUSION 26 Introduction The “Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament”, by Walton covers many issues which an individual unless wanting to seek more than what is written in the bible would want to perform endless days of research and ability to see firsthand by reading Walton’s book. These areas covered in Walton’s book cover the time from when the Old Testament had begun to be written back in BC and later re-found along with other textual artifacts earth in the 18 and mid 19th century AD. The discoveries of both biblical, and other un-biblical artifacts is covered within Walton’s book to how and why some individuals who have a different form of religious beliefs. To how in the past the individual living during early Near Eastern thought processes had been in regards to God or in many cases when not Israeli or Christian involved gods which were based off an...
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...Ancient Art The trip I took to the Getty Museum was very interesting and informational. I had always wanted to go to the Getty and now that I had purpose in writing a term paper on art of ancient civilizations it was worth my time. I mainly learned about art in Egyptian, Greek and Roman culture while I was there. Before the portrayal of the human body or any piece of art can be critiqued, you must understand the artist's culture. As man evolved over centuries, his views of the body and art transformed. My tour definitely showed the drastic changes in different cultures' art. Each culture and era presents very distinct characteristics. Through time and experimentation, we have expressed our views of the human body clearly with our art. Egyptians were the first people to make a large impact on the world of art. Egyptians needed art for their religious beliefs more than decoration or self-gratification. The most important aspect of Egyptian life is the ka, the part of the human spirit that lives on after death. The ka needed a physical place to occupy or it would disappear. Most of the important men of Egypt paid to have their body carved out of stone. That was where the spirit would live after the man dies. They used stone because it was the strongest material they could find. Longevity was very important to the Egyptians. The bodies are always idealized and clothed. Figures are very rigid, close-fisted, and are built on a vertical axis to show that the person...
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...Cole Silva Botany: Ancient Greek Hobby, Ancient Egyptian Habit When one thinks of plants in a contemporary American context, nothing too particular comes to mind. There are certainly very nice gardens in the United States and all over the world, and there are still farmers, but a lot less since corporate farms came into existence. For the most part, plants are just another ordinary concept that many people don’t think twice about. However, this isn’t the case everywhere, and it didn’t use to be like this for many people in the Ancient Near East and Ancient Mediterranean worlds. Ancient Greece, on one hand, had plants and gardens mostly for aesthetic pleasure and were not reliant on the cultivation of plants and herbs. On the other hand, Ancient...
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...EGYPT BEYOND THE PYRAMIDS PAGE 1 THE HISTORY CHANNEL CLASSROOM PRESENTS EGYPT TEACHER’S GUIDE Egypt Beyond The Pyramids The mystifying world of ancient Egypt comes to life in this four-part miniseries, Egypt Beyond the Pyramids. Within the walls of recently excavated temples and tombs lie secrets that will challenge current ideas about ancient Egypt. Discoveries—from the enormous burial tomb called KV5 to the sacred temples of Karnak—show how ancient Egyptians lived, worked, worshipped, and honored their dead. To provide a deeper understanding of Egypt’s past, head archaeologist Dr. Kent Weeks, along with other Egyptologists, leads viewers into ancient temples and tombs—including the resting place of Pharaoh Ramesses II’s lost children—some recorded on film for the first time. Epic in scope, Egypt Beyond the Pyramids demonstrates that as archaeologists uncover more about the past, their discoveries yield more questions than answers. Curriculum Links Egypt Beyond the Pyramids is appropriate for middle and high school classes in world history, ancient history, and art history. National History Standards Egypt Beyond the Pyramids fulfills the following National Standards for History: Historical Thinking 1 (Chronological Thinking), 2 (Historical Comprehension), 3 (Historical Analysis and Interpretation), 4 (Historical Research Capabilities), World History, Era 2. EGYPT BEYOND THE PYRAMIDS THE HISTORY CHANNEL CLASSROOM PRESENTS EGYPT HOUR 1: MANSIONS OF THE SPIRITS ...
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...Ancient Egyptian history encompasses the beliefs and rituals followed in Egypt for over three thousand years until the establishment of Coptic Christianity and Islam. The ancient Egyptians had a highly developed view of the afterlife. They considered death to be a stage to the next life. They followed elaborate set of burial rituals for preparing the body and soul for an eternal life after death. These beliefs about the afterlife were heavily focused on the preservation of the body, and this is why embalming and mummification was practiced, to preserve one’s identity in afterlife. The Egyptians celebrated a very sound relationship with the faith, and gods. All kings (pharaohs) were considered to be divine, a belief that had its roots in the myths that gods had ruled Egypt in prehistoric times and that the earliest human rulers were the actual offspring of these divine beings. The king (pharaoh) was an incarnation of Horus, son of Osiris (Mojsov, 2002 ). Therefore, when a pharaoh died, he could be prepared for death and become an "Osiris," the god of resurrection. The gods Osiris and Isis were exalted as the ideal father and mother, and Set (god of chaos) became the personification of evil. Thus they believed that one inherit many other elements from their divine progenitors than physical bodies. In their cosmology, each person was consisting of many elements. They had very complex concept of a soul: The precise meaning of ka, ba, ach (akh), `shm (sekhem), and so on is no...
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