ANCIENT EGYPT

INTRODUCTION TO PYRAMIDS During Egypt's Old Kingdom the pharaohs established a stable central government in the fertile Nile Valley. Perhaps the greatest testaments to their power were the pyramids and other tombs built to shelter them in the afterlife   Kings of the Dead Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died, he became Osiris, king of the dead. The new pharaoh became Horus, god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. This cycle was symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun. Some part of a dead pharaoh's spirit, called his ka, was believed to remain with his body. And it was thought that if the corpse did not have proper care, the former pharaoh would not be able to carry out his new duties as king of the dead. If this happened, the cycle would be broken and disaster would befall Egypt. To prevent such a catastrophe, each dead pharaoh was mummified, which preserved his body. Everything the king would need in his afterlife was provided in his grave—vessels made of clay, stone, and gold, furniture, food, even doll-like representations of servants, known as ushabti. His body would continue to receive food offerings long after his death.

Like all the major tombs of ancient Egypt, the Giza pyramids were built on the west bank of the River Nile. The Egyptians believed that this was the land of the dead. When the sun set in the west each day , they thought it travelled into another world where the spirits of dead kings lived For 4,500 years, people have come to see the great tombs of the pharaohs. Today millions of tourists from around the world visit the pyramids every year

THE GREAT SPHINX Statues of lions often guard the entrance to Egyptian temples. The Sphinx was propably meant to protect the pyramid complex of Khafra in the same way. There is no evidence that it was worshipped in its own right when the pyramids were built. But in later times the Spinx was identified with Horemakhet of Horus in the horizona form of the sun god.

TUTANKHAMUN Tut was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was only 18 years old when he died. The people did not have a lot of time to build Tut's tomb. Tut's tomb was very small compared to the tombs of other pharaohs.  Because his tomb was so small, it was overlooked for thousands of years. In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter entered King Tut's tomb. It was almost like entering a time machine. Robbers might have been there because a bag of gold rings was found on the floor, as if dropped in haste. But they did not take everything because Carter and his team found many treasures inside the tomb including a solid gold mask of King Tut's face. The artifacts in Tut's tomb told archaeologists and scientists a great deal about ancient Egyptian daily life. Many people all over the world became interested in learning more about ancient Egypt because of the exciting discovery of an ancient tomb full of treasure.

hieroglyphics The Egyptian writing called hieroglyphics used pictures to represent different objects, actions, sound or ideas. There were more than 700 hieroglyphs. Some pictures stood for whole words.

QUIZ TIME 1.What age was tutankhamun when he died ? 2. What is tutankhamun’s nick name ? 3. What guard’s the entrance to the egytian temples ? 4.What age was tutankhamun’s when he became pharoah ? 5. Who was king of the dead ?

THANK’S FOR WATCHING BY: BOBBY AND JACK 