Egypt of the Pharaohs Midterm

Narmer

first pharaoh of Egypt; skilled military leader who conquered Lower Egypt; united Upper and Lower Egypt

Merikare Khety

Middle Kingdom pharaoh who gave advice about rulership in a wisdom text. Emphasized duties of kingship. The king is a guide and protector of Egyptian society.

Intef II

Ruler of the 11th dynasty. Played a crucial role in consolidating power in Upper Egypt, laying the groundwork for the eventual reunification of Egypt under Mentuhotep II

Mentuhotep II

Significant king of the 11th dynasty who ruled for 51 years. Well-known for reunifying Egypt after the 1st Intermediate Period, initiating the Middle Kingdom

Amenemhat I

1st king of the 12th dynasty (Middle Kingdom). Consolidated the administrative system, made a survey of the country, set boundaries to the provinces, and other helpful works. Reigned for 29 years.

Senwosret I

2nd king of the 12th dynasty (Middle Kingdom). Son of Amenemhat I. 45 year reign

Hekanakht

his letters were found at Thebes, giving insight into how the lives of ordinary Egyptians were conducted. He has only the relatively low title of “funerary priest”. He was literate & managed a small estate of his own

Manetho

Egyptian priest & historian during the Ptolemaic period. Compiled a history of Egypt by organizing it into dynasties, a system that continues to be used today for understanding Egyptian chronology

Jean François Champollion

worked w/ the Rosetta Stone, first to decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and show that the writing system was made up of phonetic & ideographic signs.

Georges Posener

French egyptologist

Nome

territorial division in Egypt. Each __ was ruled by a nomarch, who ultimately reported to the king

Nomarch

provincial governor that was the head of a nome. Land controlled was determined by the length. In intermediate period, these __ grew in strength, overshadowing the king’s power

Cubit

unit of measurement used for the pyramids (among other things)

Aroura

?

Nubia

land south of Egypt. Viewed as foreigners and related to nonexistence

Libya

land west of Egypt. Viewed as foreigners and related to nonexistence.

Asiatics

Egyptian ethnic group that lives in the North and East regions

Levant

a historical & geographical region in the Eastern Mediterranean that includes modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, & Syria; was vital to the Ancient Egyptian Empire bc of the trade networks & the military campaigns

Black land

where the Nile floods annually

Red land

dry desert

Upper Egypt

southern part of Egypt

Lower Egypt

Northern part of Egypt

Nekhbet

Vulture goddess of Upper Egypt

Wadjet

cobra goddess of Lower Egypt

Wadi

a watercourse that has a dry bed except for when it rains and forms oasis (i.e. Wadi Hammamat)

Cataract

wild rapids that made travel by boat extremely difficult. Mainly located in upper Egypt. First cataract marks the traditional southern boundary of Egypt

Fayum

Egyptian city. Located near the Nile, making it an ideal place for agriculture & settlement

Inundation

the yearly flood in Egypt that replenished the land for farming/agriculture

Deir el-Bahari

located in upper egypt below el-Tarif. Tomb of Nofru. Temple of Mentuhotep II

Elephantine/Qubbet al-Hawa/Aswan

far south, city

Abydos

located in upper egypt above el-Tarif, considered the burial place of Osiris, focal point for burial practices

Beni Hasan

located on the eastern banks of the Nile, contains rock-cut tombs of 11th and 12th dynasty officials

Coptos

has the Temple of Min, which is a preformal temple

Herakleopolis

considered the most important religious center in Egyptian history. Where the sun’s eye destroyed mankind. Horus was crowned king here.

Dendera

a sacred sit. Home to one of the best preserved temples - Dendera Temple complex. Offers an insight into the religious practices of Egypt.

