Ancient Egyptian Culture - Coursework Example

 Ancient Egyptian Culture Table of Contents Contents Introduction 2 Art in Ancient Egypt 2 Mythology in Ancient Egypt 5 Agriculture in Ancient Egypt 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 Ancient Egyptian Culture Introduction This paper examines the culture of ancient Egypt and the role it played in shaping the lives of members of the society. Specifically, it focuses on agriculture, art, and mythology and how these contributed positively to the lives of people, as well as enhanced the uniqueness of the Egyptian ancient culture. Egypt is widely known around the world for its ancient cultural and economic activities. The popularity of Egyptian ancient culture is because it had one of the most outstanding cultures in Africa and the world over. The majority of people around the world are still interested in the cultural practices of the Egyptians. As a result, it is necessary to give a detailed discussion of the ancient art, agriculture, and myths of the Egyptians. In the past centuries, Egyptians engaged in various agricultural activities ranging from crop farming to animal keeping. Equally, this country had numerous creative and talented artists, who used their skills appropriately to promote religious activities and impact positively on lives of their compatriots. Moreover, Egyptians had numerous myths explaining philosophical questions such as origin and creation of man and the universe. They also shaped people’s opinions and promoted peaceful coexistence among the Egyptians. All these ancient cultural practices of the Egyptians promoted peaceful coexistence and survival of many people in the community. Art in Ancient Egypt Ancient art was an important practice among the Egyptians. These people used art to express their thoughts and perception creatively on various things in life. In addition, Egyptians artists were keen observers, and as a result, ancient Egyptian art was characterized by a combination of geometric regularity. The artists paintings and carvings were a representation of the various figure in the community. Moreover, artists also depicted numerous fundamentals of their lives through their artwork. According to Kaplan (2004), most artists drew or painted different pictures ranging from hunting scenes in the community to farming practices. Equally, other artists in Egypt painted various scenes on pottery vessels and herds of cattle in the early times. These artworks mainly reflected the prehistoric Egyptian lifestyle and economic activities in the community. In the current society, such drawings have enabled numerous people learn and appreciate the Egyptian culture and practices in the previous centuries. In addition, ancient Egyptian art promoted unity and peaceful coexistence in the society. Artists worked as a group and maintained regular contacts and communications. Moreover, the norms and rules of the community encouraged cooperation of artists as opposed to individualism and self-centeredness. Consequently, various artists with individual visions did not have a place in the community as self-centeredness and individualism were against the norms and rules of the community. Numerous artists worked in teams and used various suggestions from their counterparts to come up with different artworks. This practice ensured community members and various people around the world valued and respected Egyptian’s artworks. In addition, such methods also promoted innovativeness and creativity of artists, and carried messages of peace and togetherness. Thus, art played an important role in the peaceful coexistence of the Egyptian people. Equally important, the Egyptian art depicted religion and ensured the continuity of the universe (Robins, 2008). Most artist in Egypt represented various things in their artwork not as they were, but as they idealized and thought of them. These pictures and paintings were meant to make people conceive different images. These acts made Egyptian art blend the real with the ideal in the community. Moreover, these artists did numerous paintings and carvings to depict their gods and the mighty and powerful leaders in the society. In addition, artists also built various temples and places of worship as a way of showing massive respect to the gods. They also placed many paintings and sculptures in the temples revealing the power and strength of their gods. Astonishingly, artists would also fill various tombs of pharaohs with many different paintings and sculptures to express their respect and love for the departed kings in the society. The community members encouraged these practices as they believed various sculptures and paintings left in the tombs would be useful and necessary for pharaohs in their afterlife. It was a perfect way to express their belief in life after death and also to show massive respect to the dead members of the society. Equally, Egyptian artists majorly used stones and wood to make the numerous statues in the country. Moreover, some creative and incredibly talented