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Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt. Religion, Culture, & History. Civilization. Developed between 4000 & 3000 B.C.E. Golden Age: 3500-2500 B.C.E. Written Heritage: 3000 B.C.E. 1st great nation of the Western world. Hieroglyphics. Picture-writing Symbols for meaning Separated Egypt from surrounding cultures.

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Ancient Egypt

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  1. Ancient Egypt • Religion, Culture, & History

  2. Civilization • Developed between 4000 & 3000 B.C.E. • Golden Age: 3500-2500 B.C.E. • Written Heritage: 3000 B.C.E. • 1st great nation of the Western world

  3. Hieroglyphics • Picture-writing • Symbols for meaning • Separated Egypt from surrounding cultures

  4. The Nile River

  5. Religion • Death and Rebirth/Flood Cycle (Osiris) • Sun God (Re, or Ra) • Temporary victories over evil -- never permanent (Set) • Incest (Osiris & Isis) • Fertility (Isis) • Agriculture

  6. Ma’at • Concept of • truth, balance, morality, order, and justice. • Personified as goddess regulating stars, seasons, and actions of gods and men. • Prevents the universe from returning to chaos. • Her feather used to weigh hearts of the dead.

  7. 4 Creation Myths of Egypt

  8. Why So Many? • Significantly different from each other • Each city had different patron deity, and thus different creation story • Thousands of cities and villages = thousands of Egyptian deities

  9. What They All Have In Common - Emerging from watery chaos -- Nun • Nun: endless, formless deep that existed at the beginning of time and was the source of the nile • “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” --Genesis

  10. Memphis • Oldest Egyptian creation myth • Ancient political capital of Egypt • Creator god: Ptah • Name “Egypt” came from Greek translation of his name

  11. Ptah • Chief deity of Memphis; god of craftsmen • Creation by thought and word alone - “Through his heart and through his tongue.” • Thinking heart (brain mere head-stuffing); through naming comes Ka • Scholars today still argue about parallels to Genesis • Greeks equated him withHephaestus (Roman: Vulcan)

  12. Hermopolis • Greek name for Khemnu • Prosperous city built in honor of Thoth • Called Hermopolis because Greeks equated Thoth to Hermes • Ogdoad -- Group of Eight

  13. Thoth • 4 couples of frog-headed gods/snake-headed goddesses • Nun & Naunet: formless waters • Heh & Hauhet: Infinity and the flood • Kek and Kauket: Darkness • Amun & Amaunet: Hidden Powers

  14. Hermopolis, cont. • After Ogdoad, sun god born. • Re emerges from lotus flower on Nun • 6 of 8 disappear; only Amun and Amaunet join other gods of Egypt

  15. Elephantine Island • -Focuses on making humans • -Khnum: ancient ram-headed creator deity

  16. Khnum • Molded people on potter’s wheel • Controlled Nile’s floodwaters • Great fertility god

  17. Heliopolis

  18. Heliopolis Creation Myth • Most significant creation story in Egypt • Heliopolis: City of the Sun/ Modern-day Cairo • 3000 B.C.E., unification of Upper and Lower Egypt • Dominant myth prominent in Pyramid Texts • Great infinite ocean -- Nun • Atum: Lord and father of the gods/Simply came into being • Stood on mound symbolic of land rising out of Nile

  19. Atum • Essence of Egypt: sun and water • Benben: mound; meteorite venerated by Egyptians; believed to be solidified semen of Atum; inspiration for pyramids • Creation through masturbation; swallows seed; sneezes out Shu & Tefnut (air and moisture) • Great Ennead -- Nine major deities (Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Get, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys) • Atum combines with Re to become Atum-Re/Atum-Ra

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