Achievements of the Egyptians table. The main achievements of ancient Egypt. The emergence of writing in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt is the first powerful great power, the first empire that claimed world domination. It was a strong state in which the people were completely subordinate to the ruling class. The basic principles on which the supreme power of Egypt was built were its inviolability and incomprehensibility.

Protest against death is the most important feature of the culture of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians considered it an "abnormality." The passionate desire for immortality determined the entire worldview of the Egyptians, permeated the entire religious thought of Egypt, and shaped ancient Egyptian culture.

The origins of Egyptian civilization lie in ancient times. Almost 5 thousand years ago, when there were still impenetrable forests on the territory of our country, one of the most ancient states arose in the Nile Valley, which existed for 3 thousand years.

The rich culture of Ancient Egypt had a strong influence on European and Arab peoples. It is no coincidence that scientists and philosophers, doctors and astrologers of these peoples would later emphasize that they learned from the Egyptian sages.

Papyrus and hieroglyphs were invented in ancient times in Egypt. Religious, medical, scientific and literary texts were kept in scriptoria (“houses of life”) at temples or written on the walls of pyramids and tombs.

Egypt is the birthplace of historical stories, fairy tales, fables, and love lyrics.

The Egyptians determined the area of ​​a circle and the surface of a hemisphere, calculated the volume of a truncated pyramid, compiled a solar calendar, and divided the day into 24 hours.

The Egyptians were the first people in the world to establish the length of the year, dividing it into 12 parts according to the seasons. According to the priests, the Egyptians made this discovery while observing the heavenly bodies...

The Egyptians count 12 months of 30 days each and add 5 more days each year beyond this number, and for them the rotation of the seasons occurs at the same time.”

The Egyptian year began on July 19 with the rising of Sirius, when the Nile flood began, and continued until the next flood. The year is divided into three seasons: flood, sowing, harvest.

In the ancient Egyptian year:

• 10 days - one week
• 4 months - 1 season (120 days)
• 3 weeks - one month
• 3 seasons - 1 year (360+5 holy days)

The birthdays of Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephis, and Horus were considered five sacred days.

These days, like the days of other religious holidays, were days off. Every tenth day that completed the Egyptian week was also considered a day off.

Days were considered favorable and unfavorable. On unfavorable days, the Egyptians were especially careful and wore many magical amulets.

The ancient Egyptians counted time starting from the accession to the throne of the ruling pharaoh. And they determined time using a water clock similar to an hourglass.

The system of measurements in Ancient Egypt was based on the proportions of the human body. The main unit of measurement was the cubit. Seven palms four fingers wide were equal to one elbow. The elbow also had smaller divisions equal to the width of one finger.

Periods of development of Ancient Egypt

Systematic study of Egypt began only in the 19th century. If you depict the periodization of Ancient Egypt in the form of a diagram, then according to the picture, the three kingdoms, three rises of culture resemble the symbol of this country - the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The Ancient Kingdom (2900-2270 BC) - the era of the 1st-6th dynasty. This is the time of the reign of the first sprouts of civilization with its first laws, with its religion, writing and the formation of a literary language. This is the time of the builders of the pyramids at Giza: kings Cheops, Khafre and Mekerin.

The Middle Kingdom (2100-1700 BC) was founded by Theban rulers who overthrew the Heracleopolitan kings and reunited the country. This period was the reign of the 11-12 dynasties, the era of the flourishing of culture and creation, the period of the creation of many outstanding works of architecture.

The New Kingdom (1555-1090 BC) is the time of the greatest strengthening of political power, the era of the pharaohs of the XVIII - XX dynasties. The conquests of Thutmes III lead to the establishment of connections with Western Asia; he imposes tribute on conquered peoples, foreign wealth flows like a river into Egypt. Luxurious buildings are being erected... Amenhotep IV was a great reformer of religion: instead of the previous cult of the god Amon, he introduced the cult of the sun - Aten - and from that time began to call himself Akhenaten. Under Amenhotep IV's son-in-law, Tutankhamun, the royal residence was again moved to Thebes.

Writing of Ancient Egypt

How did you manage to create a periodization of Egyptian history?

Scientists were able to do this only after deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs, which for a long time remained a secret to specialists.

The first examples of writing in Egypt appeared between 3300-3100. BC e. and were called hieroglyphs, which translated from Greek means “sacred writing.” The Egyptians themselves called the hieroglyphs “divine speech” and attached important religious and magical meaning to the letters, believing that the art of writing was bestowed by Thoth, the god of wisdom.

People specially trained in the art of reading and writing were called scribes. Their profession provided them with a high position in society.

Hieroglyphs could be written from left to right, right to left, or top to bottom. If animals or people are facing left, then the inscription should be read from left to right. It was very difficult to master such an art - after all, you need to remember about 700 characters. Therefore, the Egyptians gradually switched to signs that indicated the sound of words and syllables. The writing process was very slow. Actually, hieroglyphs in their full form were used to record religious texts and government documents. For everyday records, cursive writing appeared over time - hieratic writing and an even more simplified demotic writing (used in the Late Period).

The ancient Egyptians wrote with a brush and ink on papyrus, which was made from special reeds that grew along the banks of the Nile. They also wrote on pottery shards or limestone slabs known as ostracons.

