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Chapter 3

Egypt Under the Pharaohs

PART 1

EGYPT

A much more stable and hierarchical entity than Mesopotamia.

Civilization lasted roughly 2500-3000 years.

Egyptian Chronology

Predynastic and Early Dynastic

ca. 3500—2686 BCE

Old Kingdom

ca. 2686 BCE – 2181 BCE

Middle Kingdom

ca. 2055—1650 BCE

New Kingdom

ca. 1550—1069 BCE

ManethoEgyptian High Priest of the 3rd Century BCE

Chronicled Egyptian history

Recorded “Dynasties” in Greek

A “Dynasty” is a succession of Pharaohs from the same family

Roughly 30 Dynasties total

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Upper and Lower Egypt

Before 3100 BC, the regions were divided into two parts of the Nile

Lower Egypt: the part from the Nile Delta to Memphis; it was lower in the sense that it was the terminus of the Nile. Lower in Elevation.

Upper Egypt: All points along the river south of Memphis to Nubia, a separate kingdom.

Beyond Nubia is Kush and then Punt

The Nile Valley

The Nile has a regular pattern of rainfall, which floods the banks of the river every spring and summer from the rainy season further south in the Sudan and East Africa.

Flooding was more regular and predictable than the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia.

Soil at either side was fertile because of the flooding.

Egypt also had precious metals (copper), and stone that was useful both for tools and construction

Peoples of the Nile

The population itself was uniform, similar languages and culture.

Stability was facilitated by its relative isolation (impassable desert on all sides), an advantage that Mesopotamia lacked.

Thus, for 3,000 years, the political, religious, and cultural areas was uniform from the south to the delta.

An Orderly, Tight Cage

 Eugene Weber and others have observed that it was lucky for the kings and later pharaohs that the floods (unlike in Mesopotamia) came so regularly, as such knowledge enhanced the authority of rulers and their control over an uneducated populace. 

With the desiccation trend and increased population densities along an increasingly narrow green strip of Nile Valley, it is also significant for relations of dependency and political control that the people of the Nile typically had no other options for migration.

The cage of the state in ancient Egypt was certainly less escapable than most, as nearly all surrounding territories, by at least the mid-third millennium BCE, were uninhabitable

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No one is leaving

No one is coming in

Six Cataracts

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IRRIGATION

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Aswan High Dam1970

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Amun(aka, Re, Ra and Aten) the god of the sun. He is also depicted as a scarab beetle who emerges in the morning.

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Atenthe god of the solar disk (depicted by the disk of the sun)

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HathorMother, wife, daughter of Ra

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OsirisGod of the Underworld

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Set or SethGod of chaos, storms and violence; brother of Osiris who murders him

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IsisWife of Osiris, goddess of fertility

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HorusSon of Osiris and Isis: God of the sky.

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Thoth

God of the scribes, Lord of Language and inventor of writing.

Anubisthe god of embalmers and cemeteries (depicted as a jackal)

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HapiHapi: the god of the Nile

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Ma’at

Goddess of truth and the universal order; wife of Thoth

She wore an ostrich feather

Judges awarded the feather to the winner of a case

Her feather was used on the scales of judgment of the dead

Theocracy

Egypt, as in many civilizations, was a theocracy, government by the priests

The Pharaoh was a god; god’s will flowed through him.

“charismatic authority”

Order vs. ChaosMany authorities, have argued that order was the highest value in Egyptian theology. Egyptians saw order as being in constant tension with the deeply dreaded “chaos.” 

Horus vs. Seth

 

Cult of the Dead/Afterlife

At death, the pharaoh was prepared for a life of eternity

A detailed and complex ten-week embalming procedure was strictly adhered to in order to ensure safe passage to the afterlife.

Pyramids themselves were constructed solely for entombment of the pharaoh; they were not used for ritual or any other purpose.

Egyptians: Conceptions of Death and the Soul

Death was the doorway to a new life..but the body had to be preserved for this to occur.

Ka: the dead person’s “vital essence” that it housed, enabled the body to enjoy life in the afterlife as in the earthly life

Upraised arms above head symbolized the ka

A surrogate could act as substitute for body this could be a sculpture or even a hieroglyph.

Egyptians: Conceptions of Death and the Soul

Second aspect: the akh, or spiritual transformation of the dead.

Third aspect: the ba (soul), which entered and exited the body

The ba was represented by a human-headed bird.

Book of the Dead

The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes the journey of the soul between one life and the next; judgment based on karma

The Egyptian Book of the Dead prepares the soul for judgment.

