Gods and Monsters of Ancient Egypt

What is the Inundation?

• annual flooding of the Nile River during the summer

• important b/c deposited nutrient-rich black silt onto lands making them fertile

Manetho

Egyptian priest who is responsible for the division of Egyptian history into 31 dynasties

Cataracts

6, located on Nile River (functioned as natural defenses & blocked river traffic between Sudan and Egypt)

• symbolic significance of metals

metals were part of physical makeup of gods

• Gold: flesh of the Gods (Re)

• Silver: bones of the Gods

• Copper and Bronze: earthly life (Hathor)

Iron: Heaven’s metal

dynasty

series of related or closely associated rulers or kings

what is an “Intermediate Period”?

phase of political fragmentation, disunity, and weakened central authority

Predynastic Period

• beginning of writing/hieroglyphics

• artistic canon developed

• evidence of cultural features like mummification

Old Kingdom

• capital - Memphis

• administrative elite revolving around Pharaoh

• Pyramid Age displays elaborate administration

Middle Kingdom

• Theban-based family becomes pharaoh

• unification, greater prosperity, more aggressive foreign policy

• complex administration

• Classic Period of Egyptian culture

New Kingdom

• expulsion of Hyksos

• diplomatic connections w/ other great powers of Asia

• aggressive foreign policy complex administration

• Akhenaten and the Amarna Period - wanted to focus on 1 god (Aten)

Late Period

• domination of Egypt by foreign powers, especially Persia

• after, Alexander the Great takes over, then ethnic Macedonians, and then Romans

Who is Plutarch?

• Hellenistic scholar interested in Egyptian religion and culture while living in Greece

• 40 AD - 120 AD

Plutarch’s Narrative of the Murder of Osiris

• Typhon = Seth

• Osiris is tricked into getting into coffin, locked inside, and then drowned

• Isis tries to find parts of Horus that are scattered across Egypt to reassemble his body (finds all but phallus which was swallowed by “bad” fish)

Herodotus

Ancient Greek historian who is crucial for his:

• history of the great Persian Wars

• wrote the earliest, most comprehensive firsthand account of Egyptian society, religious, and geography produced by foreign observer

Hieratic (“priestly”) script

cursive script where signs are joined to one another

Demotic (“popular”) script

a VERY cursive, rapid script which developed from the pretty cursive hieratic

Coptic (“Egyptian”) script

Egyptian language in Greek script BUT w/ 6 added Demotic Egyptian letters for sounds not in Greek

how do we know in which direction to begin reading an Egyptian hieroglyphic text?

the living or animate signs LOOK towards the beginning of a text

phonetic signs (“sound-sign”)

signs w/ a specific sound value rather than objects pictured (ex: owl = m)

determinative (“sense-sign”)

silent, non-phonetic symbols that help decide the meaning of a given word (b/c there can be multiple)

what does “hieroglyph” mean?

sacred carving

what are the different stages of the Ancient Egyptian language?

Old Egyptian

Middle Egyptian

Late Egyptian

Demotic (715 BCE - 470 CE)

Coptic (300 CE - 1500 CE)

what is an ostracon?

a piece of broken pottery or limestone flake used as a cheap, durable writing or drawing surface

who is Champollion?

the great decipher of hieroglyphs!!

• he recognized that cartouches in the Rosetta Stone contain the hieroglyphic equivalents of the Greek names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra

• this helped him establish the sound value of many signs

how would you explain to someone how the Ancient Egyptian language relates to other languages?

The vocabulary and grammar of Ancient Egyptian displays close connects with other languages. Some Ancient Egyptian words have also gone into other languages.

Ennead

9 principal deities worshipped in Ancient Egyptian theology at Heliopolis

• Atum (creator god), Shu (dry, air), Tefnut (moisture), Geb (earth), Nut (sky/heaven), Osiris (order), Isis (“throne”), Seth (disorder), and Nephthys (“mistress of the chamber”)

Ogdoad

8 deities (4 pairs of gods and goddesses) worshipped in Hermopolis who are personifications of the world before creation

• Amun & Amunet: invisibility

• Hehu & Hehut: infinity

• Tenem & Tenemet: directionlessness

• Keku & Kekut: darkness

depicted as snakes (females) & frogs (males)

• what is the solar cycle?

1. Sunrise (east): The sun god manifests as Khepri, personified as a scarab battle. The name Khepri means “to come into being,” symbolizing the moment sun is given birth by Nut

2. Crossing the Sky (the day): During the day, the god is known as a Re. He travels across the sky in a falcon form aboard the Day-Bark, emphasizing themes of movement and kinship. In this phase, the sun god must often defeat the chaos-serpent Apophis.

3. Sunset (west): Re transitions into his older form, Atum, often depicted with a ram’s head.

4. The Night Journey (the underworld): Here, the sun god merges with Osiris, the lord of the underworld. He brings justice and sustenance to the deceased.

who is Nun?

a vague, primeval deity who personifies the primeval waters that existed before the formation of the world

what is a “ba”? what does it look like?

• represents mobility after death

• depicted as a bird with a human face

what is a “ka”?

the spirit or “double” aspect of personality

triads of the gods

groupings of 3 deities based on family relationships, usually consisting of a father, mother, and a child

what were the epagomenal days?

5 special days inserted at the end of the 360-day calendar to create a full 365-day year

Aswan Dam (increase in use of artificial fertilizer and impact in local climate)

created Lake Nassee

Narmer Palette

5000-year-old siltstone tablet decorated w/ intricate carvings that depict unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Narmer

Sphinx

• body of a lion + face of Pharaoh Khephren

• protective deity, closely associated with the sun-god Re