Learned scribes

The scribes in the service of the pharaohs knew how to read, write and count: they studied this for many years. Scribes were respected and were exempt from taxes and work during the flood season.

Scribe Kaya.

What were the responsibilities of scribes?

Scribes recorded the decisions made by the pharaoh. They counted the taxes paid by the peasants, the raw materials and materials distributed to the artisans who worked for the pharaoh. On the banks of the Nile, scribes noted the height of the floods and the water level in the reservoirs.

How did they write in Ancient Egypt?

Scribes carried with them a writing instrument consisting of a wooden palette with paints and kalams (reed writing sticks), and a vessel with water for diluting paints. To prepare paints, ground charcoal and ocher were used; dates and the beginning of a paragraph were written in red. The records were kept on a scroll made of papyrus, a plant that covered the banks of the Nile in abundance.

The Mystery of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Who managed to unravel the mystery of Egyptian hieroglyphs?

Time has preserved many of the inscriptions made by the Egyptians, but has absorbed the mystery of their reading. The last example of a hieroglyphic inscription dates back to 397 BC. e. Therefore, already at the beginning of our era, hieroglyphs were considered incomprehensible drawings that should not be read, but explained.

It was possible to unravel the mystery of the hieroglyphs thanks to a flat stone slab of black basalt the size of a desk surface, found on August 2, 1799. near the city of Rosetta in the Nile Valley. Three inscriptions were carved on this stone: at the top - in hieroglyphs, below it - in demotic writing, and below in Greek! At the end of the Greek inscription it was stated that both upper texts were its exact translation.

Scientists have struggled for a long time over the riddle of hieroglyphs. Finally, a person was found who was able to read the text of the Rosetta stone. This was the French linguist Jean Francois Champollion (1790-1832).

In 1822, he made writing, which had been silent for millennia, “speak.” He was then 32 years old, and for 25 years of them he studied the dead languages ​​of the East and the history of Ancient Egypt.

Champollion suggested that hieroglyphs could mean letters and sounds, not just objects in general. He based his conclusions on the fact that the words inside oval frames called cartouches represented the names of rulers. The name of Ptolemy, which was mentioned several times in the Greek text, was a kind of clue to other hieroglyphs.

The art of Ancient Egypt is divided into three periods:

Art of the Old Kingdom, art of the Middle Kingdom and art of the New Kingdom. Each of these periods developed its own style, developed its own canons and introduced innovations. Briefly, these periods can be characterized as follows.

General characteristics of the art of Ancient Egypt

Art of the Ancient Kingdom (XXXII century - XXIV century BC)

The main canons of Egyptian art, which were then preserved for centuries, were formed in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. It was a monumental style, due to the fact that the art of Egypt was an integral part of the funeral ritual and was closely connected with a religion that deified the forces of nature and earthly power.
The Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx date back to this time.

Egyptian pyramids

The Egyptian pyramids are the greatest architectural monuments of Ancient Egypt. These are huge pyramid-shaped stone structures that were used as tombs for the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. In total, more than 100 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.

Pyramid of Neferefre in Abusir

Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest surviving monumental sculpture on Earth. It is carved from a monolithic limestone rock in the shape of a sphinx - a lion lying on the sand, whose face is given a portrait resemblance to Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2575-2465 BC). The length of the statue is 72 m, height 20 m; In ancient times, between the front paws there was a small sanctuary (an altar dedicated to a deity).

Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Cheops
Since ancient times, it was customary in Egypt to depict the pharaoh as a lion destroying his enemies. The circumstances and exact time of construction of the sphinx have not yet been precisely determined. For local residents, the Sphinx was a kind of talisman, the ruler of the Nile. They believed that the level of the great river's flood and the fertility of their fields depended on it.

Great Pyramid of Cheops

Cheops is the second pharaoh of the IV dynasty of the Ancient Kingdom of Egypt (2589-2566 BC or 2551-2528 BC presumably), builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Cheops gained a reputation as a classic oriental despot and cruel ruler. He reigned for about 27 years. The pyramid is his greatest achievement, and also the first among the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is the only wonder of the world that has survived to this day. Originally 146.6 m high (today only 137.5 m), it was considered the tallest structure in the world for 3,500 years.

Art of the Middle Kingdom (XXI century-XVIII century BC)

The art of the Middle Kingdom carefully observed the traditions and canons of the Ancient, but also introduced its own characteristics. The beginning of the Middle Kingdom: after a long period of unrest and the disintegration of Egypt into separate nomes, it united under the rule of the Theban rulers. But now centralization was not absolute, as before. Local rulers (nomarchs) became richer and more independent and assumed royal privileges. The tombs of nobles began to be located not at the foot of the royal pyramids, but separately. the pyramids became more modest and smaller in size. During this period, the development of jewelry began.
With the decline in the pathos of monumentality, genre diversity begins to develop. The portrait develops, and its individual features gradually become stronger.

Art of the New Kingdom (XVII century - XI century BC)

In the art of the New Kingdom, the manifestation of human feelings and reflections became noticeable.
The tombs are no longer above ground and are hidden in gorges. The architecture of temples began to dominate. The priests became an independent political force, competing even with the power of the king. Although the pharaohs, their exploits and conquests were glorified in the temples.
Over the course of several centuries, the famous temples of Amon-Ra in Karnak and Luxor, near Thebes, were built and completed.

