presented by the dayton art institute's educator resource center and

24 Pages·2005·1.53 MB·English

P
RESENTED BY
Transforming Transactions
into Relationships
T D A I ’ E R C
HE AYTON RT NSTITUTE S DUCATOR ESOURCE ENTER
E R P
AND ALL DUCATOR ESOURCE ACKETS
S
PONSORED BY
R P I
ESOURCE ACKET NTRODUCTION
PYRAMIDION OF AMENHOTEP-HUY, Nineteenth Dynasty, reign of Ramesses II, 1279-1213 BCE;grandiorite.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
This resource packet is provided to science, social studies, and fine view of the Great Pyramid,
support the exhibition, The Quest arts. Words in bold print are accompanied by an audio
for Immortality: Treasures of defined in the glossary at the end description and braille text, will
Ancient Egypt, presented by NCR of this section. You will also find a assist blind visitors and those with
Corporation, on view at The bibliography that includes low vision. In addition, several
Dayton Art Institute, September 1, resources for teachers and activities will make direct
2005-January 3, 2006. students. We hope that this packet connections to ancient Egyptian
will assist you in preparing your objects from the museum’s
The packet includes general back- students for their visit to the permanent collection. Inside
ground information about ancient exhibition. Egypt is on view May 21, 2005
Egypt, the culture, the people, and through April, 2006. The
their religious beliefs. It is intend- You may also want to visit Inside Experiencenter is open every day
ed for teachers of all grade levels Egypt, an exciting new addition to and is free to the public.
but requires adaptation for specific the Experiencenter,The Dayton
learning levels. Art Institute's interactive gallery. Inside Egypt is sponsored by
Through hands-on activities, George and Pam Houk, The Iams
students will learn about the Company, Iddings Foundation,
In addition, the packet focuses on
building of the Great Pyramids at Levin Family Foundation,
six specific works providing
Giza, write coded messages in Reynolds & Reynolds Company
information about the objects and
hieroglyphs, and make drawings Foundation, and the Frank M. Tait
suggesting activities that relate
like the ancient Egyptians. A Foundation
directly to math, language arts,
tactile diagram of a cross-section
T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
4
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
5
MAP OF ANCIENT EGYPT
6
FACTS ABOUT ANCIENT EGYPT
7
EGYPTIAN SOCIETY
9
GODS AND GODDESSES
11
HIEROGLYPHS
13
EGYPTIAN TOMBS
14
MUMMIFICATION
15
THUTMOSE III
I6
JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE
21
GLOSSARY
23
BIBLIOGRAPHY COFFIN OF ISIS-EM-AKHBIT,
Twenty-first Dynasty, reign of
Psusennes II, 959-945 BCE;
painted wood, gold.The
THIS EDUCATOR RESOURCE PACKET Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
IS SPONSORED BY BANK ONE.
A E
BOUT THE XHIBITION
The Quest for Immortality: Most of the objects in this collection were created a thousand years after the
Treasures of Ancient Egypt, pyramids. By this time the use of pyramids had been abandoned for a new and
presented by NCR Corporation, different style of funerary architecture– tombs that were carved into the lime-
represents the largest collection of stone cliffs across from Thebes on the west bank of the Nile River.
ancient artifacts to ever travel
outside Egypt. It consists of more Highlighted in this exhibition is a very important, though perhaps less well
than one hundred objects known pharaoh, Thutmose III. Thutmose III was the sixth pharaoh of the
specifically chosen to illustrate the Eighteenth Dynasty in the New Kingdom, an eventful period in Egyptian
afterlife beliefs of the ancient history. Fourteen pharaohs fall under the Eighteenth Dynasty, some of whom
Egyptians, a culture that existed have very familiar names: Akhenaten, Hatshepsut, and of course,
more than 3500 years ago. Tutankhamun, better known as King Tut. An exhibition highlight is the
full-scale reconstruction of Thutmose III’s burial chamber. Inside, visitors can
view the earliest known complete painting of the Amduat, the great text
The objects–sculpture, jewelry and
describing the sun god’s journey through the underworld.
numerous funerary artifacts–
reflect the Egyptian burial
This exhibition provides an opportunity for our visitors to learn about the
rituals, religious beliefs about gods
many facets of Egyptian funerary rites, religious beliefs, and the quest for
and goddesses, concepts of the
eternal life. The ancient Egyptians viewed the afterlife as a place to pass into
afterlife, and the pursuit of
where an individual’s spirit would continue to live on. It was viewed as an
immortality. Much of the
extension of this world. Therefore, processes such as mummification and
exhibition dates to the New
supplies of food and objects used in daily life were important in this passage.
