a Bit of ancient egyptian history
3100 Bce
The first pharaoh, Menes, unifies Upper and Lower Egypt.
2580 Bce
The pharaoh Khufu builds the Great Pyramid of Giza. His son Khafre builds a second, smaller pyramid.
2530–2508 Bce
Our story starts here during the reign of Menkaure. Son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu, Menkaure builds his pyramid along with three smaller ones for his wives.
70 pharaohs in 70 days! It is a chaotic period, during which Egypt endures foreign invasions, civil wars, and famine.
2150–2040 Bce 1786–1543 Bce 1279–1213 Bce
Bce
Hatshepsut is the first female pharaoh.
Originally from Asia, the Hyksos occupy part of Egypt. However, the Egyptians reconquer their realm.
Bce
Egypt prospers and reaches its maximum splendor.
Ramesses II is the most beloved pharaoh of all time and rules for almost seventy years.
Bce
Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, invades Egypt and proclaims himself pharaoh. He builds Alexandria, the future capital of the kingdom.
Bce
Octavian, future Roman emperor, defeats Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium. Egypt becomes a province of the Roman Empire.
Rest? Of course, I can’t! I am a WAILER; when someone dies, their family HIRES me to CRY and WEEP in the funeral procession, run desperately through the streets, and beat my breast during the RITUALS. But my duties certainly don’t stop there!
a woman’s role
Women are in charge of managing the home. I cook three meals a day, grind corn to make bread, and prepare beer with barley.
I also knead and bake pastries to exchange for other goods at the market because trading here is based on barter.
The workers—like my husband, Suma—are paid in kind, usually in grains
As well as doing more humble jobs in the fields and in workshops, Egyptian women are also dancers, musicians, and perfumers.
Some women from the privileged classes have careers as high officials or take part in religious rites as priestesses of Amon.
IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THEY CAN EVEN BECOME PHARAOHS.
first rule of the house: personal hygiene
Hygiene and personal care are very important. In the mornings I devote myself to carefully cleaning my nails, mouth, and teeth.
I put on makeup and use oils and lotions to keep my skin healthy and soft. At least once a day, I wash my whole body using fresh water.
The houses of the nobles even have a type of shower, where water is poured from a basket.
second rule of the house: clothing
The cultivation of flax is a flourishing business, and we are a population of skilled weavers! As linen is hard to dye, our clothes are white. Due to the heat, many people often work naked or with just practical loincloths Nobles, on the other hand, wear ample tunics tied tight around them. Both men and women shave their heads and wear wigs made of hair or wool. Even the poorest people wear golden rings, necklaces, and earrings.
If a body is not conserved perfectly in the real world, the SPIRIT will also be lost forever. Because, as we know, death is not the end of life.
Indeed, the SOUL continues to live forever in the REALM OF THE DEAD, but the body must be ready for the final journey.
And that’s what I do—I’m an EXPERT!
emBalming
After washing the body, the first thing to do is take out the brain through the nose using an iron hook.
Then I extract the internal organs by making a cut on the left side of the stomach. They are then dried and eventually placed safely in canopic jars. Each jar represents one of the four sons of the divine Horus; their task is to protect the organs from decomposition.
The heart, on the other hand, is left in the body because it contains the soul and human intellect.
the canopic Jars
The lid is shaped like a human head, and it protects the liver. This jar has a baboon’s head, and it protects the lungs.
This has the face of a jackal and contains the stomach. This one is depicted with a falcon’s head and holds the intestines.
imsety hapi
duamutef qeBehsenuef
Once the body has been emptied of its internal organs, it is immersed in a salt called natron for forty days in order to dry it out. Then it is wrapped tightly in bandages so that the body keeps its shape. Protective amulets are inserted under the bandages.
DO NOT FORGET THEM!
This process takes up to fifteen days of hard work and endless white linen bandages.
NOW THE BODY IS DEFINITELY READY TO GO ON TO THE AFTERLIFE!
did you know there are two types of writing?
HIEROGLYPHICS are only used in carvings and are found on statues, monuments, or the walls of temples and pyramids. They are stylized drawings. Some of them correspond to one or more letters, like an alphabet, while others indicate an entire word. In order to learn how to read and write I had to study over seven hundred symbols!
