Ancient Egypt is one of the most fascinating of the ancient civilizations.

Even today, the manner in which modern Egypt

has melded with the ancient world is astounding. One cannot help but notice that the pull of the ancient world is still very much a
part of modern cities such as Cairo and Alexandria. In the following paragraphs, you will read information about topics most
commonly associated with the history of Ancient Egypt.
The Egyptian pyramids remain one of the most beautiful and complex mysteries of the modern world. Besides the beauty
and mystery regarding the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, there are also a number of interesting facts about Egyptian
pyramids. King Khufus is the largest pyramid. It is well known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, standing at an
impressive 146 meters tall and weighed about 16 Empire State Buildings. King Khufu's great pyramid was not the first pyramid to be
built. His father, King Snefru, built a number of impressive pyramids himself. Snefru is believed to have first begun his work in
pyramid building with the step pyramids, progressing on to the Bent Pyramids and completing his activities with the Red Pyramid,
considered by many to the first pyramid constructed in a true pyramid shape. The ancient Egyptian pyramids served a multitude of
purposes. They were primarily used as the burial tomb of the royal family, consisting of the pharaoh, his queens and offspring.
Egyptian pyramids had smooth angled sides designed to help the pharaohs soul ascend to heaven. Inside of the Egyptian pyramids
were almost always laid store with a variety of items the dead would need in the afterlife. For example, an Egyptian would leave
pounds of gold and other gemstones in the pharaohs tomb.
The afterlife was incredibly important to Egyptians. They believed that by preserving a dead persons body- which they did
through the process of mummification- their soul would live forever. Almost everywhere you turn; there is a reference to death and
the afterlife in Egyptian cultures. There is even a god solely to death. It is no great surprise that ancient Egypt mummies are just one
part of a very complex culture dedicated to the subject of death. The ancient Egyptian mummification process is quite lengthy;
usually lasting seventy days and first begins by removing all the organs from within the body. The organs would be washed and
dried, then placed inside containers known as canopic jars and eventually buried with the body. A salt mixture commonly found
along the Nile River is most often used to aid in the drying process of both the body and the organs. The next step in the
mummification process of ancient Egypt mummies involved wrapping the body using yards and yards of linen fabric. Some
estimates indicate that the amount of yardage required for a single mummification amounted in the hundreds. The ancient Egypt
mummies have contributed more than a simple fascination to our modern world. While it is quite certain the ancient Egyptians never
intended the mummification to have this side benefit; it cannot be denied that we have learned a great deal about this ancient
culture through the well preserved bodies of ancient Egypt mummies.
Religion played a big part in the lives of the Ancient Egyptians. They believed in a wide variety of gods and goddesses.
These gods could take different forms, usually as animals. The same animal may represent a different god depending on the area,
temple, or timeframe. Ancient Egyptians believed in more than 2,000 deities, or gods. They had gods for everything, dangers to
chores. Each had different responsibilities and needed to be worshipped so that life could be kept in balance. Here is list of some
Egyptian gods that you may have heard before. Ra was the sun god and the most important god to the Ancient Egyptians. At one
point Ra was combined with another god, Amun, and the two made an even more powerful god, Amun-Ra. Ra was said to have
created all forms of life and was the supreme ruler of the gods. Horus, the Egyptian falcon god, is known by many names throughout
Egypt; however he is most commonly associated with the falcon. He is believed to have been the son on Osiris and Isis. One of the
most well known symbols associated with Egypt is the Eye of Horus; which symbolized power. Seth is also referred to as Setekh
and Set. He was associated with war and strength, storms and deserts. He was often believed to be in conflict with Horus. At
various times throughout the history of Egypt, the two deities vied for popularity and power among the Egyptian people.
Isis, the goddess of magic, was also considered to be the goddess of fertility. One of the most famous legends involving Isis putting
the body of her husband back together after he was killed by Seth, impregnating herself with his body and giving birth to their son,
Horus. Among all the ancient Egyptian gods, Anubis is the one who was chosen to be the god of death and dying. He is also
considered to be the god of the underworld. His image is often seen as the guardian of tombs and the bodies held within.