Main Temple of Amon-Ra at Karnak
The innovative stage is associated with the reign of the reformer pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century. BC e. Akhenaten opposed the Theban priesthood, abolished the entire ancient pantheon of gods, and made the priests his irreconcilable enemies.

Akhenaten
The art of Akhenaten's time turned to the simple feelings of people and their mental states. Lyrical scenes of Akhenaten’s family life appear in art: he hugs his wife, caresses his child.
But the reaction to his reforms began already under one of his closest successors - Tutankhamun. Soon all the old cults were restored. But many of Akhenaten’s innovative ideas and techniques were preserved in ancient Egyptian art.

Ramesses II
The last famous conqueror Ramesses II began to cultivate a solemn-monumental style, and after Ramesses there followed a period of long wars, the conquest of Egypt by the Ethiopians and Assyrians. Egypt lost its military and political power, and then its cultural primacy. In the 7th century BC e. The Egyptian state was temporarily reunited around the Sais rulers, and ancient Egyptian art was revived in its traditional forms. But he no longer had the same vitality; he felt tired and his creative energy was drying up. The world-historical role of Egypt was exhausted.

Architecture of Ancient Egypt

Early Kingdom Architecture

The monuments of monumental architecture of this period have practically not survived, because The main building material was easily destroyed raw brick. Clay, reed and wood were also used. Stone was used only as a finishing material. The type of palace facades dates back to this era. Religious and memorial buildings are better preserved: sanctuaries, chapels and mastabas. During this period, some design techniques developed: concave cornices, ornamental friezes (picturesque or sculptural), and designing a doorway with a deep ledge.

Architecture of the Old Kingdom - “the time of the pyramids”

During this period, a powerful centralized state was created under the rule of the pharaoh, who is considered the son of the god Ra, this also dictated the main type of architectural structure - the tomb. The largest royal tombs-pyramids are being created, the structures of which were worked on for decades not only by slaves, but also by peasants. The pyramids indicate that in Ancient Egypt at that time exact sciences and crafts were well developed.

Step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
Step pyramids were also built by other pharaohs of the Third Dynasty. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom period, a new type of building appeared - the solar temple, which was usually built on a hill and surrounded by a wall.

Mortuary Temple of Seti I at Abydos

Architecture of the Middle Kingdom

After Mentuhotep I in 2050 BC. BC reunited Egypt and restored the unified power of the pharaohs under the auspices of Thebes, the psychology of individualism began to dominate: everyone began to care about their own immortality. Now not only the pharaoh, but also ordinary mortals began to claim privileges in the other world. The idea of ​​equality after death arose; this was immediately reflected in the technical side of the cult of the dead. Mastaba-type tombs became an unnecessary luxury. To ensure eternal life, one stela was enough - a stone slab on which magical texts were written.
But the pharaohs continued to build tombs in the form of pyramids, although their sizes decreased, the material for construction was not two-ton blocks, but raw brick, and the method of masonry changed. The basis is 8 main stone walls. Eight other walls extended from these walls at an angle of 45º, and the gaps between them were filled with fragments of stone, sand, and brick. The top of the pyramid was lined with limestone slabs. Adjacent to the eastern side of the pyramid was the upper mortuary temple, from which there was a covered passage to the temple in the valley. Currently, these pyramids are piles of ruins.

Mortuary temple of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II
A new type of burial structure also appeared: tombs. The main part of the tomb was the funeral temple, decorated with a portico; in the center, a ramp led to the second terrace, where the second portico was surrounded on three sides by a columned hall, in the center of which rose a pyramid made of stone blocks. Its foundation was a natural rock. On the western side there was an open courtyard. The tomb of the pharaoh was located under the columned hall.

Architecture of the New Kingdom

Thebes began to play a major role in the architecture and art of the New Kingdom. They build magnificent palaces and houses, magnificent temples. The glory of the city remained for many centuries.
The construction of temples was carried out in three main directions: ground, rock and semi-rock temple complexes.

Facade of the rock temple of Ramses II

Late Kingdom architecture

From the era of the XXVI dynasty, Thebes lost its political and artistic significance, and the city of Sais became the new capital of Egypt. Architectural monuments of the Sais period have hardly survived. The few surviving ones contain ground and rock structures, some elements of temple architecture: hypostyles, pylons, chains of halls.
Hypostyle is a large hall of a temple or palace supported by columns with numerous, regularly placed columns.

Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak (Egypt)
In the architecture of the era of Persian rule, there is a gradual abandonment of the type of monumental ensembles; temples are becoming much smaller in size. The type of classical colonnade from the time of the New Kingdom is preserved, but the pomp and detail of the decor increases noticeably.
After the conquest of Egypt by the Greeks, a synthesis of local artistic culture with the traditions of antiquity took place.

The temple at Philae is evidence of the evolution of the traditions of ancient Egyptian art during the Hellenistic period

Ancient Egypt sculpture

The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is original and strictly canonically regulated. It was created and developed to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, pharaohs, kings and queens in physical form. Statues of gods and pharaohs were placed on public display, usually in open spaces and outside temples. The most sacred image of God was in the temple. Many carved figurines have survived. Such figurines were made of wood, alabaster, and more expensive materials. Wooden images of slaves, animals and property were placed in tombs to accompany the dead in the afterlife.