HIERATIC , on the other hand, is a simplified type of writing. It is quicker and is used for writing down everyday notes.
writing tools
I need black and red ink, which I pour into the two wells in my palette. The other colors are actual bricks that I must grind down into powder in a mortar and dilute with the water I keep in a bowl.
I also need brushes, carved from thin stalks. I bite one end to make a stringy tip.
Chapter 5
the
Big celeBration in memphis!
Memphis is a very majestic city.
After leaving the port, they head off through the long, dusty avenues of the town center. Averion has already counted four temples, each more beautiful than the last. And the houses are really tall—some even have three floors, compared to the single-story homes in the workers’ village.
And so many people! The boy looks around him, grasping the doctor’s precious case close to his chest for fear of losing it.
The hard work of the pharaoh!
Getting a large kingdom like Egypt to work is a very difficult task.
my divine origin
I am the representative of the gods on earth, the only one who can contact them directly thanks to the life-giving spirit of the god HORUS .
The gods and I have an agreement: they guarantee the well-being of the people and the prosperity of Egypt and, in exchange, I build them lavish temples so that they can live in luxury, receiving many offerings from the faithful.
As I am both a king and a god, I am the only one who can enter the temples and officiate the religious rites.
However, as I can’t be in every temple at once, I have charged priests to do it on my behalf.
the power of the pharaoh
I am the ruler, and the population must show me the utmost obedience if they don’t want to unleash the ire of the gods
I am also the head of the government, the administration, the justice system, and the army. In addition, I am also the high priest.
All of the agricultural yield ends up in my royal granaries, and I regulate how it is traded, especially when there is low flooding of the Nile and a risk of famine.
I also supervise the building of the temples, my tomb, and other public works, such as the canals.
For the administration I need the help of my high officials, while my generals command the army.
MY MOST TRUSTED AIDE IS THE GRAND VIZIER.
Welcome to the house of the god PTAH! Here we look after all of the god’s needs, even seeing to his ENJOYMENT with large celebrations in his honor!
the purification
In order to enter the temple and carry out my daily tasks, like every priest, I must first purify myself.
To do this, in addition to carefully washing myself, I must shave my head and pluck my eyebrows.
I must also eat in moderation, and I am forbidden to eat pork, mutton, or pigeon meat
I wear light tunics and sandals that have been painted white. Indeed, white is the color of purity.
the duties
As I dress the statue of the god in a clean tunic of the best linen, other priests prepare a tray of food offerings and recite prayers that allow the food to nourish the god.
Building a pyramid is not child’s play!
what are the pyramids for?
When the pharaoh dies, he accompanies the god Horus on his twelve-hour journey, which begins when the sun sets, west of the Nile, to the Realm of the Dead
In order for the spirit of the pharaoh to continue to guarantee the well-being of his people, his body must remain intact.
This is why the pyramids are built, to protect his remains.
The first pyramids—the step pyramids— helped the deceased pharaoh ascend to the heavens. The shape is also similar to the hill that emerged from Nu upon which ATUM sat to create the universe.
how are the pyramids Built?
First of all, you must find the right spot! The land must be flat and rocky so that it can support the immense weight of the structure. It must be west of the Nile, fairly close to the river as that is where the stone needed to build the pyramid travels from, but not too close due to the risk of floods. Once the site has been found, the pharaoh consecrates it.
Then, the base of the pyramid is marked out. The land is leveled. At this stage, large blocks of stone extracted from quarries are brought to the site on boats made of wooden planks tied to one another using strong ropes
Up to forty men work on each boat, and there is a transport superintendent for each team of men.
A silhouette emerges from the darkness of the funeral chamber, stretching as if waking from a long sleep. His father is so surprised to see him there that his mouth falls open.
Averion hands him the bronze chisel.
Suma places a hand on his shoulder and exclaims, “You have done so well that I think it is time for you to become my apprentice. What do you think? Would you like…”
But he doesn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence: Averion is hugging him tightly. “Of course!”
Outside, the sun sets red over the pyramids under construction.