Chapter 2, Section 2

Egypt’s Old

Kingdom

Old Kingdom Rulers• Old Kingdom lasted from 2600 BC to 2300 BC.

• The Egyptian kings, pharaohs, lived with their families in grand palaces.

• The pharaoh was an all-powerful ruler who guided Egypt’s every activity.

Old Kingdom Rulers• Why did Egyptians willingly serve the

pharaoh?–They believed the unity of the kingdom

depended on a strong leader–They considered the pharaoh to be the

son of Re, the Egyptian sun god

Old Kingdom Rulers• Whenever he appeared in public,

people played music on flutes & cymbals.

• Bystanders long the road had to bow down and “smell the earth.”

Old Kingdom Rulers• Egyptians thought their pharaoh was a god on

earth who controlled Egypt’s welfare.

Egypt’s Religion• Egyptians worshipped

many deities, or gods and goddesses.

• The Egyptians believed these deities controlled the forces of nature and human activities.

Egypt’s Religion

• Egyptian Gods:1. Re – Sun God2. Hapi – ruled the Nile River3. Isis – goddess who represented the

loyal wife & mother; she ruled over the dead with her husband Osiris

Egypt’s Religion• The Egyptians believed that life in the in the

next world would be better than on Earth.

• For centuries, Egyptians believed that only the pharaohs could enjoy the afterlife.

• They thought the pharaoh needed a body to make the journey to the afterlife.

Egypt’s Religion• To protect the pharaoh’s body, the Egyptians

used embalming. – Priests removed the body’s organs– Salt applied to body & body stored to dry– Body filled with perfumes & spices & stitched up– Body cleaned with oils & tightly wrapped with linen– The wrapped body was now a mummy– It was placed inside many wooden coffins– Ready to placed in a tomb

Egypt’s Medicine• Skilled at sewing cuts

and setting broken bones

• Became the world’s first specialists in medicine

• Wrote the world’s first medical books on papyrus

The Pyramids• The pyramids were

tombs for the pharaohs.

• They were the size of city blocks.

• They also held items the pharaoh would need for the afterlife.

How the Pyramids Were Built

• Thousands of people• Years to build• Built during the Nile flooding season• Sits on a square base facing the north• Had a number system based on 10• Created fractions• Artisans used tools to cut stone into blocks• Pulled the blocks over “paved” roads of logs

How the Pyramids Were Built

• Loaded the stones onto barges on the Nile• Had ramps to push/pull to set the stones in

place

The Great Pyramid• About 2540 B.C. the

grandest of pyramids was built.

• It is 10 miles from Cairo.• This pyramid was built for

King Khufu & is still standing in Giza on the west bank of the Nile.

The Great Pyramid• It covers an area the size of 9 football fields.

• Contains 2 million stone blocks.