Statues of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III (Karnak)
There were also many images of Ka in the graves of ordinary Egyptians, mostly made of wood, some of which have survived. Ka is the human spirit, a being of a higher order, divine life force. After the death of a person, Ka continued to exist inside the tomb and accepted offerings.
Ka was depicted as a man with raised arms bent at the elbows on his head.
Inanimate objects also had ka. The gods had several Ka.
The canon of creating ancient Egyptian sculpture: the color of a man’s body should have been darker than the color of a woman’s body, the hands of a seated person should have been exclusively on his knees. Rules for depicting Egyptian gods: the god Horus should be depicted with the head of a falcon, the god of the dead Anubis with the head of a jackal, etc. The sculptural canon of Ancient Egypt existed for 3 thousand years.
The flourishing of sculpture of small forms began in the art of the Middle Kingdom. Although it was still associated with the funeral cult, the figurines were already covered with primer and painted, and entire multi-figure compositions were created in round sculpture.
In the New Kingdom, monumental sculpture began to actively develop, the purpose of which began to go beyond the funerary cult. Personality traits appear in Theban sculpture of the New Kingdom. For example, portrait images of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty. Hatshepsut completed the restoration of Egypt after the Hyksos invasion and erected many monuments throughout Egypt. She, along with Thutmose III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Cleopatra VII, is one of the most famous Egyptian rulers.

Hatshepsut
Sculptural group portraits also appear in the art of the New Kingdom, especially images of a married couple.
An innovation was the depiction of figures entirely in profile, which was previously not allowed by the Egyptian canon. What was also new was the fact that ethnic features were preserved in the portrait. The lyrical principle is manifested in the Amarna reliefs, full of natural plasticity and not containing canonical frontal images.
The works of the sculptors of Thutmes’ workshop are rightly considered the culmination of the development of fine art. Among them is the famous head of Queen Nefertiti in a blue tiara.

Bust of Nefertiti. New Museum (Berlin)
Nefertiti is the “main wife” of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty Akhenaten (c. 1351-1334 BC). It is believed that Egypt has never given birth to such a beauty before. She was called "Perfect"; her face adorned temples throughout the country.
In the sculpture of the Late Kingdom, the skills of the ancient high craftsmanship of sculpture partly fade away. Staticity, conventional outlines of faces, canonical poses and even the semblance of an “archaic smile”, characteristic of the art of the Early and Ancient Kingdoms, are becoming relevant again. The sculptures of the Ptolemaic period are also mainly made in the traditions of the Egyptian canon. But Hellenistic culture influenced the nature of the interpretation of the face; greater plasticity, softness and lyricism appear.

Statue of Osiris. Louvre (Paris)

Painting of Ancient Egypt

All sculptures in Ancient Egypt were brightly colored. Paint composition: egg tempera, viscous substances and resins. No real fresco was used, only “fresco a secco” (wall painting done on hard, dried plaster, re-moistened. Paints used are ground in vegetable glue, egg or mixed with lime). The top of the painting was covered with a layer of varnish or resin to preserve the image for a long time. Most often, small statues, especially wooden ones, were painted this way.
Many Egyptian paintings were preserved due to the dry climate of Ancient Egypt. The paintings were created to improve the life of the deceased in the afterlife. Scenes of a journey to the afterlife and a meeting in the afterlife with a deity (the court of Osiris) were depicted.

Part of the Book of the Dead from Akhmim, depicting the court of Osiris (IV-I centuries BC)
The earthly life of the deceased was often depicted to help him do the same in the kingdom of the dead.
In the New Kingdom, the Book of the Dead began to be buried along with the deceased, which was considered important for the afterlife.

Book of the Dead

In the era of the Old Kingdom, there was a custom of reading spells aloud for the deceased king. Later, similar texts began to be written down in the tombs of Egyptian nobles. By the time of the Middle Kingdom, collections of funeral spells were already written on the surface of sarcophagi and became available to anyone who could purchase such a sarcophagus. In the New Kingdom and later they were written down on papyrus scrolls or on leather. These scrolls were called the “Books of the Dead”: a heap of prayers, chants, hymns and spells associated with the funeral cult. Gradually, elements of morality penetrate into the Book of the Dead.

Judgment of Osiris

This is the 125th chapter, which describes the posthumous judgment of Osiris (the king and judge of the underworld) over the deceased. Illustration for the chapter: Osiris with a crown and staff sits on a throne. At the top are 42 gods. In the center of the hall there are scales on which the gods weigh the heart of the deceased (a symbol of the soul among the ancient Egyptians). On one pan of the scales is the heart, that is, the conscience of the deceased, light or burdened with sins, and on the other is Truth in the form of the feather of the goddess Maat or the figurine of Maat. If a person led a righteous life on earth, then his heart and feather weighed the same; if he sinned, then his heart weighed more. The acquitted deceased was sent to the afterlife paradise, the sinner was eaten by the monster Amat (a lion with the head of a crocodile).
At the trial, the deceased turns to Osiris, and then to each of the 42 gods, justifying himself in a mortal sin that one or another god was aware of. This chapter also contains the text of the acquittal speech.

The gods weigh the heart of the deceased (Book of the Dead)
The main colors of painting in Ancient Egypt were red, blue, black, brown, yellow, white and green.