artists used metal and iron to make figures. Artists who used stones carved out a number of statues from rectangular blocks of stones. They used stones also to depict the strength and power of various sculptures that resembled gods or pharaohs. Further, the statues were the strategically placed to attract attention and enhance their effect to the society members. Equally, artists also carved out wooden statues from numerous pieces of wood (Robins, 2008). The pieces were then pegged together to create an image or statue that resembled various influential figures in the community. Some artists enhance their wooden statues by wrapping metal around them. Art was valued and respected in Egypt due to its purpose and impact on the community members. Mythology in Ancient Egypt In addition, Egyptians also had various myths and misconceptions. Through myths, Egyptians aimed at providing detailed, informative and accurate information about the religious beliefs, the origin of man and the nature and power of the gods and goddesses in the society. Moreover, every aspect of the lives of the Egyptians was based on various stories ranging from the creation of the world to traditional practices in the community. These people had a unique creation and origin of man theories (Muller, 2012). According to Egyptians, the universe was created by a Supreme Being and spirits out of chaos and darkness. The Egyptians claimed that before creation there existed a huge free space that had nothing, but endless darkness. The world was chaotic by then with no particular arrangement or existence of numerous living things. The only thing that existed by then was the Supreme Being and great god, Atum. Although the majority of Egyptians call him Atum, a significant number of Egyptians also referred to him as Ptah. According to Atum, the earth was a lonely and a dull place to solely survive. Consequently, the god mated with his own shadow to produce a companion. The mating resulted in the reproduction of two children that gave company to the god. It resulted in origin of the first humans on earth Moreover, religion was also a significant part of the Egyptian mythology. According to Ollholff (2011), religious practices during this period were hugely based on the traditions of the various community in Egypt. As a result, Egyptian resisted change and adoption of foreign culture on matters concerning religious practices. Equally, these people staunchly believed in the traditions that were set by their ancestors. According to them, their ancestors were wise men with rational decision-making skills. As a result, the beliefs and traditions they prescribed for the community were undoubtedly the best and had the majority of the community members’ interest at heart. They also strived to maintain and emulate the conditions and practices that their ancestors passed down to the community. It ensured respect for ancestors and the community leadership. In addition, Egyptians valued and respected a number of leaders in the community. The most notable leader who commanded massive respect among the community members was the pharaoh. The Egyptians believed that kingship was divine and holy in the community. Additionally, they believed their king derived his power and authority from a number of gods (Remler, 2010). Moreover, the community members also saw Pharaoh as not only a political ruler, but a divine and holy person equivalent to the gods. Some part of Egyptian societies associated him with the great god of war known as Horus. Egyptians also believed pharaohs lived a comfortable and peaceful life in the afterlife world. Thus, creative and talented artists around Egypt were expected to build pyramids and temples for the pharaohs to ensure a peaceful and enjoyable life in death. These acts revealed Egyptians massive respect for their leaders and dead members of the society. Besides, the Egyptians also worshipped numerous gods based on various things such as social classes and location of the believers. As a result, religion in ancient Egypt was majorly referred to as polytheistic (Pinch, 2004). Further, the Egyptians valued and highly respected their religious leaders. Priests and other holy people in the community were powerful and influential. They influenced major decisions related to religion. In addition, Egyptian also credited their peaceful coexistence and happy lives to the priests and other prominent and holy leaders in the community. Moreover, Egyptian also built numerous worship areas and temples in the community. Further, Egyptians offered prayers and sacrifices to their gods. They believed their gods were a source of happiness and offered solutions to various problems the community faced. Agriculture in Ancient Egypt Moreover, ancient Egyptians also practiced crop farming and livestock keeping. Farming was the main economic activity of the early Egyptians. According to Lloyd (2014), they cultivated crops such as wheat, barley, watermelons and vines. Moreover, Egyptians also kept animals such as goats, sheep and