10 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was one of the oldest civilisations in the world and an influential one for the Ancient Greeks as well. Below you can read 10 interesting facts about the civilisation of ancient Egypt which continues to fascinate to this day:
The ancient Egyptian pyramids continue to fascinate to this day. Image source: www.pixabay.com
10. The civilisation of ancient Egypt thrived along the banks of the Nile River in the north of Africa for many centuries.
9. The Ancient Egyptians mummified their dead. The pharaohs and nobility were mummified in pyramids. Some pharaohs were mummified in burial chambers underneath the pyramids. The Ancient Egyptians also built beautiful temples such as the one at Karnak near Luxor in the region of Upper Egypt.
Full moon over the columns of the temple of Karnak near Luxor in Upper Egypt. Image source: www.pixabay.com
8. The Ancient Egyptians traded with the Minoans. The Minoan civilisation, the first to have emerged in Europe during the Bronze Age, was in contact with the Ancient Egyptians back in Antiquity. The Minoans were referred to as Keftiu by the Ancient Egyptians.
7. Ancient Egypt lasted for more than 3,000 years, thus making it the oldest surviving civilisation in the world. Throughout the passage of time, Ancient Egypt was ruled by approximately 170 pharaohs.
6. The Ancient Egyptians influenced the Ancient Greeks to a major extent in important fields such as mythology, art, architecture, or philosophy. In addition, Plato collected the myth of Atlantis via Solon, an Athenian lawmaker, who, in turn, got to know it from an Ancient Egyptian priest. Plato wrote the story on the downfall of Atlantis in two of his well-known dialogues titled Timaeus and Critias.
5. The Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods and goddesses. Major Ancient Egyptian gods include Osiris, Isis, Ra, Horus, or Thoth.
4. The unified king of the Ancient Egyptians was King Menes (also known as King Narmer) who united Upper and Lower Egypt in approximately 3150 BC. King Menes then became the first king of unified Egypt.
3. The pharaohs, the rulers of ancient Egypt, were considered earthly gods. They were deemed god-like human beings in charge of the destiny of the country.
2. The Ancient Eygptians wrote on papyrus. The ones tasked with writing official documents back in ancient Egypt were the scribes. Aside from the scribes, priests as well as members of nobility (including the royal court of the pharaoh) were able to read and write. The Ancient Egyptian scribes wrote documents on papyrus using hieroglyphs, a set of ancient Egyptian symbols. Hieroglyphs were inscribed on the walls of temples and pyramids of Ancient Egypt as well.
Egyptian hieroglyphs depicted on a wall. Image source: www.pixabay.com
Only a very small minority of Ancient Egyptians were able to read and write using the hieroglyphs. As previously mentioned, those were the scribes and the members of the royal court. Image source: www.pixabay.com
1. The history of Ancient Egypt can be divided into three main periods of time, namely the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.
Documentation sources and external links:
- Ancient Egypt on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)
- Were All Egyptian Pharaohs Buried in Pyramids? on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)
- Why Was Ancient Egypt So Successful on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)
- What happened to the ancient Egyptians? on www.bbc.co.uk
- Egyptian Gods – The Complete List on www.worldhistory.org
- Unification of Upper & Lower Egypt on www.study.com