Ancient Egypt, one of the first states on earth, is located in Northeast Africa, in the lower reaches of the Nile River. Natural conditions are an essential factor in the development of this civilization. It is known that the Egyptians harvested crops in the Nile Valley twice a year. Around 3 thousand BC Egypt already had a state. The level of culture of Ancient Egypt is evidenced by the pyramids and a developed irrigation system. The pyramids were a tribute to the Sun, the canals were a tribute to the Nile. One of the remarkable phenomena of Egyptian antiquity is the sphinxes - fantastic creatures with the head of a pharaoh and the body of a lion, personifying the unity of man and nature, wisdom, mystery and strength of the Egyptian ruler. Writing and accounting developed as early as 3000 BC. The Egyptians considered a person's name to be his soul; they believed in the immortality of the soul, in the afterlife. That is why the pharaohs (a living likeness of the Sun with the eternal soul Ka) - the ancient Egyptian kings, during their lifetime began the construction of pyramids - their tombs. The desire for immortality gave rise to a funeral cult; in this regard, embalming, the art of making mummies, developed in Egypt.
The ancient Greeks called the Egyptians the wisest of people. The cultural achievements of Ancient Egypt are truly significant: papyrus, monumental stone architecture, pyramids, sculptural portraits, knowledge of astronomy, medicine and mathematics.
The Sumerian-Akkadian civilization is the oldest on earth. Its population lived in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (the entire valley was called Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia). In the IV - III millennium BC. the highest culture arose here: Sumer - Akkad - Babylonia - Assyria - Iran. They mixed, fought with each other, built cities, and created the highest culture.
It is the Sumerians who are the ancestors of the entire Babylonian culture. Their achievements are great and indisputable: they wrote the first elegies and compiled a library catalogue. The Sumerians were the first authors of medical books - collections of recipes, they developed and recorded the first farmer's calendar, and left the first information about protective plantings. Even the idea of ​​​​creating the first fish reserve in history was also recorded in writing by the Sumerians. The first stringed musical instruments - the lyre and the harp - also appeared among the Sumerians.
The Sumerians have the oldest written language on earth. It arose in the middle of the 4th century. BC. and was a wedge-shaped line squeezed out on tablets made of raw clay. Over time, cuneiform from drawings and images became more and more symbolic. The first example of a literary work of human society that has come down to us thanks to cuneiform is “The Legend of Gilgamesh,” the king of the city of Uruk.
The ancient Sumerian civilization gave way to Babylonia (2nd century BC). From this time on, Babylon (the word “Babylon” is translated as “Gate of God”) remained the economic and cultural center of the entire ancient world for almost two thousand years. The city of Babylon united all areas of the Mesopotamian valley under its leadership. The ancient Babylonian kingdom reached its peak under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), an experienced commander, politician and legislator. Babylon had its own set of rules - the laws of Hammurabi, written in cuneiform on a 2-meter clay pillar. These laws reflected the economic life, morals, way of life, and worldview of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia. The supreme deity of the Babylonian pantheon was Marduk, he was the patron saint of the city of Babylon. The seven main astral gods served as the basis for the modern seven-day week. Babylon was a huge and noisy eastern city. It was surrounded by a powerful, thick wall, on which two chariots could pass freely. There were 24 avenues in the city. The attraction was the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, the Assyrian queen - one of the seven wonders of the world.
In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. The state of Assyria was formed in the northern Mesopotamia. It was distinguished by an extremely militaristic spirit, and the Assyrian rulers amazed the entire ancient East with their thirst for power and unheard-of cruelty. Assyrian art is filled with the pathos of power, it glorified the victories of the conquerors, and gave images of royal cruelty unparalleled in world art, and executed without a shadow of pity or regret. This testifies to the cruelty of the morals of Assyrian society and its low religiosity.

The culture of ancient Egypt is divided into several periods: the pre-dynastic Old, Middle, New and Late Kingdoms. And lasts from the 4th millennium BC. - the time of formation and centralization of government in the state, until the 30s BC. - the reign of the last pharaoh from the Ptolemaic family () and the conquest of the Roman Empire led by Augustus (Octavian) - a descendant of Julius Caesar. During the existence of world civilization, many revolutionary discoveries have been made, the results of which we still use today.

1. Achievements of Egypt in mathematics and astronomy

The first mathematical studies were done in Egypt. The inhabitants of the Nile Delta invented the decimal system and knew how to divide and multiply. The value of “pi” was known, which was taken as the basis for the proportions of the great pyramid of Cheops and the tombs of other pharaohs. The Egyptians knew how to determine area and volume.

The main achievements of ancient Egypt were made in astronomy. The world's first zodiac circle was discovered near the modern city of Luxor. Its original is kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris, but in Egypt tourists can see an exact plaster copy.

Several ancient zodiac charts have also been discovered in Egypt. It was known that the life cycle of Sirius is 1460 years, and Mars and Venus have certain phases.

The Egyptians invented the first calendar. Harvesting, which depended on the seasonal flood of the Nile, helped them calculate the number of months and then days in the year. After the conquest, the right of discovery was assigned to Rome. One of the months was named after Julius Caesar - “July”.

Zodiac, temple of Dendera. Louvre, Paris.