Here, Horus balances the heart against the feather of Ma’at

If the heart outweighs the feather, the animal to the right will devour the judged

Ushabtis“answerers”

wedjat“Eye of Horus”

Ward off evil, promote re-birth

ScarabSpells ensured return of the heart to its rightful owner.

The “dung” beetle

Mummification Process

“Natron”

Canopic JarsCanopic Jar Chest

Hieroglyphic Writing

Writing system in which

Pictorial symbols (ideograms) are used to convey particular sound, object, and/or idea.

The Rosetta Stone

Disc. 1799- Napoleon

Unlocked the mysteries of Egypt

1) Greek

2) Demotic (late Egyptian)

3) Hieroglyphics

A decree by priests of Memphis honoring Ptolomey V

Ca. 196 BCE

Jean-Francois ChampollionDeduced the hieroglyphs were related to spoken Coptic, and broke the code.

Hieroglyphic Writing

There is some indication that early hieroglyphs were more important for recording rule and kinship than they were for economic transactions

Over time, hieroglyphic writing became more and more complex

Writing was reserved for the scribes, ranked third below the pharaoh and priests

HieraticA “Cursive” form of Hieroglyph

Read up to down/left to right

“Sunken Relief”

Predynastic and Early Dynastic

Ca. 3500—2686 BCE

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People, boats, and animals, detail of a watercolor copy of a wall painting from tomb 100 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, ca. 3500–3200 BCE. Paint on plaster, entire painting 16’ 4” X 3’ 7 3/8”. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

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Palette of King Narmer (left, back; right, front), from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, ca. 3000–2920 BCE. Slate, 2’ 1” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

A “palette” for eye makeup

Unification of Egypt

After the conquest attributed to Menes, or Narmer,the region was united into one empire

Narmer was the first pharaoh of a family dynasty of 33 generations

Symbolism: a boxy Red Crown (Lower Egypt) with a curlicue;

And a White Crown (Upper Egypt)

After Narmer’s conquest, he wore a Double Crown to symbolize the unification of the two Egypt’s (lower right)

The Symbolism of the Union—And Defeat of Upper Egypt

To the right, Narmer (wearing white crown) subdues a captive

Hieroglyph at top writes out Narmer’s name

God Horus (protector of all Kings) holds the captive by a feather

Papyrus blossoms symbolize Lower Egypt

To the left, two long-necked lions are entwined, suggesting union), with lion tamers on either side.

There are the decapitated warriors in defeat

At the bottom is a bull symbolizing royal power

Panofsky’s Grid The Later Canon

Mastaba (bench)

The mastaba was the standard type of tomb in pre-dynastic and early dynastic Egypt for both for the Pharaoh and the social elite.

Serdab-room & chapel for effigy (statue or likeness of the deceased)

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Section (top), plan (center),and restored view (bottom) of typical Egyptian mastaba tombs.

View from the Serdab

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IMHOTEP, Stepped Pyramid and mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty, ca. 2630–2611 BCE.

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Plan (top) and restored view (bottom) of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty, ca. 2630–2611 BCE.

Sed Festival“Jubilee” to celebrate continuation of rule.

ImhotepFirst known artist or architect in history

Deified as a God after death

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Detail of the facade of the North Palace of the mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty, ca. 2630–2611 BCE.

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“engaged” columns

The Old Kingdomca. 2686 BCE – 2181

BCE

Snefru (father of Khufu)

Bent Pyramid

As the name suggests, the angle of the inclination changes from 55° to about 43° in the upper levels of the pyramid. It is likely that the pyramid initially was not designed to be built this way, but was modified during construction due to unstable accretion layers. As a means of stabilising the monolith, the top layers were laid horizontally, marking the abandonment of the step pyramid concept

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SnefruRed Pyramid

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Great Pyramids, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty. From bottom: Pyramids of Menkaure, ca. 2490–2472 BCE; Khafre, ca. 2520–2494 BCE; and Khufu, ca. 2551–2528 BCE.

Great Pyramids, Gizeh, 2551-2472 BCE,

Khufu: Oldest and largest: 775’ long, 480’ high, 13 acre area

Location

West of the Nile

Sides oriented to the cardinal points( NSEW)

Temples faced East (rising sun)

Structure

Solid limestone masonry

2.3 million blocks of stone

Each weighs 2.5 tons

“Ashlar Masonry”

Great Pyramids, Gizeh, 2551-2472 BCE,

Function:

Eternal resting place for Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure

“Stairway” to sun

Axis-Mundi

Form:

Based on the ben-ben pyramidal shaped stone

Pure white limestone casing stones with gold apex (electrum)

benbenBenben or Ben-ben, in Egyptian mythology, specifically in the Heliopolitan tradition, was the mound that arose from the primordial waters, Nu, and on which the creator god Atum settled. 

