Geography
 Egypt is located in northeastern
Africa.
 The Nile River runs through
Egypt and is the world's longest
river. It is over 4000 miles long!
Each spring the Nile would
flood and leave rich fertile soil
behind.
 There were deserts to the east
and west of the Nile River, and
mountains to the south.
The Gifts of the Nile River
 Fertile soil for crops
 Fresh water for drinking & bathing.
 Transportation and trade.
 It provided materials for building, for making
cloth for clothes, and even for making paper made from the wild papyrus weed, that grew
along the shores of the Nile.
 Without the Nile, Egypt would be a desert.
King Menes
 The early people who settled along the Nile River banded together
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into two main groups.
One group lived around the mouth of Nile River and their king wore
a Red Crown. Their land was called Lower Egypt.
The other group lived near the mountains to the South. Their king
wore a White Crown and their land was called Upper Egypt.
These two groups had much in common. But, they did not get along.
Around 3000 BCE, King Menes ruled Upper Egypt. He conquered
Lower Egypt. These two groups continued to fight. One day, King
Menes had an idea. If the color of a crown was so important, why not
invent a new crown?! King Menes created the Double Crown, a mix
of white and red.
 His idea worked!
Hieroglyphs
 The ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a
picture writing called hieroglyphics. The people who
did the actual writing were called scribes.
 The scribes had a problem. The ancient Egyptians
wrote everything down, absolutely everything!
Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time
to write in pictures.
 A stone was found in Egypt that unlocked the mystery
of what the hieroglyphs said – the Rosetta Stone!
Animals
 Cats were protectors and thought to be magical. They
were not considered pets – they were highly respected!
 Crocodiles were thought special – protectors of the
Nile. Rich priests had them as pets – they were not
caged and were dressed in the finest jewels!
 Beetle – Scarab beetle was a symbol of hope and
restoration. Charms of good luck were made in the
beetles design.
 Dogs were common household pets.
Afterlife
 Ancient Egyptians believed that everyone had a soul.
They called the soul by two names - the Ba and the Ka.
 There were some requirements you had to meet before
you could spend eternity in the afterlife.
1. First, you had to pass the weighing of the
heart test. That got you onboard Ra's boat.
2. But you also had to have your name written
somewhere.
3. And you had to have a preserved body.
Gods & Goddesses
 The ancient Egyptians worshiped over 2000
gods and goddesses. Unlike other ancient
cultures, whose gods looked somewhat like
people, most ancient Egyptian gods had
animal heads.
 The ancient Egyptians built temples to
honor their gods. Each temple was home to
one or more temple gods.
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Mummification
 The best way the ancient Egyptians knew how to
preserve a body was to mummify it. The poor placed
the bodies of their dead relatives out in the sun, in the
desert sand. The bodies mummified naturally.
 Anyone who could afford it went to a professional
mummy maker. People wanted to look their best in
their afterlife.
Canopic Jars
 Jars used by ancient Egyptians to hold mummified
remains. During the mummification process the organs
of the human body were removed and preserved
separately in canopic jars - were decorated with the
heads of the four sons of Horus.
 The persons liver, intestines lungs and stomach were
placed in canopic jars.
 The heart was left inside the body because the Egyptians
believed that in the afterlife it would be weighed to see
whether the person had led a good life.
Pyramids & Tombs
During the time of the Old Kingdom the ancient
Egyptians built pyramids to hold the royal tombs of
their kings. Pyramids were huge structures that had
storage rooms, courtyards, secret passageways, and all
kinds of traps designed to catch robbers who tried to
break into the pyramid to rob it.
Daily Life
 They enjoyed their life to the fullest. They worked very hard, but
saved time to enjoy family, friends, music, parties, swimming,
fishing, hunting, sailing, and especially their children.
 Children were the heart of the family. If a couple could not have a
child, they adopted a child.
 Children were taught to be kind and honest, to respect their
parents, to help with the family business, and to care for the
elder members of their family.
 It was important that children learn to be caring. The ancient
Egyptians believed in "ma'at" - order and justice. They spent a
lifetime trying to be fair and just at all times. The ancient
Egyptians believed that you could only reach your afterlife if your
heart was light.
Women in Egypt
 In ancient Egypt, if a man asked a woman to marry him, she could say
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no. Women were not equal with men, but they had considerably more
rights than did women in other ancient civilizations.
Those who did marry usually married quite young, around age 12-14.
Once married, a woman's first duty was to be a good wife and mother.
Children were very important to the ancient Egyptians.
Along with raising the children and running the household, women
were free to get a paid job outside the home, if they wanted one. They
could run a business. They could own, buy, and sell property. They
could make a will and leave their personal goods to whomever they
chose, including their daughters.
If any woman broke the law, she had go to court and defend
herself from the charge, just like everyone else.
One of the biggest rights a woman had was the right of divorce.
Homes
 The ancient Egyptians built homes of sun-dried bricks, made of
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mud and straw. The molds were left out in the sun to dry.
Their homes were huge. Homes had flat roofs. People often sat
outside on their roofs in the evening to watch the sunset and catch
the evening breeze.
Nobles lived in huge villas along the Nile. Some were front with
white limestone, which made the walls sparkle. A few homes were
even built with stone. Each villa had 25-30 rooms. Most rooms had
a purpose. Some were guest rooms, some were bathrooms!
A peasant's home was tiny by comparison. Still, it was very nice.
When you opened the door, you entered a courtyard. Ramps were
used to move from level to level. One ramp led up to the flat roof.
People often slept on their roofs.
Some peasants homes were huge, especially in the country.
Egyptian Art
The Egyptians had a unique way of
drawing people. They drew
heads, eyes, legs and feet
positioned as if you were looking
at them from the side. But they
drew the shoulders and the
chest as if you were looking at
them from the front. Men were
usually drawn with dark colors.
Women were usually drawn with
light colors.
Famous Pharaoh's
The pharaoh owned everything. More importantly, he was in charge of everything
RAMESES II
 He was a great father and husband – but a terrible
general. Luckily he had smart people around him.
 He had 111 sons and 51 daughters and many wives
 He ordered the construction of the temple of Abu
Simbel, the huge temple that is 180 feet long, 90 feet
high, and decorated with four 60 foot high statues of
Rameses II.
 Ruled for 60 years.
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KING TUTENKAMEN ‘TUT’
 Tut was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh.
He was only 18 years old when he died. The people did
not have a lot of time to build Tut's tomb, because his
tomb was so small, it was overlooked for thousands of
years.
 In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter
entered King Tut's tomb. It was almost like entering a
time machine. Robbers might have been there because
a bag of gold rings was found on the floor, as if
dropped in haste. But they did not take everything
because Carter and his team found many treasures
inside the tomb including a solid gold mask of King
Tut's face.
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The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb
Curses were found in most pharaoh’s tombs
Howard Carter didn’t believe in foolish curse’s – the
night the tomb was discovered Carter’s yellow canary
was eaten by a cobra.
Next, Lord Carnarvon, Carter’s right hand man,
became ill and died unexpectedly – his son claims his
dog howled and then dropped dead the same night.
By 1929 eleven people connected with the discovery of
the Tomb had died early and of unnatural causes
Could the mummies curse be true???
CLEOPATRA
 Cleopatra was the last pharaoh in Egypt.
 She was an educated woman who learned to speak
the Egyptian language – first leader in 300 years
 She married Julius Cesar and after he died – she
married Cesar’s best friend Marc Anthony – both
of those men were very powerful in Rome.
 Rome overthrew Egypt in war
 Cleopatra and Marc Anthony committed
suicide before they were captured.