2. Achievements of Ancient Egypt in medicine

Thanks to archaeological finds, it became known that the highest clergy of the state - the priests - had an idea of ​​​​human anatomy. They possessed advanced technologies for carrying out complex operations that became available only recently: craniotomy, amputation, eye surgery. Treatment with herbs and oils was widely used, and special attention was paid to sports.

In Egypt, a prototype of the modern chemical ampicillin was invented for the treatment of infectious diseases. The discovery was quite simple: bread cakes became moldy over time. It was applied to the inflamed area and after a while the wound healed. The composition of ampicillin was studied only in the middle of the 20th century.

Egyptian doctors served in the courts of the kings of neighboring states. The most famous physician was the Egyptian Ujahorresent.

3. The emergence of writing in ancient Egypt

The Egyptians invented a material for writing historical records - papyrus. It was made from lotus stems that grew on the banks of the Nile. The technology for preparing material for writing was brought to perfection: some sheets with invaluable information are still in excellent condition today. The text on them is easy to read, the pictures are clearly visible. The knowledge conveyed in the papyri is the basis for obtaining information about the cultural past of the ancient civilization and the states of Mesopotamia. They contained encyclopedic information and the first geographical maps, reflecting the Egyptians' ideas about the location of neighboring empires. One of them depicts the route of the Pharaoh's army around the continent of Africa.

4. Achievements in the construction of Egypt

The best architectural monuments of ancient civilization were built for ideological purposes. They demonstrated the unlimited power of the immortal pharaohs. A distinctive feature of the buildings of ancient Egypt was their grandeur, monumentality and massiveness.

Before the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, the Pyramid of Khafre was considered the tallest structure in the world. The Great Sphinx and the funerary complex of Cheops on the Giza plateau are the last surviving wonder of the world of the seven. Other impressive architectural monuments were the temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, the tombs of the city of Abydos, on the territory of the ancient capital of Thebes.

5. Religion of the ancient Egyptians

The birth of civilization marked the advent of the era of polytheism, combined with an abundance of women's cults for worship. They occupied the highest place in the hierarchy of idols: Isis (Isis), Hathor (Hathor, Dendera).

Entire temple complexes were built in their honor: the Temple of Dendera in Luxor, in Aswan. Ordinary citizens worshiped them and brought gifts, saying prayers for the Nile to flood and for a good harvest. In their honor, sacrifice rites were also performed by the pharaohs, whose power was based on anointing and bestowing favor on the celestials. Also, when depicting sculptures of religious figures, features of representatives of the animal world were used. Some kings called themselves by their names, like the rulers of the zero dynasties, Crocodile, Falcon.

At the last stage of the existence of the ancient Egyptian state, religious ideas were characterized by features of monotheism (the reforms of Pharaoh Akhenaten). A special place in traditional rituals was given to the funeral cult. How to read prayers and carry out the mummification process was known only to the clergy - priests initiated into all the secrets of traveling to the other world. The spell texts with drawings were later combined into inscriptions inscribed on the walls of the tombs of the great pharaohs.

Particular attention was paid to embalming the body after death. Mummies of wives, children (the first dynasties of Egypt) and even domestic animals were placed in the tomb with the deceased. In a special room, furnishings and supplies of food and gold were stored, the volume of which depended on the wealth of the owner. Compliance with all burial requirements required significant material and time costs. Not every citizen could afford this procedure.

Literature of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian papyri and rock paintings depicted not only religious texts, but also scenes from everyday life and government. Various genres were used: teaching, biography, fairy tale, humorous and even satirical stories.

The ancient Egyptians were not averse to making jokes and wrote entire agendas ridiculing the system of government. The most famous works were “The Song of the Harper”, “The Tale of Sinuhet”, “The Conversation of the Disappointed with His Soul-. In understanding the culture of the ancient Egyptians, obelisks played a huge role, on which hieroglyphs were written with descriptions of military campaigns, the life of ordinary Egyptians, and the achievements of the pharaohs.

The basis of the culture of ancient Egypt were the following postulates, reflected in literature:

1. The personification of justice, high moral principles. Fear of torment in the other world after death. with scales, on one side of which are good deeds, on the other - the sins of a person.
2. Elements of manifestation of collective intelligence. Displacement of the features of a civilized society and a primitive one.
3. The desire to understand the world around us, rationalism. Strict hierarchical connections in culture and science.
4. Traditionalism, honoring the religious cults of ancestors.

The main symbol of ancient Egyptian culture was the figure of the sphinx, combining the features of man and animal.

Merits of the Egyptian Architect Imhotep

The most outstanding achievements of ancient Egypt were created thanks to the knowledge of the architect close to the court and. The official was sometimes even mistakenly assigned the status of pharaoh. His achievements include the development of a diagram and calculations for the construction of the Cheops pyramid. He proposed the most correct model for the tilt of the structure, which ensured its stability.

Due to poor proportions, the ancient complexes located in the Saqqara necropolis near Giza are in extremely poor condition. Many of them are completely destroyed and represent a pile of stones. Esotericists who claim that the pyramids were the result of the work of extraterrestrial civilizations have suggested that great knowledge was imparted to Imhotep by alien beings.