Kingdom period (c.1569-1081
Although most of these objects were made to be placed in the tomb of the
BCE) and the life of a particular
deceased and must now be viewed out of their original context, these ancient
pharaoh, Thutmose III. However,
objects give us a glimpse into an ancient civilization’s quest for the eternal.
objects dating through the Late
Period (c.724-333 BCE) are
also included.
Throughout ancient Egypt’s long
history, its complex civilization
flourished and many things
remained fairly constant, such as
the use of hieroglyphs and the
rigid rules that dictated artistic
styles. Yet there were some
changes, such as the architectural
design of the tombs of pharaohs.
When people think of ancient
Egypt, the pyramids come to mind
first. The rise of the pyramid age,
occurring during the “youth” of
this civilization, is a period that is
not focused on in this exhibition.
SPHINX OF THUTMOSE III, Eighteenth Dynasty,1479-1425 BCE;
granodiorite.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
4
5
F A A E
ACTS BOUT NCIENT GYPT
Egypt is located in Northern Egypt’s rulers were believed to be Mummification was the first step
Africa, bordering the Middle East divine kings, sons of the solar god taken to prepare for immortality.
and the Mediterranean Sea. Re. The term “pharaoh” means Occurring over a seventy day
“great house” and was first used period, mummification was a
The Nile, the longest river in the by the New Kingdom ruler, process for preserving the body.
world, divides the length of Egypt. Thutmose III. Important internal organs, the
Beginning at its source in central lungs, liver, stomach, and intes-
Africa, the Nile River winds north- Thirty-one dynasties of pharaohs tines were removed, dried in salts,
ward for over 4,000 miles to the ruled for over 2500 years in Egypt. and placed in canopic jars.The
Mediterranean Sea. body was also dried with salts and
The ancient Egyptians believed in wrapped in multiple layers of fine
Miles of desert protected Egypt polytheism, the worship of many linen. Bodies were often adorned
over the centuries from invaders, gods. Different gods and with jewelry, protective amulets
allowing the ancient Egyptian goddesses, including those (small magical charms) and
civilization to develop isolated representing the sun and the Nile funerary masks before being
artistic traditions, as well as River, played a role in explaining placed in decorated coffins.
advanced political, religious and natural occurrences.
agricultural systems.
Ancient Egyptians believed that
Egyptian culture was primarily after death, they could be reborn
agricultural relying on the annual into a new life in the underworld
flooding of the Nile River that ruled by the god Osiris.
brought fresh water and fertilized
silt to renew the soil for crops. Funerary texts helped the deceased
Agricultural themes emerge achieve immortality. The Amduat
repeatedly in Egyptian art. (“that which is in the nether-
world”) was a text reserved for
Although located in southern royalty which traced the twelve-
Egypt, the area is referred to as hour journey through the under-
UpperEgypt because of its high world.
elevation. LowerEgypt is in the
north and includes the low In preparation for the afterlife,
floodplains of the Nile. pharaohs built elaborate tombs for
themselves. In the Old Kingdom,
Ancient Egyptian society was the pharaohs built pyramids to
organized as a hierarchy, with the house their remains. Later, tombs
pharaoh at the top and farmers and were carved into the sides of cliffs.
laborers at the bottom. One famous area now referred to
as the Valley of the Kingsis
The earliest Egyptian writing located on the west bank of the
system consisted of picture Nile across from Thebes.
symbols called hieroglyphs.
6 FOUR CANOPIC JARS OF PRINCE HORNAKHT (detail of
Jackal), Twenty-first Dynasty, reign of Osorkon II, 874-850
BCE;alabaster.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
E S
GYPTIAN OCIETY
The Class System Egyptian Life soil for the next season’s crops.
Mainly an agricultural society,
Ancient Egyptian society was Egyptians lived in a remarkably
Egyptians grew corn, wheat,
arranged as a hierarchy, with stable environment. Wealthy
barley, and vegetables, including
people grouped according to status Egyptians lived a pleasant life,
onions, lettuce, cucumbers, peas,
and ability. The pharaoh, believed with servants and an abundance of
and beans. In addition, they
to have been appointed by the leisure time. Traveling was a
devised canals and irrigation
gods, had the power to communi- popular activity for the wealthy,
ditches to extend water use. Even
cate with the gods in order to but only inside Egypt. The people
the Egyptian calendar was based
oversee and maintain the natural viewed areas outside of Egypt as
on the seasons determined by
order and harmony of the Egyptian unappealing and did not like
the Nile.
