Egypt

After the heckit week we had, we still learned something new in western civ. The notes from 2/7 class are on Egypt and are as follows;

• the Nile & the "Two Lands"
• upper Egypt was a 500 mile long strip of fertile land along the Nile
• lower Egypt was the wide land of the Nile Delta, which emptied into the Mediterranean Sea
• the Nile was the major provider of life for Egypt.
• 95% of the people lived a few miles from the river.
• 3100 BC - the two lands were united under a single king, or "pharaoh"
• Pharaoh was an all powerful, worshipped as a god, and intimately connected the other major Egyptian gods or goddesses.
• Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe called "maat"
• Pharaohs had multiple wife's, often sisters, to keep the social success in the family.
• Women could inherit money, land, and divorce their husbands.
• Gods, Humans, & Forever Life
• believed in an afterlife
• mummified bodies to preserve them for a post-death journey
• all souls would need to justify themselves and would either be sent to paradise or the jaws of a monster.
• The Writing of the Word of God
• hieroglyphs represented religious words
• hieratic script was a shorthand developed by scribes & priests
• usually written on papyrus and ink
• made from mashed Nile reeds
• Calendars & Sail Boats
• created a calendar with 365 days
• had doctors that created cures for common sickness'
• wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile
• Pyramids & Temples
• pyramids = massive stone tombs originally covered in marble
• the Temple of Ammon at Karnack is the largest religious building in the world
• stone scripters and interior painting dedicated to humans and gods in a series of poses