Video writing and religion of Ancient Egypt

Everyone knows that the ancient Egyptian civilization created many outstanding things. But today we won’t talk about the famous pyramids. The civilization of Ancient Egypt never ceases to amaze with its achievements even after millennia. In addition to the great things that every schoolchild knows about, the ancient Egyptians made many inventions that were more modest at first glance, the strength of which lies in the fact that people still use their fruits to this day. Egyptian ladies wore jewelry and wigs, men played sports, and children played board games and dolls. From fashion to agriculture, it is difficult to find a sphere of human activity that this greatest civilization of antiquity would not have enriched with its achievements. The only thing missing there was mobile communications. She, alas, appeared in a different era. Although much earlier than is commonly believed.

1. Makeup of the eye area

Perhaps, in terms of its significance for humanity, this invention cannot be compared with the wheel and the method of making fire, but in terms of the time during which the technology remains unchanged, this achievement of mankind should perhaps be considered one of the most relevant discoveries of ancient times. Invented approximately 6 thousand years ago, eye makeup has never gone out of fashion since then.

The most amazing thing is that even today the same makeup application technique that was developed by the ancient Egyptians is used. The Egyptians made black eye kohl using galena (lead glitter). Green eyeshadow was made from malachite with the addition of the same lead glitter, which gave the color richness.

Makeup was intended not only for Egyptian ladies, but also for gentlemen. Status and attractiveness went hand in hand in ancient Egypt, and among the country's upper class there was a belief that the more makeup the better. The use of makeup by the Egyptians was explained not only by the desire to look attractive. It was believed that the applied paint was a cure for various eye diseases. Despite this popular belief in ancient times, today it is known that lead is very harmful to humans.

2. Writing

The reader may get the impression that the ancient Egyptians did nothing but create beauty. But this is not true at all. It was in Ancient Egypt that writing was created. From now on, one could write down one’s thoughts and save them for posterity.

There was nothing new in the use of images to convey information even in those distant times. Drawings of ancient people found in France and Spain were created 30 thousand years before the birth of Christ. But the masterful ability to convey real events in drawings did not yet mean the appearance of writing.

The first graphic systems for languages ​​appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The first Egyptian pictogram system appeared 6 millennia BC. Each of these pictograms corresponded to a specific word. This writing system had many limitations.

Over time, the Egyptians improved their writing, enriching it with alphabetic characters corresponding to certain sounds (something similar to modern letters). In this way they were able to write down names and abstract ideas.

The Egyptians created a system of hieroglyphs, consisting of alphabetic and syllabic symbols, as well as ideograms, signs that reflect a whole word in writing. Writing allowed civilization to leave traces for historians. Sometimes the traces are not entirely clear.

Modern writing, of course, differs from ancient Egyptian. But the idea has remained the same and serves humanity to this day. It is difficult to even imagine our world without writing, which remains the most important component of human culture. Since then, new technologies have emerged that make it possible to record human speech and even videotape. But the role of writing is still enormous.

3. Papyrus sheet

Carving inscriptions on stone is time-consuming and inconvenient. New dynamic writing required new material. Having created writing, the ancient Egyptians found something to write on.

Papyrus was the ancient predecessor of paper, which was invented in China about 140 years before Christ. Papyrus is a plant from the sedge family that grows in marshy areas along the banks of the Nile. The tough, fibrous shell of this plant is ideal for creating a material on which to write.

Ancient Egyptian books were not bound, but rolled into a scroll - one long sheet of papyrus. This wonderful material was used to record religious texts, literature and even musical works.

The technology for producing writing papyrus was kept strictly secret by the ancient Egyptians, which allowed them to export this material to other countries in the region. The most interesting thing is that the process of creating the first written material in history was not recorded anywhere and for this reason was lost. But in 1965, Dr. Hassan Ragab finally managed to please the scientific world with the creation of a sheet of papyrus.

Papyrus was used to make not only the oldest “paper substitute”, but also sails, sandal straps and many other little things of ancient Egyptian life.

4. Calendar

A modern person, without a calendar, may miss an important meeting or come to work on a day off. It's unfortunate, but the ancient Egyptians lived in very harsh conditions. For them, the calendar meant prosperity, and without it, real famine threatened. They couldn't miss the Nile flood (an event that happened every year). Under these conditions, the entire agricultural system of the country was at great risk. The ancient Egyptians simply had no choice; they could not trust chance. Therefore, several thousand years BC they began to use a calendar.

This calendar was entirely devoted to the needs of agriculture, without which, as we know, there is no food. The year was divided into three main seasons (or seasons): flood, growth and harvest. Each season consisted of four months, each containing 30 days. Isn’t it true that there is a lot of familiarity in this ancient calendar?

But, if you add up all the months of the Egyptian year, you get only 360 days, which is less than the actual cycle of our planet’s revolution around the Sun. To reduce this difference, the Egyptians added five extra days between the harvest and flood seasons. These five days of the off-season were religious holidays in honor of the children of the gods.

It should be noted that both the Julian calendar (old style) and the modern Gregorian calendar are essentially modifications of the ancient Egyptian calendar. Thus, the ancient Egyptians became the creators of the measure with which humanity marks its milestones and creates plans.

5. Plow

A person can do without a newfangled gadget. But not without food. In ancient times, this simple truth was clear to everyone, since almost all people were involved in agriculture. Plowing the land is not an easy task for primitive tools. And humanity created the plow.

There is still ongoing debate among historians about which civilization was the first to create this indispensable agricultural tool. Egyptian or Sumerian? A plow is a very general concept and leaves a huge scope for modification.

