The History of Ancient Egypt was first written in Greek by a priest named Manetho; thus, dividing it into thirty-one dynasties. However, modern day scholars have integrated the dynasties into four groups; hence, restoring the earlier system established by the prophet. The national Unity, which portrayed peace among the Egyptian people, was maintained by a central government that had supreme powers and was controlled by the Pharaoh, the only ruler at the time (Cunningham & Reich, 2009).
Since Egyptians considered him as a living god, the Pharaoh was considered equal to other deities, which existed. Beneath him were priests whose work was to ensure that religious beliefs were restored. Religiously, Egyptians were struck by the obsessions pertaining to immortality, and ability to believe in possibilities of life after death. This was hopefully thought of to have an effect on all Egyptians through assuring them of survival in the next world.
Funeral rites were presided over by Osiris, one of the Egyptian gods; thus, ceremonies were described in a series of sacred texts referred to the Book of the Dead. The Egyptians were well known to worship a number of deities, sub-deities, and natural spirits. This led to confusion of names of these religious gods, as well as, how people interchanged their names.
As a traditional norm, the Egyptian tradition incorporated confusing figures. In addition, the rights of these figures were jealously protected by priests. They were worshipped through works of art – a clear articulation of Egyptian artists. In dynasty III, Imhotep, who was an Egyptian architect, used stone material to develop a pyramid for his master, the Pharaoh Zoser.
This was one of the earliest Pyramids to be created at the time. Through this, a tradition that involved the development of massive funerary monuments was incepted; hence, guaranteeing immortality for their occupants.
However, the pyramid age was not quite common until dynasty IV. This was observed during the construction of three pyramids at Giza that would house Pharaohs; Cheops, Chefren, and Mycerinus. This portrayed the skills Egyptians had towards architecture, and engineering; though, it was widely viewed that this was executed by slaves, with an aim to perpetuate the memories of the social class members; hence, portray their lifestyle.
In retrospect, the pyramids were actually constructed by Pharaohs, who intended to be laid to rest in the pyramids; thus, preserve their names and legacies. To-date, the pyramids still dominates the entire flat landscape; hence, symbolizes the enduring character of Ancient Egypt. Despite their gigantic appearances, and their ability to shelter occupants and their valuables, they were vulnerable.
This means that they drew attention to robbers who found their way through the tunnels of the pyramids, getting hold of all the riches that belonged to the occupants; sometimes, right after the chamber seals had been sealed.
Dynasty XVIII was marked by remarkable changes. The then Pharaoh, Amenhotep, who ruled between 1379 – 1362 BCE, tried single-handedly to reform the religious and political lives of Egyptians. However, changes that had earlier been made to the Egyptian Ancient culture led to the weakening of Egyptian powers in the region.
This prompted artists to revert back to the traditional settings, and acceptance of earlier cultures. Despite this, the Assyrians, Persians, and Greeks, who had direct contact with Egypt, hardly affected Egyptian art. Thus, to this end, Egyptians have opted to remain faithful to their three-thousand-year old cultural tradition (Cunningham & Reich, 2009).
Works Cited
Cunningham S. Lawrence, & Reich J. John. Culture and Values: a survey of the humanities. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.