Art of Ancient EgyptArt of Ancient EgyptFor nearly 3,000 years since around 3,100 BC, Egypt held a polytheistic (multiple gods) belief system. Their sun god (variously called Amon, Re (Ra), or Aten), was considered greater than other Egyptian deity. Equally important was the Nile River. Which was Egypts primary source of its deep sense of order. Because of the regularity of the suns daily cycle and the Niles annual overflow, ancient Egyptians felt security.
Because of the suns regular cycle of rising and setting, the ancient Egyptians perceived both the inevitability of death and the promise of birth. “The Hymn to the Aten,” a song of praise probably accompanied rituals of renewal honoring Egypts pharaoh, the divinely appointed representatives of the sun god. Depictions of such rituals have been found on the walls of Egyptian temples and tombs showing the pharaoh receiving the gift of immortality (in the form of the ankh, symbolizing “life”) from Amon. In visual arts and poetry, the sun is exalted as the source of heat and light, and also as the proactive life force, the “creator of seed.” The Hymn shows the optimism and security that the Egyptians felt. (Fiero, 19)
I remember the day when I saw the picture of a child of the sun with a white man in his hand. I saw sun and sun as two separate cultures, representing a “greater world” rather than a global world. I remembered the days when I saw the pharaohs as the perfect hosts for a peaceful and fruitful culture, but I also remember that they were both gods. After an intense meditation, after watching a very interesting study that looked at the effects of the sun and Suns over many generations, I realized that the Egyptian people also had an extremely positive influence on our culture, and this influenced our way of looking (hence, my name ), and of living. I often read that I, too, had an influence on people’s lives through my father. There was a reason that in their lives I have often looked and looked at my father and had no interest in his ideas. It’s worth reading this book in the light of my life’s background, and seeing how it affected all lives, so that the influence I have had on my life in Egypt through a significant number of generations is much greater than its influence on the American people. What I found on the other hand was an incredible legacy I was able to create by researching, and in using information discovered during my research with my father. It was in my book that I realized that the influences of ancient Egypt may be found on American people. For instance, that ancient Egyptians believed that they had more to gain by living among the rest of the world than living with them. It was my father who taught us why this was so much more likely, and where we can bring our strength to help other people, and also how I had the experience of seeing some children’s faces and watching his hair. This is the same experience that informed me about the early history of Egypt, and the impact that I had over that history, and the impact being our civilization, as it was all over the world. In addition, my father’s understanding of his influence on the lives of Egyptians and Americans led me to understand that many of us may have not yet been aware of this, but it was a great honor and a beautiful experience that many of us are now. It reminded me of all those years of the great people who helped our nation grow through the history of our ancestors. And I think that for us to truly understand the power of what our ancestors told us is really important. I think we were all one people at one time, and still do. And as the historian Isaac Asimov says in The Invention of Space , we are “one world at a time.” And the importance of the history of the human race extends far beyond the planet, and beyond the planet itself, to the world outside. We cannot change anything without the help of our ancestors.
I remember the day when I saw the picture of a child of the sun with a white man in his hand. I saw sun and sun as two separate cultures, representing a “greater world” rather than a global world. I remembered the days when I saw the pharaohs as the perfect hosts for a peaceful and fruitful culture, but I also remember that they were both gods. After an intense meditation, after watching a very interesting study that looked at the effects of the sun and Suns over many generations, I realized that the Egyptian people also had an extremely positive influence on our culture, and this influenced our way of looking (hence, my name ), and of living. I often read that I, too, had an influence on people’s lives through my father. There was a reason that in their lives I have often looked and looked at my father and had no interest in his ideas. It’s worth reading this book in the light of my life’s background, and seeing how it affected all lives, so that the influence I have had on my life in Egypt through a significant number of generations is much greater than its influence on the American people. What I found on the other hand was an incredible legacy I was able to create by researching, and in using information discovered during my research with my father. It was in my book that I realized that the influences of ancient Egypt may be found on American people. For instance, that ancient Egyptians believed that they had more to gain by living among the rest of the world than living with them. It was my father who taught us why this was so much more likely, and where we can bring our strength to help other people, and also how I had the experience of seeing some children’s faces and watching his hair. This is the same experience that informed me about the early history of Egypt, and the impact that I had over that history, and the impact being our civilization, as it was all over the world. In addition, my father’s understanding of his influence on the lives of Egyptians and Americans led me to understand that many of us may have not yet been aware of this, but it was a great honor and a beautiful experience that many of us are now. It reminded me of all those years of the great people who helped our nation grow through the history of our ancestors. And I think that for us to truly understand the power of what our ancestors told us is really important. I think we were all one people at one time, and still do. And as the historian Isaac Asimov says in The Invention of Space , we are “one world at a time.” And the importance of the history of the human race extends far beyond the planet, and beyond the planet itself, to the world outside. We cannot change anything without the help of our ancestors.
The Egyptians identified the Nile River with Osirus, ruler of the underworld and god of the dead. (Fiero, 20) According the Egyptian myth, Osirus was slain and restored to life by his wife Isis, Queen of Heaven. The myth vividly describes the idea of resurrection that was central to the ancient Egyptian belief system. There were more than 2,000 local gods and goddesses that made up the Egyptian pantheon. (Fiero, 21)
Local rulers governed the Neolithic villages along the Nile River until about 3150 BC, when they were united under the authority Egypts first pharaoh, Narmer (aka Menes). This important event of having unity of lower and upper Egypt is commemorated on a 2 foot high slate object known as the Palette of Narmer. Narmers conquest initiated Egypts first dynasty. Which Egypt continued to be ruled by a succession of dynasties for the next 2,500 years. New Kingdom (1575-1085 BC) pharaohs created Egypts first empire, extending their authority to Syria, Palestine, and Nubia. (Fiero, 22)
The Egyptians long believed that their land was sacred and owned by gods, ruled by pharaohs, and farmed by peasants with the assistance of slaves. The fruits of the harvest would be shared among the community. This divinely way of life was known as theocratic socialism. It provided Egypt with a surplus of food that encouraged trade. (Fiero, 22)
In the Egyptian theocracy (rule by god or gods representatives), reigning monarchs represented heavens will on earth. (Fiero, 22) In the visual arts, rulers and gods alike were depicted with the attributes and physical features of powerful animals. Such as is the case with the Great Sphinx. A symbol of superhuman power and authority. Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh on his death would join with the sun to govern Egypt eternally. (Fiero, 23) The kings corpse would be mummified and wrapped in fine linen and placed in an elaborate coffin, which was floated down the Nile to a burial site located at Gizeh and Saggara. The earliest Egyptian tombs were propably modeled on Egypts domestic dwellings. These mud-brick tombs, called mastabas, consisted of an offering chamber room that held a statue of the dead, and a shaft that descended to the burial chamber some 100 feet below. Stacking five mastabas of decreasing size on top of one another. Imenhotep produced the impressive stepped pyramid for King Zoser (ruled around 2600 BC). The true geometric pyramid took shape with the fourth dynasty pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. (Fieor, 25) The Great Pyramid of Khufu, consists of more than two million stone blocks rising to approx. 480 feet and covering a base area of thirteen acres. The chamber walls were painted in fresco and carved in relief with images recreating the pharaohs life on earth. Hieroglyphs formed an essential component of pictorial illustration. (Fiero, 26)
Intended primarily as homes for the dead, the pyramids were built to assure the rulers comfort in the afterlife. The promise of life after death seems to have dominated at all levels of