Most likely, the first plow was created on the basis of a corresponding hand tool. But its effectiveness was questionable. Too light, it only scraped the ground and could not plow it deeply. Nowadays this dead-end tool is called a “scraping plow.” Under the scorching rays of the Egyptian sun, working with a hand plow was inconvenient.

But the situation changed dramatically two millennia before the birth of Christ. The Egyptians realized that a plow could pull cattle behind it and do it much more efficiently than a person, who was inferior in strength to an ox. At first the plow was attached to the animal's horns, but this design made it difficult for the animal to breathe. Then a belt system was thought out, making the fastening more effective.

The invention of the plow brought Egyptian agriculture to a level never before seen. Combined with the predictable flood cycle of the Nile, the plow allowed Egypt to simplify cultivation to a degree never before achieved by any civilization in the world.

6. Mouth freshener

Modern man still uses this invention of the ancient Egyptians. Numerous air fresheners, aromatic chewing gum and mints make the breath of the inhabitant of the modern world fresh. The ancient Egyptians also cared not only about the useful, but also about the beautiful.

Having provided yourself with nutrition, it’s time to think about bad breath. This smell was already perceived in those days as evidence of unhealthy teeth. The ancient Egyptians did not drink liters of sweet soda, but the millstones with which they ground grain into flour generously “enriched” their diet with sand, which scratched tooth enamel and made the teeth of representatives of a great civilization vulnerable to infection.

The Egyptians had doctors, but this ancient country did not yet have dentists. Therefore, there was no one to treat teeth and gums. And the Egyptians could only endure the pain and eliminate the unpleasant odor with the help of the first-ever kind of “chewing gum” made from frankincense, myrrh and cinnamon, boiled in honey. This composition was shaped into balls.

7. Bowling

The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt knew how not only to work, decorate themselves and give freshness to their breath. Active recreation was already in fashion back then.

90 kilometers south of Cairo in the second and third centuries AD, during the years of Roman rule over Egypt, the settlement of Narmoutheos was located. It was there that archaeologists found a room in which they found tracks and a set of balls of various sizes.

The length of the path was 3.9 meters, width 20 centimeters, and depth 9.6 centimeters. In the center of each path there was a square depression with a square side of 11.9 centimeters.

If in modern bowling you are supposed to knock down the pins at the end of the lane, then in ancient Egyptian bowling you had to hit the hole located in the middle of the lane. The players stood at different ends of the track and tried not only to drive balls of different sizes into the hole, but also to knock the opponent’s ball off course.

8. Shaving and cutting hair

Although historians are not completely sure of this, it is quite possible that it was the Egyptians who were the first to learn how to do hair. There could be a completely rational reason for this. In the hot Egyptian climate, long hair and beards made people uncomfortable.

Therefore, they cut their hair short and shaved regularly. The priests even shaved the hair on their entire bodies every three days. For most of Egyptian history, being clean-shaven was considered fashionable, and bushy hair was a sign of low social status.

It is possible that it was the Egyptian sharp stones with wooden handles that were the first razors on Earth. Over time, razors began to be made from copper. It was the Egyptians who, for the first time in the history of our world, acquired the profession of hairdresser. Only wealthy ancient Egyptian aristocrats could afford to invite a hairdresser to their home. But simpler people could also use the services of barbers, who set up their first hairdressing salons on Earth under the shady plane trees.

Oddly enough, the Egyptians considered a beard attractive. Provided that it is a false beard, which was made from a bunch of hair. Even more interesting, false beards were worn not only by Egyptian pharaohs, but also by queens.

The shape of a false beard could determine the social status of its owner. Ordinary citizens wore small, approximately 5-centimeter, beards. The pharaohs were characterized by a beard of enormous length, the end of which was given a square shape by barbers. The Egyptians portrayed their gods as having even more luxurious and long beards.

9. Door lock

We should also be grateful to the Egyptian civilization for this invention. The oldest door lock appeared about 6 thousand years ago. With its help, doors were blocked with wooden pins. The oldest castle could be opened and closed using a key. This design has not lost its relevance to this day.

One of the descriptions of Egyptian door locks indicates their dimensions. The largest reached 60 centimeters in length. Egyptian castles provided security to a greater extent than the technology that was later invented by the Romans. Roman castles were of a simpler design. But it was the Romans who were the first to use springs.

10.Toothpaste

Sick teeth caused a lot of trouble for the ancient Egyptians, since the bread contained stone chips from millstones. I had to think about keeping my teeth clean. Archaeologists have discovered toothpicks that were used to remove pieces of food stuck between teeth. The Egyptians, along with the Babylonians, are believed to have enriched human civilization with the toothbrush. The Egyptian toothbrush was a specially frayed tree branch at the end.

But this does not exhaust the innovations that the Egyptians have made in the field of oral hygiene. They created toothpaste. It consisted of a bull's leg ground into powder, ashes, burnt eggshells and pumice.

Recently, archaeologists discovered a recipe for a more hygienic ancient Egyptian toothpaste and a papyrus with instructions for brushing your teeth. But these valuable finds date back to the fourth century AD, that is, the period after Roman rule. The unknown author of this papyrus tells the reader how to mix rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers and pepper in certain proportions, and the result is “a powder that will make the teeth white and excellent.”

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