Egyptian Mythology

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Egyptian Mythology
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From the Sands of Time
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At first, it was all a mystery.
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For example...
What does this inscription say?
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Hieroglyphics Demotic Greek
The Rosetta Stone
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The Rosetta Stone

• Found by Napoleons troops while on a military
  campaign
• Contains a resolution by priests in honor of the
  young monarch, Ptolemy V
• Written in 3 languages, Greek, demotic script,
  and hieroglyphics
• Translated by Jean François Champolion in 1822

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The Rosetta Stone

• Gray/black Bassalt rock Discovered near Rashid
  (Egypt) in 1799
• Found in rubble of a wall by French soldiers
• After the French surrendered, the stone was moved
  to England and placed in the British Museum where
  it is still housed

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Cartouche
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viper mouth vulture pool
owl vulture water
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Oh by the waythis means.
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F R vowel SH
M vowel N
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Traditions
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Stepped Pyramid
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Rural Area
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Egyptian art was usually symmetrical and presentd
in profile.
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Carving Harvest Time
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Harvesting the crops.
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Harvesting. Note the scribes at the right
keeping a record of the harvest amounts.
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Making Bread
Note the traditional basket above with the grain
for the bread.
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The Home
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Playing Senet
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The Nile
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Major Areas
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A village along the Nile
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Giza
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Pyramids at Giza
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Valley of the Kings

• An alternate burial area when the Pharaohs
  decided that their previous attempts at eternal
  burial were unsuccessful.

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Karnak

• Religious center with large, ornate temples

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Temple at Karnak
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The Gods of Ancient Egypt
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Ra

• Sun god
• Father of the gods

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Osiris

• God of the Dead.
• The symbol of resurrection and eternal life.
• Provider of fertility and prosperity to the
  living.
• Husband / Brother of Isis

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A princess raises her hands in adoration of
Osiris.
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Isis

• The great mother-goddess
• Not extinguished with the other Egyptian gods,
  but was embraced by the Greeks and Romans
• Her worship has even lasted into the present day.

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Horus

• Pharaoh was often referred to as the living
  incarnation of the god Horus

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Anubis

• Guardian of the Necropolis
• Saw that the beam of the great scale was in the
  proper position as he supervised the weighing of
  the heart of a deceased person
• It was believed he could foresee a persons
  destiny in this role he was the announcer of
  death

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Thoth

• The inventor of spoken and written language he
  was the scribe of the gods and patron of all
  scribes
• Invented astronomy, geometry and medicine
• Recorded the results of the weighing of the
  deceased's heart against the feather of Maat
• Wrote the Book of the Dead

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A Scribe In a society where few could read or
write, the scribe was revered members of society.
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Maat

• Goddess of Truth Female counterpart of Thoth
• The judgement of the dead was performed by
  weighing one's heart (conscience) against the
  feather of Maat. If a balance was struck the
  deceased was deemed to be worthy of meeting
  Osiris in the after life

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Ammut

• A female demon who would devour the souls of
  those whose hearts proved heavier than the
  feather of Maat
• A terrifying prospect It meant the end of
  existence. They would never meet Osiris and live
  forever in the Fields of Peace (Sekhet-Hetepet).

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Sekhet-Hetepet

• Ani pays his respects to the gods who dwell in
  Sekhet-Hetepet (Fields of Peace) and asks the
  gods to help him to enter into Sekhet-Hetepet so
  that he may "become a khu, drink, plow, reap,
  fight, make love,never be in a state of servitude
  and always be in a position of authority
  therein". From the Papyrus of Ani. (c. 1400 B.C.)
  The British Museum London

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A Farmers Tomb
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Khepri

• A sun god, associated with the sunrise. Because
  of his association with the sunrise he is
  considered to be one of the creator gods. It was
  Khepri that pushed the sun across the sky in much
  the same fashion that a dung beetle (scarab)
  pushed a ball of dung across the ground.

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Bast

• A sun goddess who represents the warm, life
  giving power of the sun
• Protector of cats

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Sekhmet

• A sun goddess who represents the scorching,
  burning, destructive heat of the sun
• A fierce goddess of war, the destroyer of the
  enemies of Ra and Osiris
• Her temper was uncontrollable
• she would have destroyed all of mankind if Ra had
  not taken pity and made her drunk

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Hapi

• God of the Nile, particularly the inundation
• Thought to flow through the Underworld, through
  the heavens, and then through Egypt
• His followers worshipped him even above Ra

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Taweret

• Protectress of pregnant woman and infants. Also
  protectress of rebirth into the afterlife.
• Representation A pregnant hippopotamus with
  human breasts, the hind legs of a lioness and the
  tail of a crocodile.

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Burial
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Book of the Dead
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Mummification

• Perhaps first conceived through observation on
  the effect of the arid conditions on the dead
• A long process
• Preparation of the body for continuation in an
  afterlife

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Canopic Jars
From left to right they are
Imsety The human headed guardian of the liver
Qebekh-sennuef The falcon headed
guardian of the intestines Hapy
The baboon headed guardian of the lungs
Duamutef The jackal or wild dog headed
guardian of the stomach
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Sarcophagus
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A carved wooden figure of a nobleman. So that he
would have youth and energy in the afterlife, he
was carved as a young, vibrant man. This is a
stark contrast to the fact that Nakhti (the man
shown) was an old man when he died. Like modern
images at funerals, he wanted to be remembered
when he was young.
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King Tuts Tomb
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Mask King Tut
Note the ceremonial beard in tribute to the god
Osiris. The face seems to be relaxed and at
peace. He wears the ceremonial burial headdress.
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King Tut Pendant
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More about the Pendant
Two deities guard the sacred eye. On the right,
the serpent goddess, symbol of Lower Egypt, wears
the crown of the north. On the left, is the
vulture goddess, symbol of Upper Egypt wearing
the crown of the south
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You CAN take it with you...
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Ankh
Pharaoh with Isis who presents the Ankh.
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Sphinx
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Sphinx
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Sphinx
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There are other Sphinx statues besides the one in
Giza.
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A Pharaoh Few Know

• Hatshepsut

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Djeser-Djeseru(Splendor of Splendors)
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Other Pharaohs of Note

• Cheops
• Rameses II
• Cleopatra

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The End of the Egyptian Dynasties

• As the Roman empire grew, it found the riches of
  Egypt. A last battle found Cleopatras forces
  defeated and she committed suicide. It was the
  end.

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