Ancient Egypt Notes

~Geography & the Old Kingdom~

Ancient Egypt • Present-Day
 Egypt was “the gift of the Nile”
-Herodotus (who is this guy?)
• Last 750 miles of Nile River prior to emptying
into the Mediterranean Sea
• Cataracts made the river impassible by boat
before this point.
 Like Mesopotamia
• Early farming villages as early as 5,000 BC
– Own rituals, gods and chieftains
• However, Two Separate Kingdoms eventually emerged
– Upper (tall white crown)
– Lower (red crown)
 King Menes
• Originally of Upper
Egypt, he united the
Kingdom, as well as
the Crowns.
• Dynasties
• Old Kingdom
– 2660 to 2180 BC
Pharaohs’ THEOCRACY
• Divine rulers who WERE
considered gods.
• Even after death their
reigns continued
– Ka ~ eternal spirit
• Eternal rule led to
elaborate tombs known
as PYRAMIDS.
 Massive Structures
• Some covered areas as large as 13 acres and
stood over 400 ft high.
• Who built these structures? How?
 Religion
• Polytheistic
– 2,000+ Gods in all
• Life after death
– Mummification
Everyday life – Social Stucture
 Writing
• Hieroglyphics –
“sacred carving”
• Papyrus