dogs. Egyptians kept not only animals, but also birds such as duck and domestic fowls. All these animals and crops were used for both domestic and commercial purposes in the community. Domestically, animals and plants were used for consumption. Moreover, animals helped in farming activities such as ploughing and wedding. Equally important, plants such as wheat and barley were used in local industries to make bread and beer respectively. In addition, Egyptians adopted irrigation activities to support their farming. A large part of Egypt is dry and hot. These conditions coupled with the various seasons and weather patterns were obstacles to farming. As a result, some Egyptians innovated different ways of sustaining agriculture in the country. These people adopted the shadoof farming method and use of canals to irrigate the numerous farms in the country. Shadoof irrigation method was appropriate and efficient in irrigating the highland areas in the country (Kemp, 2006). Egyptians drew water from river Nile using large buckets that were tied to a crossbeam using ropes. It made drawing of water accessible and efficient. Moreover, Egyptians also dug canals in areas around the Nile. These canals were directed to various farms and water basins. As a result, the canals irrigated farms and also took water to different pools. Basins stored water during the rainy season as this ensured availability of water during dry seasons. Further, Egyptian farmers hugely depended on river Nile for both water and fertile soils. River Nile was the main sources of agricultural water in Egypt. As a result, many Egyptian farmers drew water from this river to irrigate their land. They also supplied their animals and bird with drinking from this river. Furthermore, river Nile also deposited fertile soils on its banks (Kemp, 2006). Farmers preferred sections of the Nile banks for the cultivation of crops and animals. The most preferred parts were the floodplains that had fertile soils and conducive environment for agricultural practices. Thus, Egyptians realized good harvests from these fertile areas. In addition, animals from this regions were healthy had quality products due to the favorable climatic conditions. Moreover, ancient Egyptians ploughed their farms. They did this using different simple tools that were made domestically. Most of the farm tools in Egypt were majorly made from stones and pieces of wood. On few occasions, some farmers used tools from metals such as iron. As a result, Egyptians had tools such as hoes, rakes and ploughs. The majority of farmers had both hand and ox-drawn ploughs. Ox drawn ploughs were mainly used in farms to turn soils and cover seeds after sowing. Additionally, animals were used to pull the ox-drawn ploughs on the farm. Thus, tools were necessary to agriculture as they made work easy and enjoyable. In addition, agriculture was a source of wealth to many Egyptian farmers. Farms produced numerous grains and animal products that were used as trading commodities. Many farmers sold surplus farm products to other communities or countries. Furthermore, these farmers also sold their agricultural products to local industries for the production of bread and beer. Equally, farmers also sold their animals to other society members at good prices. Animal products such as milk and meat attracted large customers from Egypt and other countries as well. Farmers also sold fowls and duck to other members of the community. As a result, the many wealthy merchants in Egypt massively drew their wealth from agricultural practices and products. Conclusion In conclusion, it evident that ancient Egyptians had various cultural traditions that impacted positively on the community members. The various agricultural practices of Egyptians ensured a constant supply of food and animal labor in the community. Agriculture was also a source of wealth since surplus farm products were sold at good prices. Similarly, various myths in the community helped Egyptians answer some philosophical questions such as creation and origin of man. Moreover, ancient artwork in Egypt also promoted peaceful coexistence in the society. It also ensured respect for the dead members of the community and the various numerous gods. Through the study of Egyptian ancient culture, different people around the world fully understand and appreciate the Egyptians. This topic is important since it enlightens the whole world on various and interesting issues concerning the lifestyle of ancient Egyptians. References Kaplan, L. C. (2004). Art and Religion in Ancient Egypt. Google Books. The Rosen Publishing Group. Kemp, J. (2006) Ancient Egypt. Psychology Press. Lloyd, B. (2014) Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Müller, M, F. (2012) Egyptian Mythology. Courier. Ollhoff, J. (2011) Egyptian Mythology. ABDO. Pinch, G. (2004) Egyptian Mythology. Oxford University Press. Remler, P. (2010). Egyptian Mythology, A to Z. Google Books. InfoBase Publishing. Robins, Gay. (2008) The Art of Ancient Egypt. Harvard University Press. Read More