Thebes

grouped w/ el-Tarif and Deir el-Bahari. Served as capital of Egypt for some time during Middle/New kingdom. Monarchs were buried across the river in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Also called Luxor & Weset

Memphis

the capital of Ancient Egypt. An important city for art, religion, and government practices. Located on the west bank of the Nile near the border of Upper & Lower Egypt

Itjtawi/Lisht

below Memphis. Became capital after Thebes. Burial place of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I

Heliopolis

close to the Nile Delta

Wadi Hammamat

a dry river valley that runs from the Nile River to the Red Sea. Literally means “Vally of many baths” bc this area is known for its quarries which produced sarcophagus (which resemble bathtubs)

Delta

a landform made of sediment that is deposited where a river flows into an ocean/lake. The Nile __ formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out & drains into the Mediterranean Sea. Fertile land. Hub for trade and commerce

Hermopolis

located in upper egypt

Gebelein

located under Deir el-Bahari, near the last bend

el-Tarif

grouped w/ Thebes and Deir el-Bahari. Known for housing saff-tombs. Necropolis for early Middle Kingdom rulers

Thebes

grouped w/ el-Tarif and Deir el-Bahari

Heliopolitan Ennead

group of 9 deities worshipped from Heliopolis (Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys)

Hermapolitan Ogdoad

group of 8 gods relating to fundamental concepts (sky, water, infinity/eternity, darkness, etc)

Active/Eternal King

the current king holds power and status, but previous kings are conflated w/ gods and worshipped as supernatural/godlike beings

Non-existence

• associated w/ chaos and evil

• described as an endless dark waters called Nun

• enemies of the gods lived here

• people who didn’t follow the rules were sent to non-existence on judgement day

• associated w/ uncontrollable aspects such as foreigners

• not nothing, but EVERYTHING

• also associated w/ rejuvenation & rebirth; i.e. flooding of the Nile and how it helps w/ soil fertility

• the sun god Re has to die everyday and pass through non-existence to be reborn

• this idea of __ & the constant brushes w/ it that people experience in their everyday lives forces the idea that they need to follow the rules & regulations led by the king & the gods

• also connected w/ foreigners who try to invade Egypt as they are seen as chaos

• danger, but brings forth fertility (sex → children, sunset → sunrise, death → rebirth)

Manifestations of non-existence

flood, foreigners, death, sex

Eye of Horus

symbol often associated w/ health & well-being. Related to the story of Horus’ eye being removed by Seth and subsequently returned to Horus in their never-ending feud

Hathor

• goddess of love and sexuality

• creative & regenerative powers

• could take various roles, including the mother or wife of Horus. Mother, wife, or daughter of sun god Re. The king could be identified w/ both these male deities

Re

the sun god that is pulled by a boat across the sky, representing the sun’s movement in the sky

Ma’at

goddess of order (son of Re). Associated w/ truth, justice, cosmic order, etc.

Seth

chaos. dog-like

Horus

son of Osiris & Isis. One of the earliest state gods. God in falcon form. Associated w/ kingship

Osiris

son of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky), sibling of Isis, god of death/afterlife

Montu

falcon-headed god of war. Represents power & ability to conquer of the king. Primeval god of Thebes.

Amun (or Amon/Amen)

Egyptian king of the gods (Egyptian version of Zeus basically)

Syncretism

the combining of gods that are typically similar or complementary. Many times, they are from different cultures. i.e. Zeus-Amun or Seth-Ba’al

Specialization (antinomasian diastatis)

fragmenting gods into various versions of themselves by their location or age. i.e. - Horus the Child, Horus Son of Isis, and Horus the Savior

fetish

items that are worshipped

animal gods

Ancient egyptian art shows gods with animal heads

Pyramid texts

pyramid texts of Unas, first religious texts at the end of the 5th dynasty. Egyptian mortuary prayers, hymns, & spells intended to protect a dead king/queen and ensure their life after death

Multiplicity of approaches

multiple versions of a story explaining the same event

Nesting

shrines were nested — rooms, sarcophagus (goes around three nested coffins, then the king w/ the mask on it), shrine, then the wooden thing w/ the curtain around it.

• Body/mummy (most important thing) w/ gold mask

• then the coffin (box or anthropomorphic)

  • then multiple shrines of less and less precious material

ithyphallic gods

gods depicted w/ an erect phallus symbolizing fertility, birth, and rebirth. Includes Amun-Re (Middle Kingdom) and Min (Archaic period)

Ka / royal ka

the life force or spiritual power of a person. Also represented an afterlife form in which spirits would live after death and could be seen as is

Ba

the personality or soul, believed that it could travel between the worlds of the living and dead

false door

common feature of tombs whereby the dead could pass through the false door into the world of the living (generally to consume offerings given by living relatives)

usually just a door-like carving on the wall

Cartouche

the circle around the king’s name when written in hieroglyphs. It is french for “Cartridge” (bc it resembled a canon’s cartridge)