world. As a member of this top tier foreign clothes or habits. Most of
of society, the pharaoh was the the population was poor and
The Endurance of a
chief authority over all human worked hard, often as farmers,
Civilization
endeavors and was responsible for with little hope of doing better in
the well-being of every Egyptian. the future. This was not thought of
Beginning about 3100 BCE,
He or she collected taxes, as unjust. It was an accepted belief
thirty-one dynasties controlled
organized labor and maintained that some people were born to
Egypt, guided by a succession of
law and order.The second hierar- work, while others were born to
kings called pharaohs. Each
chical tier consisted of the nobles, positions of authority. Although
dynasty was known by its royal
government officials and priests. ancient Egyptian history spanned
house or ruling family and was
Also important to society were over 3000 years, lives of ordinary
distinguished by political events,
scribes, scholars and artisans. people changed little. They
wars, or artistic and technological
Most Egyptians were at the bottom believed in the rules of society and
advances. When one family lost
level of society, working as saw no reason for change.
power and another group took
farmers and laborers who split
control, a new dynasty began.
their time between tending crops The Importance of the
Long periods of stability were
and building temples or mortuary
Nile River known as kingdoms: the Old
complexes for the pharaoh.
Kingdom (c.2687-2191 BCE), the
Stretching over 4000 miles, the
Middle Kingdom (c.2061-1665
Nile River was the single most
BCE) and the New Kingdom
important natural element in the
(c.1569-1081 BCE). Times of
development of ancient Egyptian
unrest and instability were known
civilization. Towns, situated high
as the Intermediate Periods.
above its banks, overlooked the
lush, green fields supported by the
river and the surrounding deserts
that formed a protective barrier
from invaders. Amajor
transportation route and habitat for
many species of fish and animals,
the Nile flooded every year,
depositing new layers of fertile
PENDANT IN THE FORM OF A HATHORIC HEAD,
Twenty-first Dynasty, reign of Osorkon II, 874-850 BCE;
gold and lapis lazuli.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
7
The Religious Beliefs Another part of the spirit was the ka, the life force that lived in every person.
When someone died, the ka separated from the body but went on living. The
Egyptian religion was polytheistic
ka looked exactly like the deceased when he or she was alive. Astatue of the
and permeated almost every aspect
dead person was usually placed in the tomb in order to guide the ka back to its
of life. Hundreds of Egyptian gods
body. Like the ba, the ka also needed food placed in the tomb.
and goddesses have been identi-
fied, each having a distinct person-
ality and purpose. Myths told
about the gods’origins and their
exploits often explained puzzling
natural changes, such as night into
day and life into death. Many gods
were identified with animals and
the strengths associated with them.
Ancient Egyptians believed that
after death they would enter a
world much like the one that they
knew, only better. Careful prepara-
tions had to be made to ensure
happiness in the afterlife. Egyptian
religious beliefs and perceptions of
what awaited them in the afterlife
relied heavily on the conditions of
their daily lives. Their culture was
permeated by the idea of the
cycles of life: the cycle of the sun,
the cycle of the Nile River and its
annual flooding, and the cycle of
SARCOPHAGUS OF KHONSU, Nineteenth
birth, death and the afterlife. Dynasty,1295-1186 BCE;stuccoed, painted, and
varnished wood.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
The Egyptians also believed that
each person’s soul had different The Afterlife and Immortality
parts. One part was the ba, or the
Ancient Egyptians envisioned the underworld as a physical place where life
individual personality.This spirit
would continue as before, but flaws of the body would be healed, crops would
had the head of a human but the
grow taller, disease would not exist. All Egyptians hoped to reach this ideal
body of a bird. At night it was able
realm, but because their place was not guaranteed, their quest for immortality
to fly from the burial tomb and
thus inspired elaborate preparations for the afterlife. Believing that the soul
visit home or other places that
could not survive without its body, they practiced mummification and further
were important to it in life.
shielded the body from physical decay with coffins and sarcophagi. Images of
Because the ba needed food,
deities, amulets and sacred texts were buried with the deceased to provide
pictures of meals were often
them with the needed protection during their journey to the underworld. Tombs
painted on tomb walls or replicas
were furnished with practical goods to ensure a comfortable life in the beyond.
of food were left in the tomb.
Priests or relatives of the deceased
would bring food offerings to the
tomb as well.
8
G A G
ODS ND ODDESSES
Ancient Egyptians believed that With regard to the afterlife,
their gods inhabited every part of Egyptians were careful to equip
the natural world. Their compre- their dead with detailed
hension of life and the afterlife instructions for safe passage
was intimately linked to and through the perils of the
guided by the many gods and underworld (netherworld), a
goddesses they worshiped. In this journey that was required in order
complex family of gods and god- to achieve immortality. Sacred
desses, some have multiple names, objects were also placed in the
many have legends associated with tombs, including images of
them, and some take on multiple protective deities that were first
forms. Some were regional or dedicated in temples. Those gods
served various elements of one and goddesses that were connected
concept, such as Kephri, the rising to the netherworld, regeneration
sun, and Atum, the setting and the solar cycle of rebirth took
sun—both aspects of the sun god precedence.
