1) What defines civilization? What are the similarities and differences among the world’s earliest civilizations? Show how and why these similarities and differences are significant.
2) Give an account of the theories of political legitimacy we have discussed in our consideration of Mesopotamia and Egypt, for example, theocratic kingship, military aristocracy and royal absolutism. What advantages and disadvantages resulted from such theories?
3) Write an essay in which you explain the common political problem of political fragmentation in Mesopotamia and Egypt. What were the various solutions to the problem, and what problems resulted from the various solutions?
4) In as much detail as possible, develop an essay in which you compare the impact of geography on the development of the politics and culture of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
5) What general conclusions can you draw about the differences in the political and intellectual outlooks of the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia? Compare especially Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious views. In what ways did the regional geography influence the religious outlooks of these two civilizations?
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Friday, October 02, 2009
The legacy of Egypt.
A. Greeks and Romans were impressed, even dazzled, by the Egyptians, as have been most visitors to Egypt since antiquity.
B. Seeing just what influence Egypt actually had, however, is not so easy.
1. Political control lasted a short time.
2. Divinized kingship recurred but not necessarily because of the Egyptians.
3. No new literary forms were added.
4. Monumental architecture as propaganda recurred, but this idea is not “Egyptian.”
C. Early Egyptologists were eager to claim the ancient Egyptians for the West.
1. After World War II, as colonial empires crumbled and black consciousness arose, some people claimed that Egypt was an African civilization, indeed, that Egypt was Africa and vice versa.
2. In its most extreme forms, this view has held that Western civilization was stolen from the Egyptians by the Greeks.
3. This view again puts a sharp focus on Egypt but without solid reasons for doing so.
B. Seeing just what influence Egypt actually had, however, is not so easy.
1. Political control lasted a short time.
2. Divinized kingship recurred but not necessarily because of the Egyptians.
3. No new literary forms were added.
4. Monumental architecture as propaganda recurred, but this idea is not “Egyptian.”
C. Early Egyptologists were eager to claim the ancient Egyptians for the West.
1. After World War II, as colonial empires crumbled and black consciousness arose, some people claimed that Egypt was an African civilization, indeed, that Egypt was Africa and vice versa.
2. In its most extreme forms, this view has held that Western civilization was stolen from the Egyptians by the Greeks.
3. This view again puts a sharp focus on Egypt but without solid reasons for doing so.
The Culture of Ancient Egypt
A. Everything starts with the pharaoh in a two-class society (the pharaoh and everybody else). Egypt first displayed an abstract sense of rule, the separation of ruler and office and the complete removal of the ruler from the ordinary realm of humans.
B. Religion grew more complicated over time.
1. The peace and prosperity of the Old Kingdom led to a happy, optimistic outlook.
2. The concept of the afterlife was a continuation of this life, not something better! It was reserved mainly to the pharaoh, his family, and perhaps a few key advisers, until the end of the Old Kingdom.
3. The Middle Kingdom saw a profusion of temples and new cults. Herodotus called the Egyptian the “most religious of all people.” This might have been a reemergence of predynastic religion or a response to unsettled conditions. At this time, the afterlife seems to have been considered available to all.
4. The concept of Ma’at became crucial, that is, the idea of truth, justice, balance, and order.
5. The New Kingdom saw the remarkable religious experiment of Akhenaton. He abandoned traditional worship to promote the cult of Aton (henotheism or monolatry), but this died with him.
C. Scientific and artisanal advances were striking.
1. The use of papyrus (from which we derive our word "paper") facilitated writing and record-keeping.
2. Hieroglyphic (= pictographic) writing gave way gradually to demotic, which was more efficient than cuneiform.
3. The desire to preserve bodies intact (mummification) for the afterlife led to advances in medical science, including surgery and knowledge of anatomy.
B. Religion grew more complicated over time.
1. The peace and prosperity of the Old Kingdom led to a happy, optimistic outlook.
2. The concept of the afterlife was a continuation of this life, not something better! It was reserved mainly to the pharaoh, his family, and perhaps a few key advisers, until the end of the Old Kingdom.
3. The Middle Kingdom saw a profusion of temples and new cults. Herodotus called the Egyptian the “most religious of all people.” This might have been a reemergence of predynastic religion or a response to unsettled conditions. At this time, the afterlife seems to have been considered available to all.
4. The concept of Ma’at became crucial, that is, the idea of truth, justice, balance, and order.
5. The New Kingdom saw the remarkable religious experiment of Akhenaton. He abandoned traditional worship to promote the cult of Aton (henotheism or monolatry), but this died with him.
C. Scientific and artisanal advances were striking.
1. The use of papyrus (from which we derive our word "paper") facilitated writing and record-keeping.
2. Hieroglyphic (= pictographic) writing gave way gradually to demotic, which was more efficient than cuneiform.
3. The desire to preserve bodies intact (mummification) for the afterlife led to advances in medical science, including surgery and knowledge of anatomy.
Ancient Egypt: The Nile and Unification
According to the Greek writer Herodotus Egypt is “the Gift of the Nile.”
A. The Nile is a long, powerful river running in a northerly direction some 750 miles from the last cataract to the Mediterranean. It floods annually and predictably an area five to fifteen miles wide. About five percent of Egypt is habitable. Without the Nile, there would be only barren desert.
B. From as early as 5000 B.C., small communities along the Nile began to drain marshes, irrigate, and plant regular crops (mainly cereal grains).
C. Slowly, these communities coalesced into single territories. The territories of the south were called “Upper Egypt” because it is nearer the source of the Nile, and the territories of the north were called “Lower Egypt” because it is nearer the mouth of the Nile.
D. It seems that a need to control irrigation led to political organization on a larger scale.
E. Much about this period is shrouded in legend, but about 3100 B.C., Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt. This unification ushered in the historical period.
A. The Nile is a long, powerful river running in a northerly direction some 750 miles from the last cataract to the Mediterranean. It floods annually and predictably an area five to fifteen miles wide. About five percent of Egypt is habitable. Without the Nile, there would be only barren desert.
B. From as early as 5000 B.C., small communities along the Nile began to drain marshes, irrigate, and plant regular crops (mainly cereal grains).
C. Slowly, these communities coalesced into single territories. The territories of the south were called “Upper Egypt” because it is nearer the source of the Nile, and the territories of the north were called “Lower Egypt” because it is nearer the mouth of the Nile.
D. It seems that a need to control irrigation led to political organization on a larger scale.
E. Much about this period is shrouded in legend, but about 3100 B.C., Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt. This unification ushered in the historical period.
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