Egypt: River of Life

Insight

When we visited Egypt in 2004, we drank from the Nile.  Locals told us this meant we would return some day.  So, here I am – in spirit if not in body. The first few posts will be a little dry (ha ha!) but I like to know something of the people and their culture before I visit.  I did rather laugh when I read Paul Theroux* who described his lack of enthusiasm for old monuments.  I find it fascinating that we have so much left to us yet know so little about this enigmatic period of our history.  Yet having visited you can be, after fighting off crowds and spirited shopkeepers, left with a sense of it all being so unreal.  Now, our felucca for a fascinating tour along the Nile is boarding…

Although it is believed people settled the Nile from about 6000 BC (Mesolithic Era), Ancient Egyptian art and civilization as we know it emerged under the guidance of Menes in 3000 BC.  He established his capital at the head of the Nile delta in Memphis.  Whilst cultural influences from nearby Sumer seemed to have stimulated development of the peoples settled on the Nile, Egypt’s isolation, relative internal stability and prosperity allowed it the freedom to flourish independently.

As the Nile flooded annually bringing nourishment to the delta, it was considered vital to Egyptian welfare, wealth and unity.  Egypt’s surplus produce ensured a flourishing trade and natural reserves of gemstone (diamonds, rubies) and precious metals (including gold, silver and copper) ensured a material wealth.  Building materials such as marble, alabaster and granite could be readily quarried and coloured stones including lapis lazuli and turquoise were obtainable.  This substantial affluence was greatly reflected in their art works.  The ancient Egyptians believed in the superiority of their own civilization and were therefore resistant to change.  Lasting massiveness was quintessential to their civilization and belief.

Religious practice was vital to the Egyptians.  The king was the divine being; a living god.  He could govern, at his own will, the wealth and services of his people.  Deities relevant to daily life and survival such as the sun, snakes and crocodiles were also worshipped to bring prosperity to the land.  All people centred their beliefs on the “life here-after”.  They believed that Ka (the soul) would return and therefore built elaborate tombs, lavishly decorated and well equipped for the soul until it returned.  Bodies, generally of the wealthy, were embalmed with preservatives such as spices and herbs and bound with cloth.  The resulting “mummy” was then put into a coffin of gold that was almost the perfect shape of the body.  Wooden caskets were used for less wealthy patrons.  Statuettes of gods and other requirements to ensure a smooth passage to the after-life, including slaves, animals, chariots and food items, were placed with the body into the tomb. 

The hot dry climate of Egypt ensured their architectural style changed little over the centuries.  Early constructions were made of timber (despite its scarcity) and later domestic architecture, flat roofed houses, and tombs were built from of sun dried bricks.   The more impressive temples and tombs were built from stone (granite and sandstone) which was quarried from the upper regions of the Nile.  This stone was  shipped down to the delta region, or necropolis location, on flat barges.  

All Ancient Egyptian art is funerary; to do with the after-life.  The Book of the Dead is a collection of funerary texts and magic beliefs from the pre-dynastic period.  It is the life story of Ka, “life spark” or soul, and provides instruction for mortals.  Walls of the tombs provided suitable backdrops for stories of gods and the occupant’s heroic deeds to inform the soul of its former life on earth.  These scenes were carved in low relief on the walls of tombs. Some were painted on dry plaster, fresco style.  Colour too, was not applied in a naturalistic way but in a strict symbolic code.  Numerous small carved statuettes were included inside the tomb.  Often, large sculptures of the occupant or gods presided on the outside. 

Ancient artisans had set limitations on their work and yet managed to develop extensively.  This framework ensured control and restraint in both method and presentation.  The result was purposeful narrative ensuring consistent representation.  Natural shapes were formalised into simple poses, attitudes and actions using a conceptual rather than optical approach.  Pictorial narrative became symbolic and almost purely decorative.  Beetles, winged globe (emblem of royalty), feathers, lotus lilies were all deeply religious symbols.  There was no use of perspective – their world was a simply a two dimensional picture plane with figures sized according to rank and consequence.  Other art forms included papyrus, glassmaking, pottery and literature.

Our understanding of hieroglyphs on ancient manuscripts, and therefore knowledge of the lives of these people, was greatly enhanced with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone (196 BC) in 1801.   The same paragraph has been written in hieroglyphics, an oriental form of hieroglyphics and Greek, allowing almost direct transcription.  We are fortunate indeed that the Ancient Egyptians carefully recorded all aspect of their lives.  We continue to be amazed at their urban, civilized society which flourished when most other people in Stone Age times (Neolithic, Bronze and Iron) were living in cultures with less developed attributes. 

*Paul Theroux “The Pillars of Hercules” 1995 (A great read if your exploring the Med.)

From World of Ancient Times Carl Roebuck