1. Chapter 3: Egypt Under the Pharaohs
Egypt rises to prominence with the unification of the Upper and Lower kingdoms in 3500 BCE.
After the demise of the New Kingdom in 1000 BCE, Egypt’s power in the ancient world decreased as a succession of foreigners took control of the Nile.

2. The earliest example of an artwork with a named ruler, the Palette of King Narmer shows the first pharaoh of Egypt uniting the Upper and Lower Kingdoms.
Use of scale of show importance of god-king pharaoh. Cows represent Hathor, divine mother of all pharaohs. Narmer’s name in hieroglyphs is written between them. Falcon is Horus, protector of the pharaoh. Composite view like Mesopotamian and Persian art. Greywocke, used to prepare eye makeup used to protect eyes form sun and glare. Shows pharaoh as all powerful and divinely protected and blessed and set standard of design in Egyptian art for 3000 years.
Palette of King Narmer

3. Egypt was also rich in other resources, such as stone and papyrus.
The Nile River
The lifeblood of Egypt is the Nile River, which, through its predictable annual floods, brings fertile soil from the African hills along the river banks.
Egypt was also rich in other resources, such as stone and papyrus.

4. Egyptians and the Afterlife
Almost everything known about ancient Egyptian history has been gleaned from tombs. The majority of monuments were dedicated to ensuring safety and happiness in the afterlife.
They believed that the soul, or ka, lived on after death and could inhabit the corpse. In order for the ka to live securely, the body had to be kept as intact as possible.
Chapels were equipped with secret doors so that the ka could enter and leave as it pleased and eat offerings left. It was the responsibility of the citizens to keep the divine ka of the pharaoh alive and well taken care of.

5. Stepped Pyramid of Djoser
A mastaba designed by Imhotep, the first recorded name of an artist. Imhotep was so skilled he was deified after death.
Like all pyramids, it was designed to protect the pharaoh and symbolize his god-like power with its enormous size.

6. The Old Kingdom
The construction of the pyramids at Giza symbolize the beginning of the Old Kingdom, the first of three great periods of Egyptian history.
Made up of 3 pyramids and constructed over a period of 75 years, they represent the architectural evolution from mastaba to classic pyramid.
Pyramids at Giza oldest of the 7 Wonders. Pyramids are symbols of the sun and influenced by the cult of Re, a powerful group of sun worshippers based in Heliopolis.

7. The Great Sphinx
The largest statue in Egypt, Mesopotamia, or Persia. The composite form suggests the pharaoh combines the intelligence of man with the strength of the king of beasts.
The identity of this pharaoh is disputed, but the beard and headdress confirm that it is a pharaoh. Possibly Khufu or Khafre, both are buried in the Gizeh pyramids.

8. Old Kingdom Sculptures
Statues of royalty were idealized, meant to serve as an eternal home for the divine ka.
The Seated Scribe is a lower class position, but one that still affords comfort and esteem in Egyptian society. He’s portrayed with markers of obesity, which would have been disrespectful on a royal family member.
Both of these are from the same time period but have very different functions. The pharaoh radiates stillness and strength and is built to be an eternal home for the divine ka. Realism was less important then proclaiming the godlike power of the pharaoh. As social class decreases, realism increases. Movement is still suppressed.
Old Kingdom Sculptures

9. The Middle Kingdom
The kingdoms fell into chaos but were reunited again in 2040 BCE, beginning the Middle Kingdom.
Their main contribution was in the field of architecture, notably the carved rock tombs at Beni Hasan. The column shafts are fluted, a design that the Greeks would later employ.
Fluted refers to shallow grooves cut vertically into a surface. The tombs were carved directly out of the stone

10. The New Kingdom
Egypt extended it conquests down the Nile and built a new capital at Thebes.
Representing a major contribution to the advancement of architecture, the Egyptian funeral temples used pylons with enormous gateways, columnar courtyards, hypostyle halls, and clerestory lighting.

11. Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh
Hatshepsut crowned herself pharaoh, insisting that her father Thutmose I chose her as successor during his lifetime. When Thutmose III rose to power, he had many of her portraits destroyed.
She built herself a massive royal mortuary temple. Statues and reliefs glorifying the queen and her achievements adorn the temple, making it the first tribute to a woman’s achievements in the history of art.

12. Ramses II: Last Great Warrior Pharaoh
Ramses II ruled for 2/3 of a century. To commemorate his many victories, he placed four colossal 65 foot tall portraits on the outside of his temple.
The interior boasted a row of 32 foot statue-columns. Male columns are atlantid, female caryatid.

13. Temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak
The temple at Karnak is typical of New Kingdom temples not only for its colossal scale and axial plan. An axial plan has the buildings arranged longitudinally or along a given axis.
It is also an excellent example of a pylon temple, with the entrance constructed out of two massive pylons with a low gateway between.
Temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak
The pylon temple architecture endures long after the end of the Egyptian golden age. Temples were added on to until they reached huge proportions. The temple at Karnak was worked on by Hatsheput, Thutmose I and III and Ramses II.

14. The axial plan leads through the pylon gate, down a long corridor and into a hypostyle hall, a hall with roof resting on columns.
The higher central columns raised the roof creating a clerestory, which allowed natural light in. The clerestory was a crucial architectural invention before the electric bulb.

15. Amenhotep IV, later called Akhenaton, created an artistic revolution when her overhauled the Egyptian religion into a monotheistic religion centered around the sun god Aton. After his death, his work was largely undone.
Art from this time is purposefully more naturalistic, showing curving lines and characteristic protruding bellies.

16. Tutankhamen ruled for a decade and died when he was 18
Tutankhamen ruled for a decade and died when he was 18. He is most well known for the extensive treasures discovered in his tomb.
His death mask shows the teenaged pharaoh with typical idealized features and the traditional false beard and cobra headdress.

17. The Last Judgement of Hunefer represents a return to conservative style, as well as an illustration of the traditional Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Anubis the jackal headed god of embalming. Ammit, devourer of the sinful waits by the scale. Ibis headed god Thoth records, Osiris the god of the dead, Horus the hawk headed god’s father

18. In the first millennium BCE, Egypt’s power dwindled
In the first millennium BCE, Egypt’s power dwindled. Alexander the Great, the Greeks, and eventually the emperors of Rome became the rulers of Egypt.

19. Essay Question: