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| Ancient Egyptian Art and Culture |
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BRIEF HISTORY |
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Egypt was a powerful nation, a 1000 years before the Minoans of Crete built their palace at Knossos, and about 900 years before the Israelites followed Moses out of Egypt. Egyptian civilization continued for more than 3,000 years. Its geographical location, deserts surrounding the Valley of the Nile, discouraged hostile invasions. The Mediterranean Sea, to the North, encouraged commerce and trade.
In 3,100 BC the civilization stabilized and flourished when Upper and Lower Egypt were united under a single monarch, the first of 30 dynasties of pharaohs. A few centuries after the unification, during the period of the Old Kingdom (Dynasties III-VIII) from about 2,700 BC to 2,150 BC, a strong political and social society grew. Egyptians regularly traded cargoes of lentils, textiles, papyrus to other countries in exchange for copper, bronze, gold, silver, ivory, rare woods, turquoise, and exotic animal skins.
Arts
and sciences were also studied and explored by Egyptian citizens. A
system of writing called hieroglyphics was introduced, promoting the
creation of stories, poems, and religious texts. The Egyptians
created mathematical methods for calculating taxes, land surveys,
weights and measures, distance, and time. They also explored
astronomy, engineering, and medical sciences.
Egyptian
architectural accomplishments were spectacular and remain so today.
Belief in life after death led to the construction of huge permanent
temples and tombs with massive stone walls covered with
hieroglyphics and pictorial carvings and flat roofs. Other striking
structures included pyramids and obelisks. Fine art kept pace with
architecture and is distinctive in concept and character. Sculpture
featured strong massive forms, while the highly stylized paintings
were brightly colored and intricately designed.
The Egyptians were social and light hearted and among the most industrious of ancient peoples. Enamored of life on earth, they envisioned death merely as its continuance and prepared for it elaborately. The Egyptians beliefs about death and the after life combined with the dry climate in Egypt are largely responsible for the preservation of many aspects of their civilization for scholars to study today. |
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Ancient Egyptian Art and Culture |
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