.:: EgYpT ::.

The ancient Egyptians Temples The ancient Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods and goddesses. Every temple was dedicated to a god or goddess and he or she was worshipped there by the temple priests and the pharaoh. Temple of Luxor, Egypt The large temple buildings were made of stone so that they would last forever. Their walls were covered with scenes that were carved onto the stone then brightly painted. These scenes showed the pharaoh fighting in battles and performing rituals with the gods and goddesses. ......................... Dedicated : To name a temple for a god or goddess, and honour that god or goddess there. Pharaoh : is the term we use today to describe the rulers of ancient Egypt. 'Pharaoh' is actually a Greek word that is based on an Egyptian word that meant 'great house'. When this word was first used, it referred to the palace and its greatness, not just to the ruler himself. However, later in Egyptian history t...

The ancient Egyptians Writing The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate information about religion and government. Thus, they invented written scripts that could be used to record this information. The most famous of all ancient Egyptian scripts is hieroglyphic. However, throughout three thousand years of ancient Egyptian civilisation, at least three other scripts were used for different purposes. Using these scripts, scribes were able to preserve the beliefs, history and ideas of ancient Egypt in temple and tomb walls and on papyrus scrolls. ........................................... Hieroglyphic writing was a form of writing used by the ancient Egyptians. The individual characters are called 'hieroglyphs' S cript A group of signs and letters used to make words Papyrus was a reed that grew in ancient Egypt that was used in many different ways. It was cut into strips, pressed together, pounded, and dried to make sheets which were wri...

The Great Sphinx is a large human-headed lion that was carved from a mound of natural rock. It is located in Giza where it guards the front of Khafra's pyramid Legends have been told for many years about the Great Sphinx. These stories tell about the powers and mysteries of this sphinx. Some people even believe that there are hidden passageways or rooms underneath the Great Sphinx, but nothing has been found yet. The beginning of one story about the Great Sphinx is written on a stele between the sphinx's paws. The story reads that one day, a young prince fell asleep next to the Great Sphinx. He had been hunting all day, and was very tired. He dreamt that the Great Sphinx promised that he would become the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt if he cleared away the sand covering its body (the Great Sphinx was covered up to its neck). The rest of the story is gone, so you will have to use your imagination to work out the ending. This stele was put up by the pharaoh Thutmosis IV who live...

The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom. There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the 'Great Pyramid'. ................................................ Giza A town located near Cairo in northern Egypt. The site of three large stone pyramids built during the fourth dynasty ............................................... Old Kingdom A period of ancient Egyptian history that lasted from about 2686 B.C. to 2181 B.C.. .............................................. Middle Kingdom A period of ancient Egyptian history that lasted from about 2055 B.C. to 1650 B.C.. .............................

Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile and the fertile land along its banks. The yearly flooding of the Nile enriched the soil and brought good harvests and wealth to the land. The people of ancient Egypt built mudbrick homes in villages and in the country. .................... They grew some of their own food and traded in the villages for the food and goods they could not produce. Most ancient Egyptians worked as field hands, farmers, craftsmen and scribes. A small group of people were nobles. Together, these different groupsof people made up the population of ancient Egypt. ........................................................................