In the Pyramid Texts, e.g. Atum himself is at times referred to as "mound". It was said to have turned into a small pyramid, located in Annu, which was the place Atum was said to dwell within. 

Khuhfu

83Section of the Pyramid of Khufu, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2551–2528 BCE.

Sarcophagus

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HemiunuArchitect of Khufu’s Pyramid

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Model of the Fourth Dynasty pyramid complex, Gizeh, Egypt. Harvard University Semitic Museum, Cambridge. 1) Pyramid of Menkaure, 2) Pyramid of Khafre, 3) mortuary temple of Khafre, 4) causeway, 5) Great Sphinx, 6) valley temple of Khafre, 7) Pyramid of Khufu, 8) pyramids of the royal family and mastabas of nobles.

89Great Sphinx (with Pyramid of Khafre in the background at left), Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520–2494 BCE. Sandstone, 65’ X 240’.

Khafre

Menkaure

Construction

Relied on seasonal labor force (Nile flooding)

Paid workers (average citizens) NOT slaves

It took 20,000- 30,000 workers 23 years to build a pyramid.

Relief from the tomb of Djehutihotep depicting 172 men pulling a statue of said pharaoh, which is estimated to weigh 58 tons. The large pyramid blocks were probably pulled in a similar manner.

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Khafre enthroned, from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520–2494 BCE. Diorite, 5’ 6” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Function:

An abode for the Ka

Iconography:

Intertwined lotus and papyrus- united Egypt

Horus-divine status

How is Kingship shown?

nemes headdress

uraeus cobra

flawless body

perfect face

Formalism:

Frontal

Rigid

bilaterally symmetrical

suppression of movement

Ideal not Real

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Menkaure and Khamerernebty(?), from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2490–2472 BCE. Graywacke, 4’ 6 1/2” high. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Shows the formalism of Egyptian sculpture

Clenched fists, rigid stance, left foot forward, and beard and headdress of the Pharaoh

Supportive stance of wife; hand around waist and on arm

Relief or sculpture in the round?

Walking

Female behind

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Women  Egyptians were perhaps also more “mature” in regards to the role of women in society. Egyptologist Michael Rice reminds us that females were “far more important than in any other early society. Women were not confined to the home or the harem as in many later societies… One in eight of the  biographies in Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt are of women; no other society of comparable antiquity would be able to provide… anything like it” . What specifically, beyond Herodotus-like hyperbole, made ancient Egyptian women remarkable? 

WomenEven though Egypt was a patriarchal society by today’s standards, women had a number of important rights denied their contemporaries (except apparently in Babylon, and to a lesser extent in western Anatolia and Crete). These included: marriage contracts, initiating divorce and other court actions, remarriage, the right to inherit, own, and manage property, and the right to conduct other business, legal, and financial matters -all largely based on the larger region’s primordial tradition of matrilineal descent1. Rights tended to be a matter of social class, as opposed to gender, ethnicity, or nationality. Johnson concluded that the "affection the Egyptians were not ashamed to display towards their children was related to the high status women enjoyed in Egyptian society” .

WomenWhereas most Meso-Neolithic societies were matrilineal; most civilizations, at least by the latter ancient (iron age) era, were predominantly patrilineal.

Egyptian civilization was one of the (rather old-fashioned) hold-outs against the patrilineal trend.

Anthropological literature states that Egyptian civilization retained its matrilineal order of descent in the royal family until Egypt was enveloped by the Roman Empire. Yet writers of art history textbooks consistently ignore this crucial piece of information.

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Seated scribe, from Saqqara, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2500 BCE. Painted limestone, 1’ 9” high. Louvre, Paris.

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Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, relief in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, ca. 2450–2350 BCE. Painted limestone, 4’ high.

egyptian canonIt is well known that representations of the human figure in ancient Egyptian art usually conformed to highly stylized principles in which the proportions between the different parts of the human body were determined by a set of fixed laws constituting a Canon of Proportions. Egyptian artists were thereby able to make use of a conventional system of proportion which was found to be aesthetically pleasing, while also rendering their subjects in idealized forms which may or may not have been faithful to the exact proportions of the persons in question. The Egyptian Canon of Proportions was maintained over many centuries through the medium of the artist's grid, in which the different parts of the human body corresponded to different squares in the grid. This grid system was not merely a copying device which made it possible to render a particular scene on any chosen scale, but rather a complete system of proportions by means of which the human figure could in theory be correctly represented. 

Goats treading seed and cattle fording a canal, reliefs in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, ca. 2450 – 2350 BCE. Painted limestone.

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