EncycloZine

James Blakeway - Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
James Blakeway
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The history of ancient Egypt stretches roughly from 3100 BC, when a unified kingdom embracing lower and upper Egypt was first created, to 332 BC, when Alexander the Great brought the rule of the pharaohs to an end. In the intervening millennia, Egypt experienced alternate phases of strong, centralized government and periods of near anarchy, when competing dynasties and warlords fought for power.

The periods marked by strong government at home and expansionist policies abroad are called the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. The chaotic phases go by the name of Intermediate Periods (I-III). In the so-called Late Period, the centuries immediately before Alexander's conquest, Egypt lacked central authority, and the country was easy prey for the great expansionist powers of the Middle East - Assyria conquered her in 671 BC and Persia in 525 BC.

I. Gods and Pharaohs

"Osiris, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of the two countries... son of the Sun, beloved of the gods, lord of the diadems, Rameses, prince of Heliopolis, triumphant! Thou art in the condition of a god, thou shalt arise as Usr, there is no enemy to thee, I give to thee triumph among them..." (Budge, Catalogue, Egyptian Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.)

Thus reads the inscription around the edges of the cover of the stone coffin (sarcophagus) holding Rameses III, an Egyptian monarch of the 20th Dynasty who ruled between the years of 1187 and 1156 BC . The relief on his sarcophagus shows Rameses between the goddesses Nephthys and Isis. Rameses is wearing distinctive symbols of the three gods of the Egyptian system: he carries the two scepters of Osiris, the god of the dead as well as of renewal and rebirth, on his head are the horns of the cow goddess Hathor, and also the sun ball and feathers of Ammon Ra, who was the supreme god of Egypt until 663 BC. According to historian-writer H.G. Wells, "He is not merely wearing the symbols of these gods as a devout Babylonian might wear the symbols of Bel-Marduk (the chief god of Babylon); he IS these three gods in one."

Funeral Mask of Tutank
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A king of Egypt is commonly referred to as Pharaoh, which comes from the Egyptian word meaning "great estate" or "great house". Originally, this term was used in reference to the royal palace as an institution but eventually it designated the living king himself. The Egyptians had a profound reverence for their kings, as illustrated in the above inscription. The Encyclop�dia Britannica states that the "king was a god...he manifested the gods on earth". This god-king concept had its roots in the pre-dynastic Egypt which, according to current scholarship, would be before 2925 BC. (The dynastic period of native Egypt is divided into 30 dynasties, following the account of a Greco-Egyptian writer Manetho, of 3rd century BC.) During that period, the falcon became the basic symbol for the king and it eventually became the royal Horus name, this was the first element in a king's high position since it presented the living king as the incarnation of the god Horus, the sun-god and chief deity of the Egyptians. The Pharaohs would later add the god's name to their titles. This made the Pharaohs more influential than the rulers of other kingdoms, for they were esteemed as higher than kings and priests, they were gods. We do not know how they got to that position, but no other king could induce his people to do feats such as the massive construction of the pyramids.

In the fall of 332 BC Alexander the Great, with his mixed army of Macedonians and Greeks, invaded Egypt, which at this time was under the oppressive yoke of the Persians. The Macedonian general was welcomed by people who were more than happy to be loosened from their enemy's control. This supposed liberation signaled the end, for all time, of the rule of Egypt by native Pharaohs. However, the long history of the 30 dynasties of Egypt, which spanned over 4,000 years, is much longer than the history between the conquest of Alexander the Great and present day.