Re. Although they were visualized
in human or animal form, or as Re –Amajor god in the Egyptian
animal-headed humans, the world, the sun god, Re, formed the
Egyptians did not worship the link between earthly life and
STATUE OF OSIRIS, Twenty-sixth Dynasty, reign of Psamtik I,
images themselves, but rather the eternal life. When darkness fell 664-610 BCE;graywacke.The Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
force or power they associated and the day ended, Egyptians
with them. believed that the sun god descend- Osiris – One of the most popular
ed into the underworld, bringing and well-known gods, Osiris was
It was the pharaoh’s duty to build light to the place inhabited by the the absolute ruler of the under-
temples and to ensure that offer- dead. He caused the dead to world and presided over the trav-
ings were made to the gods housed awake. When Re left the under- els of the sun and of the deceased
within them. In return the gods world at dawn to bring light to the during the twelve hours of the
would bestow blessings on the earth, the dead went back to sleep night. With Re, the primary god of
people, such as victory in battle, until he returned. the sun and creator of the universe,
bountiful harvests and recovery he judged the soul of the deceased
from sickness. In his role as king, Atum –Apersonification of Re, by weighing their heart against a
the pharaoh was believed to have Atum is pictured as a human being feather, known as the featherof
been appointed by the gods and he but is identified with the setting Maat, to determine if he or she
derived his power from them, sun and the change of light into merited admittance to the afterlife.
forming a link between the gods darkness. Usually represented as a mummi-
and the world of humankind. fied man sitting on a throne, Osiris
However, he was to some extent a Khepri –Another manifestation wore either the crown of Upper
servant of the gods. It was the high of Re, Khepri was represented by Egypt or an atef-crown, a tall
priests, who acted on behalf of the a scarab beetle and signified white crown with a plume on each
ruler in the great state temples the rising aspect of the sun side and a small disk at the top.
erected throughout the country, and rebirth. Sometimes he was shown holding
who played a vital role in the the crook and flail, symbols of
structure of Egyptian civilization. royal authority. The king identified
himself with Osiris.
9
Isis –The sister and wife of Horus –This falcon god, the son Hathor –This sky goddess, traced
Osiris, Isis had strong associations of Osiris and Isis, reigned as god back to very ancient times, was
with regeneration, birth and magi- of the sky and served as the associated with the stars and
cal protection. Because she healed embodiment and protector of the known as one of Re’s children.
Osiris with magic after he was king. He watched over and guided The wife of Horus, her name
torn apart and killed by his broth- souls through the underworld. His means “Temple of Horus.” She
er, it was believed she could ease symbol was the wedjat (Eye of was consistently represented as a
the passage to the afterlife and that Horus), representing the triumph cow or as a human with cow ears
she could aid in the purification of good over evil. or horns. She was concerned with
and mummification of the dead. nourishment and child-rearing and
Seen as a beautiful young woman Sakhmet – Strong and sometimes was strongly associated with love,
with a crown of cow horns and vengeful, the lioness goddess regeneration, song, and dance.
sometimes a sun disk, she shared Sakhmet was a fierce protector of
characteristics with Hathor – both the sun god. The goddess of war, Anubis – Most often seen as
were patronesses of fertility and she could determine people’s luck, either a jackal-headed god in
deities of the sky. protect their health, and ensure human form or a seated black
annual flooding of the Nile. jackal, Anubis was frequently
depicted as the embalmer, who
Thoth –The moon god, Thoth, tends to the mummy on its bed. He
was responsible for writing and is associated with the Opening of
knowledge. Sometimes he was the Mouth Ceremony (for details
shown as an ibis or ibis-headed see page 14“Mummification”) and
human, or sometimes as a baboon, the judgment of the dead.
a symbol of wisdom. The ability to
write was a sacred and magical Nut – Goddess of the sky, Nut
act, and Thoth guarded the sacred often appears as a female figure
hieroglyphs and protected scribes. bent over with her feet and hands
He was scribe of the gods, record- touching the ground, her body
ing the verdict of Osiris when arrayed with stars, and sometimes
weighing the hearts of the dead. she is shown as a young woman
with a pair of large wings. At
Maat –The personification of night, this sky goddess swallows
truth and justice, Maat was repre- the sun and carries it within her
sented as a goddess but was more into the underworld. Twelve hours
of an abstract idea. Maat means later she gives birth to the sun in
“things as they ought to be” and the east and the sun is reborn as a
was considered to be the order of new day begins.
the universe. Represented with a
feather on her head, she appears in
the weighing of the heart ceremo-
ny when the heart of the deceased
is weighed against a feather.
STATUE OF ISIS, Twenty-sixth Dynasty,
10
664-524 BCE;graywacke.The Egyptian
Museum, Cairo.