The daily life in ancient Egypt was actually much different than the vision that commonly comes to mind. Relics found in
archeological digs as well as paintings and drawings on pyramids and tomb walls depict images of life in ancient Egypt that was, in
some regards, not that much different than life in Egypt today. Life in ancient Egypt was primarily centered toward a polytheistic
religion, the pharaoh and the importance of family. In ancient Egypt, family life began early. Men and women tended to marry quite
young in ancient Egypt and everyday life reflected their commitment to the sanctity of the family unit. Children were a very important
component of life in Egypt and were considered to be a great blessing from the gods. Also in the noble and royal families, children
were highly regarded. Egyptian children wore no clothing at all until they were in their teens. The temperature in Egypt made it
unnecessary. The role of women in ancient Egyptian society is often a surprise. It is usually assumed that women were relegated to
the role of a second class citizen, when actually the opposite was true. Women were allowed to own property, testify in court and
conduct business dealings. More than one woman even ruled the Egyptian land as pharaoh. While women were highly regarded
and given rights that most of their contemporaries in other lands could only dream of, daily life in ancient Egypt for women also
involved responsibilities for most of the duties of the home. The daily life of people of ancient Egypt was very involved with the
various gods and goddesses who ruled Egyptian mythology. It was quite acceptable to worship more than one deity and most towns
and villages throughout Egypt did so, although a city would normally claim a patron god. Temples were built and scattered
throughout Egypt, reflecting a religion that involved frequent rites, rituals and practices. Both Egyptian men and women wore
makeup. The eye-paint was usually green (made from copper) and black (made from lead). As well as offering protection from the
sun, the Egyptians believed makeup had healing powers, too! All men wore a wrap-round skirt that was tied at the waist with a belt.
Sometimes the material was wrapped around the legs as well. The length of the skirt varied depending on the fashion of the time - in
the time of the Old Kingdom they were short while in the Middle Kingdom they were calf length. Rich Egyptian men were able to
afford the best quality linen which was very fine and almost see-through. Rich Egyptian men also wore as much jewelry as they
could afford and decorated their clothes. They also wore headdresses for special occasions. Egyptian women wore full length
straight dresses with one or two shoulder straps. During the New Kingdom period it became fashionable for dresses to be pleated or
draped. The dresses worn by rich Egyptian women were made from fine transparent linen. Like the men, rich Egyptian women
decorated their clothes and wore jewelry and headdresses.
The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics are a fascination to many people. The term hieroglyphics refers to a system of writing
using ancient Egyptian symbols. The hieroglyphics involved a series of 'picture' words. Consisting of several hundred words, this
system of writing was intensely complex and very labor intensive. The first hieroglyphics were used on buildings and tombs. It is
believed that the Egyptians first began developing this system of writing about 3000 BC. If you tried to read hieroglyphics, there are
some facts about hieroglyphics that are quite interesting to note. This system of writing has absolutely no vowels, all more-than-700-
hieroglyphics consisting only of consonants. The Egyptians also did not use any form of punctuation or spacing. The placement of
the Egyptian hieroglyphics alphabet letters into an eye pleasing layout was extremely important. Empty spaces were avoided as
much as possible and to that end symbols Egyptian art were usually formed into squares instead of straight lines. Unlike most forms
of modern language, which is typically read from right or left; ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics could be read either from right to left or
from left to right . In order to know which direction to begin reading, the scribe would position the figures so that they faced in the
correct direction. Not all symbols represented single letters; some pictures represented words. The symbols that make up the
alphabet in Egyptian hieroglyphics are sub-divided into categories including phonograms and ideograms. Ideograms were used to
write the words they represented. An example of an ideogram would be a picture of a woman that actually looked like a woman and
represented the word 'woman'. Phonograms were used to spell out the sound out the words they represented and they usually had
no relation to the word they were sounding out. As a result, symbols could be both ideograms and phonograms and the reader
would need to determine the context of the 'sentence' in order to find out which word was intended. To indicate whether a symbol
represented a complete word or merely a sound scribes would place a straight line after the word. It is quite complicated!
I learned A LOT on this project. It was extremely fun to learn so much about cultures and history. My driving question was
What are five interesting topics that you want to learn about Ancient Egypt? I answered that question with pyramids, mummies,
gods, lifestyle, and hieroglyphics. I also added tons of facts so you could learn as much as I did. I hope you enjoy the rest of
Bringing Cultures to Life!