Ancient Egypt

A Presentation for English 2332

Central Texas College
Dr. Brenda Cornell
Background and Origins
Most of our knowledge about the earliest
civilizations in Egypt comes from records
written in later periods (ex., The Palermo
Stone). Such historical accounts focus on
administration, since writing initially
developed in Egypt for the purposes of
government.
King as God (overseer and provider
of all good things)
The first documented Egyptian king, Menes:
Famous for the public works constructed during his
reign, which include an irrigation system.

Established Egypt's capital at Memphis, where
government officials oversaw the collection and
allocation of food, the organization of laborers for
government projects, and anything relating to the law.

Because the king was regarded as a kind of god,
temples were as much institutions of government as
they were institutions of religion.
Irrigation and Farming
Like the people of Mesopotamia,
the Egyptians took advantage of a
water source, the Nile River, to
irrigate arid land and produce a
surplus of food. The river also
acted as a highway for traveling
north to the Mediterranean and
south to Nubia.
Women
With the exception of powerful queens such as Cleopatra and
Nefertiti, women did not participate in political activities. The scribal
elite that ran the government were, of course, men.
However, women were allowed to be active in many other areas of
life outside the home. They could be weavers, bakers, musicians,
and farmers, and until the eighteenth dynasty there were women
priestesses. In addition, women could own land, inherit property,
engage in trade, and for the most part conduct themselves in the
economic and commercial world of men. At the same time, women
were not educated to the same extent as men, and what was
deemed acceptable behavior for the latter was often unacceptable
for the former. For example, men could be unfaithful without
censure, whereas women could not.


Ancient Egyptian Art
The governing principle of
ancient Egyptian art is the
order of the universe. Art
should reflect this perfection,
Egyptian artists thought, in
that the things that make up
the universe should be
represented in their ideal
forms rather than as they
might be perceived in reality.
Such representations reveal an
enduring state of perfection,
rather than the process of
change.



Early Writings
The Book of the Dead, 1240 B.C.E. , the
collection of mortuary texts, dates from
earlier Pyramid texts and coffin texts.
These writings were supposed to protect
and serve the deceased in the hereafter,
and were most often inscribed on papyri,
often with colorful illustrations, and placed
in the coffin with the deceased or rolled
up and inserted into a statuette of Osiris
Papyrus
Using papyrus, the
Egyptians produced
written works of all
kinds, from
bureaucratic records
to religious hymns to
love poems.
Religious Literature
Pyramid Texts, the
hieroglyphic inscriptions
found in the corridors and
burial chambers of the
Pyramids of Saqqara,
represent the earliest
body of recorded religious
writings in the world. This
Pyramid Text is from the
tomb of King Unas. [The
Art Archive / Dagli Orti]

Correlation to Hebrew Traditions
(Old Testament)

Moses leading the people
of Israel out of Egyptian
bondage is linked,
roughly, to the period
between Seti I and
Rameses II. However,
this correlation is difficult
because the Old
Testament is not always
precise in its dating of
events, and many of the
events happened long
before they were
recorded.
Correlation to Hebrew Texts
Continued
Egyptian versions of Old Testament stories, including
"Tale of Two Brothers" (see p. 100)
Names of many figures in the Old Testament are those found in
Egyptian records.
Scholars have demonstrated the similarities between Akhenaten's
"Hymn to the Aten" and Psalm 104 (see p. 108), as well as those
between the Instruction of Amenemipet Son of Kanakht and the
Book of Proverbs; it is possible that in each case both texts are
copies or revisions of a lost original.
Beginning in the second millennium B.C.E. there is more evidence
connecting Egyptian records with Biblical narrative, for instance
regarding conflicts with the Assyrians and Persians.

Works Cited
Culture and Context for Egypt: The
Seasons of the Nile: Pyramids, Tombs,
and Hieroglyphics.
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/worldlit/d
efault.asp?b=1&c=&r=&i=&uid=0&rau=0