Introduction
Egypt was an ancient slave state, which in a short time reached a level of development that no other country had achieved. Egypt was located in the northern part of Africa; it emerged during the Paleolithic period. The availability of native soils and building materials contributed to the development of agriculture and construction as the crafts and trade, which helped enrich the state and develop science.
Religion
As all life of the Egyptians was determined by the nature of their country, so the religion of ancient Egypt consisted in the closest connection with nature. The initial religion of ancient Egypt was to realize the Gods in the form of birds and beasts. This was due to the fact that belief in the Gods originated with the Egyptians when hunting was their main occupation. At a later time, when hunting lost its former significance, Egyptians still depicted Gods with the head of an animal or bird, but with a human body. With the beginning of agriculture, the Egyptians became more dependent on nature, so they started to revere the sun god Ra, the deities of the earth, the sky, and the moon. The Egyptians attributed the creation of the earth, people, animals, and plants to Ra. (Flinders 102). The Nile was especially worshipped as a deity; the nation’s development depended on the floods of the Nile.
Architecture
The peculiarity of the architecture of ancient Egypt is palatial buildings, which were usually built of flimsy materials. Other creations include pyramids, mastabas (trapezoidal-shaped tombs built for Egyptian nobles rather than pharaohs), and rock tombs. The Theban temples of Luxor and Karnak are particularly remarkable, with their huge halls and open columned courtyards (Rossi 234). The surfaces of the temples were covered with painted reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions. In ancient Egyptian sculptural art, the desire for monumentality was noticeable. Grandiose statues up to 20 meters in height carved out of the rocks are not uncommon. For example, the Great Sphinx (statue of a lion with a human head, symbolizing the power and wisdom of the pharaoh) and the equally gigantic statues of Ramses II.
Art
In sculpture and art of Ancient Egypt, one feels conventionality very often. The face was depicted in a strict profile, but the eye was turned to it. Following centuries of tradition, the Egyptian artist tended to depict what existed in reality rather than what he saw by looking at the model from one side or the other when much escaped from view. Pharaohs and nobles had to be represented in a stately and motionless pose, with a frozen standard smile. Artists avoided marking any physical flaws, sometimes giving them excessive height.
A significant break with artistic traditions occurred in the art of Tel el-Amarna, in the time of the reformist pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Rossi 237). He and his wife and daughters are drawn naturally, with flaws even emphasized. Concerning the music and theatre there were wind instruments (flutes), percussion (castanets), and strings (harps, lutes). Dancers sometimes acted out entire complex pantomimes, expressing a pharaoh and a defeated enemy or grasses tilting in the breeze.
Philosophy
The philosophy of ancient Egypt oriented humans to the following features of perception of the world. This philosophy, first of all, had a division of the universe into two worlds, the earthly and the afterlife. Besides, there was a division of time in this philosophy into two tenses. The finite time (earthly) and the infinite time (otherworldly) such period was characteristic of the whole space. In the old philosophy of Egypt, there was a repetition of the cosmic archetype; this space archetype extended to earthly life as well (Shaw 98). It meant the striving for the immortality of the species, glory of the stars of the planets.
Furthermore, a characteristic of ancient Egyptian philosophy was the affirmation of the unity of the universe; the world of living creatures and the inanimate bodies were one. The whole system was formed, the living became the non-living, the stone created plants, the plant turned back into dust. Moreover, it was essential for this ancient Egyptian philosophy to participate in the conversation between human beings and the Gods (Shaw 100). Prayer was specific to this culture, and it is the beginning of man’s immersion in his inner world.
Geography
Egypt is located in the northeast of the African continent and is connected to West Asia by the Isthmus of Suez. In antiquity, Egypt was defined as the valley formed by the lower stream of the Nile. Egypt was restricted from the north by the Mediterranean Sea, from the west by the Libyan Plateau, east by the Arabian Plateau, and south by the 1st Nile Threshold. It was divided into Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (the region of the Delta, a wide estuary of the Nile with several arms, its shape resembling a triangle). The Nile valley was a long and narrow oasis (from 1 to 20 km wide) (Shaw 76). It was open only in the northeast because it was barred from both sides by two mountain chains and inaccessible in the south. This caused the relative insularity and independence of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
Governments
In ancient Egypt was a theocratic monarchy; the Pharaoh had a spiritual mandate. Initially, he was understood as a facilitator between mortals and God. He represented the will of the Gods through the enactment of laws and the policies pursued. A central government appeared in Egypt around 3150 B.C.; at this time, Pharaoh Narmer was capable of uniting the country (Shaw 81). The nobles were subordinate to Pharaoh; he appointed them rulers of cities and regions, judges, and military commanders. They had many officials, scribes, and guards at their disposal.
Warfare
During the Ancient Kingdom era, many military campaigns to Palestine and Nubia were organized, the borders expanded to the territory of Sudan. It was an unstable period in the life of ancient Egypt; there were constant civil wars between the central administration and the regions, the dynasties of kings often changed (Cox 374). During the Middle Kingdom, rulers maintained a powerful permanent army, and military strategy was based on defense against invaders. Under Pharaoh Thutmose III, there was a legendary battle near the valley of Megiddo, in which Egyptian troops defeated the enemy and spread power throughout Palestine.
In 1380-1365 BC ruled Akhenaten, the army was weakened, and the Egyptians lost a number of its territories, including Syria. In 1294 the famous battle of Kadesh took place, in which Ramses III wanted to capture the Hittite fortress of Kadesh, but the plan failed because his opponent was much better armed (Cox 377). The battle between the Egyptians and the Hittites lasted for about 18 years, after which the parties agreed to ‘perpetual peace.’ After the reign of Ramses III, the power of Egypt became increasingly weak, so that the state was repeatedly exposed to the conquest of its lands by the Ethiopians and Assyrians.
Conclusion
The ancient Egyptian civilization possessed several original features, conditioned both by the geographical location of this country and by the internal laws of development. The peculiarities of Egyptian life were unique and not equal to neighboring regions. Conservatism, orientation on tradition further strengthened the ability to resist any external influences. To this day, the achievements of the Pharaonic era continue to inspire works of art, and the discoveries of the Egyptians shock minds with their unexpectedness.
Works Cited
Cox, Rory. ‘Expanding the History of the Just war: The Ethics of War in Ancient Egypt.’ International Studies Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 2, 2017, pp. 371-384.
Flinders, Petrie. The Religion of Ancient Egypt. DTTV Publications, 2021.
Shaw, Ian. Ancient Egypt: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Rossi, Corinna. ‘On Measuring Ancient Egyptian Architecture.’ The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 106, no. 1–2, 2020, pp. 229–238.