Serekh

old version of cartouche. rectangular enclosure representing the niched or gated façade of a palace surmounted (usually) by Horus

5-fold royal titulary

string of titles as part of their name, before their name. Horus name (usually has a serekh around it), 2 ladies, golden falcon, king of upper and lower egypt, son of Re

Uraeus

cobra headpiece that was a marker of queenship

Red crown

Represents…

• lower egypt

• cyclical rituals & connects to kings of the past

• interact w/ Horus

White crown

Represents…

• upper egypt

• individuality of the current king

  • used to interact w/ Seth

Nemes headdress

headdress that indicates the king leaving his physical life on earth and starting his spiritual after life

crook/flail

flail represents rule of Seth (protects from foreigners). Shepherd’s crook represents Horus (taking care of people like a shepherd does for their sheep)

royal beard/divine beard

Royal beard flares out like a vertical rectangle. Divine beard is shaped like a J - broader by the base and narrows down by the end

Emblems of upper egypt

Nekhbet (vulture), white crown, flowering sedge/lotus, bee

emblems of lower egypt

Wadjet (cobra), red crown, papyrus

territorial state

the state that isn’t made from conquering cities from a single city state but instead formed due to a geographical location (i.e. the Nile)

seal / cylinder seal

used to seal things to demonstrate status & protective charm

mud sealing / seal impression

seal impressions demonstrated a wish for a tight control of people and goods. It was common to seal goods w/ unfixed lumps of clay on which designs from the underside of scarabs were impressed

vizier

highest official under the king. Lower and upper ones. Titles that lead up to it… overseer of the works of the king, overseer of the judiciary, overseer of the double granary, overseer of the double treasure, overseer of the scribal administration

aspective (composite) / perspective

• drawing style incorporating different perspectives of a single object in one drawing. A drawing may have an image of a table, but show what is on the table as if u were looking at it from the top down

• Aspective-Egyptian (always 2D)

  • Perspective-Western (illusion of 3D art)

mortuary offering formula (htp di nswt)

an offering given by the king. could be offers to the dead or deities

smiting scene

scene of the king striking down a foreigner w/ a mace. the king typically wears the white crown, representing the active king

characteristics of children in art

naked. little adults

sunken relief

• sunken in like indented

• cheaper

• used outdoors, not common until 6th dynasty

raised relief

• raised it like 3D.

• from prehistoric period

• expensive

• preferred for use indoors

stela

a stone tablet or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design, often serving as a gravestone

register

scenes were ordered in parallel lines. These separate the scene as well as provide ground lines for the figures

rules of decorum

• highest class person in the art (usually the king) was depicted…

  • larger than the rest of the people in the art

  • seated (passivity signalled higher class)

  • higher register

  • embraced by others, but not embracing them back

  • holding scepters

  • wearing pleated clothing

• kings were not depicted working or performing lower class activities

• men depicted w/ red skin, women w/ yellow, and gods could have black, blue, or green skin

pre-unification Theban style

• Less well crafted as people who would not normally be getting stelas had stelas made for them (eg. Nomarchs) during first intermediate period

• 11th dynasty style of 

  • hieroglyphic eyes 

  • tilted ears 

  • heavier people (blocky)

  • long fingers 

  • some mistakes in hieroglyphs (written the wrong way/opposite direction of subjects depicted)

  • emphasis on hairdressing

post-unification Theban style

• back to more traditional, old kingdom style

• better crafted

• people more thin/rounded

hieroglyphic/hieratic

Stages of Egyptian writing. Hieroglyphics have lots of religion incorporated and were viewed as god’s words. Hieratic was cursive-ish

determinative

 An image that accompanies a hieroglyph. Because hieroglyphs are phonetic, the determinative is present to confirm the subject that is being written about. If hieroglyphs are written on a statue, the statue itself may act as the determinative.

Rosetta stone

• Les Savants discovered this stone with hieroglyphics, Greek, and Demotic (common during Ptolemaic period)

  • It was taken away when the British conquered Egypt

  • Thomas Young matched up the names from this

directionality of writing

• Read into the faces of people and animals

• Usually right to left

• If up and down read in a z formation