Early Civilizations: Ancient Egypt

The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.

In the Egyptian society women had the same rights, both legal and economic, as the men in their society. They could both work the same job and earn the same regardless of sex. Each member of the relationship maintained and respected the ownership of what was brought into the marriage. It is not known why these rights existed for women, especially during this time period. Women could even become pharaoh. Nowhere else in the ancient world did something like this exist. The women bore and raised the children. They were basically responsible for all of the more usual or domestic related relationships, while the men taught their growing boys about the world and their own trade. Men in ancient Egypt were often expected to form a life for themselves before going out to find a wife. The males would rarely be able to choose their own careers. It was more common for the men to receive the job their father had when they reached working age. The Egyptian society was

Civilization is defined as "a complex culture in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements". But what are these common elements? Many of the worlds first civilizations all shared a number of key characteristics that set them apart from early hominids. The development of citites and architechual monuments, which became the central point of matters such as economics , polictics, and new artistic forms began to flourish. These societies introduced religion and began to worships deities that they believed were key to their communties good fortune. Social hierarchies were introduced, kings and priests of the upper class oversaw those

The Egyptian religion was not based on one almighty figure but a mixture of beliefs and practices. In the present times it would include “magic, mythology, science, medicine, psychiatry, spiritualism, herbology” and in current days the understanding of beings higher then life and death itself (Mark 2016). Most Egyptian deities represented some part of religion, demons, and or animals. Every Egyptian city had its own

Ancient Egypt had one of the greatest religions of their time. The religion of Ancient Egypt was a sole part in their society. They were a polytheistic group which means that they believed in many different gods. These Egyptians believed that their deities were in control and a part of everything that happened in nature. For example, when a thunderstorm came, they explained it by saying that it was

Ancient Egypt, one of the most successful and spectacular civilizations in human history, has been studied by modern day scholars for its amazing accomplishments. Lasting for over 3,000 years, this civilization thrived in the Nile River Valley and grew to be a united kingdom with pharaohs, merchants, artisans, priests, teachers, and farmers. It can be argued that Egypt was the most highly advanced civilization of the time due to their stunning architecture, strong central government, and complex worldview that was highly optimistic and positive.

Ancient Egypt prospered, expanded and flourished during the reign of the pharaohs. Although their society is very different from ours, it is still found to be successful and is a large part of why we study Egypt and why we find it to be historically significant. Egyptian civilizations were so successful because of pharaohs, geography and social hierarchy. The secret to Egypt’s stability, consolidation and expansion is portrayed through its location and society, while also being influenced by social, economic and political structures. I displayed this idea within a digital art piece. It consists of a pyramid showcasing the different levels of social hierarchy, topped with the mask of a pharaoh. This pyramid is pictured in the desert with farmland running on one side next to the Nile and palm trees on the other.

Ancient Egypt is memorialized for its opulent history and culture along with the unique and defining burial practices. Ancient Egyptian religion was a very intricate yet complex way of belief. Egyptian religion was based on the worship and fellowship of many God’s who were believed to have a constant and ever being control of all earthly elements. The legends of these gods were to foretell and explain the influences of the forces they represented. The actual practice of Egyptian religion was an effort by both Pharaoh and nobles to provide both offerings and rule for the gods and gain their favor in hopes that their soul would live on in the afterlife. A piece of Egyptian religion are the Ancient Pyramids, these tombs were just the

Religion provided the Egyptians with a sense of security and timelessness. Theses religious ideas represented the Egyptians as an inseparable part of the entire world. Egyptians were polytheistic meaning that they believed in multiple gods instead of just one. There are two groups of gods that the Egyptians worshipped, the sun gods and the land gods. River gods were considered land gods. The sun was a source of life so it was worth worshipping. The gods had different names and forms based on their role that they played in Egyptian religion. For example, and Egyptian ruler had the title “Son of Ra”. Ra was an Egyptian sun god.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, along the lower reaches of the Nile River. Ancient Egypt had two main characteristics, religion and class division, that made the civilization thrive. Their religion was strongly influenced by tradition, which caused them to resist change. Egyptians did not question the beliefs which had been handed down to them. They did not desire change in their society. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. Some of these gods or goddesses included; Nut the goddess of the sky, Geb the god of the earth, Horus the god of the sky, Seth the god of violence, and Anubis the god of Embalming.The main god they worshipped was the god of the sun, Ra. Believed they need to praise all of the Gods so that everything would work out good. Ancient Egyptians thought that if they failed to embalm the body properly, the soul would be vulnerable to the demons of the underworld, and would rot. The Egyptians thought that the deceased needed to be embalmed and needed supplies that would be useful in the afterlife. The caste system you were born into was what class you were in for your whole life. The social class was past down from parents and it seperated people by groups by their education and social lives. The classes, in order from most powerful to least powerful was; pharaoh, nobles, soldiers, scribes, merchants, craftsmen, farmers, than slaves. The classes, choose peoples job and it is what kept the civilization going

The Egyptians believed in a lot of things that would be looked at as craziness nowadays. They would mummify people, mainly the Pharaohs, when they died. They strongly believe in the “afterlife” and would do things to make the people that died happy in the afterlife. There were many kingdoms in Egypt, but there were also hardships as well.

In order to communicate with the unseen powers, people needed a ceremonial space, so they could worship their gods in a more tranquil environment. For example, some ziggurats built in Mesopotamia, were built for the moon goddess, Nanna, and the Egyptian pyramids were for the dead elites and kings taking a journey towards the Land of the West, or eternal life. Therefore, people had to make monumental structures so they could get closer to the sky, or the heaven. Also, from the size of their structures, they could also express their admiration and respect to the higher beings. Additionally, they wanted the structures to last longer, which encouraged them to build monumental structures, even though doing so put their lives at risk.

In Ancient Egyptian religion the gods were a huge influence on the Egyptian lifestyle as their government was a theocracy and most of the citizens were working for the pharaoh was the ruler because he was considered to be a reincarnation of a god. The Egyptians interacted with their gods in culture and the environment.

All civilizations, whether old or new, strive for advancement. In order to advance, certain techniques and characteristics have to be combined and manipulated to achieve this progression. “A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a variety of common elements.” Examples of these early civilizations that used similar characteristics to flourish were the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and the Egyptians in Egypt.

Ancient egypt was a very diverse and amazing culture starting around the year 3200 BCE. The ancient egyptians were a race of people who were very religious and deeply divided by gender roles and a strong hierarchy. The egyptians were also very advanced in a sense of their technology and economic economy for their time. Family life was very important to the people of egypt most men would marry at the ages of 16-20 because they had to establish the fact that they could support the the family.