10.

Egyptian Dance

Dancing played a major role in the culture of the ancient

Egyptians. Music and dance were the norm. A rhythmic dance was
imprinted into the hearts of the Egyptians, with people often
working along to the sounds of songs and percussion
instruments.

The ancient Egyptian era also saw the birth of street dancers who
would entertain passersby. Egyptian dance was divided into
different categories depending on the participants and the
occasion.

This painting, in particular, shows “pair dancing” where two

women dance together in a pair while another group plays music.
Pair dancing involved either two men or two women dancing
together in unison. There were also group dances where a group
of trained performers would entertain spectators, but even more
popular were the festival dances with each dance unique to its
particular celebration.
9. Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Mummification was an important part of the concept of an

afterlife. A proper ritual had to be followed to mummify a dead
person to ensure his or her resurrection after receiving judgment
from the Egyptian gods. Before the Old Kingdom (the earliest of
the Egyptian civilizations) bodies which were buried in the desert
were naturally preserved by desiccation. But as time passed,
wealthier Egyptians started to arrange for more elaborate artificial
mummification.

By the time of the New Kingdom, people had perfected the art of
mummification. The best of the techniques took almost 70 days
and involved preserving the internal organs, including the brain,
and the desiccation of the body in a mixture of salts called natron.
In the Old Kingdom, the jackal-headed god Anubis would look
after the burials of the kings. He was later replaced by Osiris
somewhere during the Middle Kingdom.
8. Egyptian Deities

Ancient Egyptian society had a complex system of polytheistic

beliefs, meaning the Egyptians believed in and worshiped multiple
gods. More often than not, these gods were grouped in a
pantheon along with their religions and rituals.

The entire civilization was rich with diverse religions, each of them
with their own deities, rituals and beliefs, and they had many
staunch followers. It was said that different cities had different
gods specific to them, and followers worshiped their individual
deities with devotion.

The most popular of the gods were the sun god Ra; Anubis, the
god of death and embalming; and Horus, the god of the sky.
Osiris, Anubis, and Horus were important in the ancient pantheon
of Egyptian gods.
7. Tomb Paintings

Egypt boasted the most remarkable memorial tombs of all, most

of which still survive today: the pyramids. There are a number
of famous pyramid tombs, noticeably three massive tombs from
the fourth dynasty. But even more spectacular are the paintings
engraved inside them, often depicting the journey of the
deceased into the afterlife.
This particular painting in the tomb of Irinefer depicts the
deceased standing in the barge of the phoenix, the symbol of the
sun god of Heliopolis. Most tombs have a number of paintings
reflecting the lives of the deceased, and the royal tombs are even
more vividly carved with paintings and cartouches The Egyptians
made the most elaborate and beautiful tombs for their pharaohs.
In fact, ancient reflecting their journey before their death and then
into the afterlife.
6. Book of the Dead

Those who have seen the pop culture movie The Mummy, will
know that the Book of the Dead is an ancient script that contains
texts on how to bring back the dead in the afterlife. But is this
really true? The answer would be yes and no! The original name
for the text is rw nw prt m hrw which in literal translation is “The
book of coming forth by day” or “The book of emerging forth into
the light”.

This book consists of a number of magical spells that are

supposedly used to assist a dead person’s journey through the
underworld once they have died and been resurrected into the
afterlife. The earliest of the spells and manuscripts date back to
3000 BC, and the newer spells were added later in Egyptian
history, most recently during the 11th to the 7th centuries BC.
5. The Egyptian Afterlife

Ancient Egyptian religion was based on a firm belief in the

afterlife. Rather than a complete cessation of life, death was taken
as a temporary interruption. They strongly believed that eternal
life was possible through the means of piety and mummification.

It was thought that an individual’s afterlife would be decided by

the Egyptian gods, as clearly depicted in the above painting. The
pharaohs were staunch believers in the idea of the afterlife, and
for that reason used to make grand preparations for their
funerals, making sure all the arrangements were made to ensure
they had the essentials available when they were resurrected.
4. The Funerary

At a time when the concept of an afterlife was crucially important

in the religion and rituals of the Egyptian people, the practice of
funerary had a high place in Egyptian society. When a person
died, it was at the funerary where the deities would decide
whether the dead would get a chance of resurrection in the
afterlife or not. Arriving at one’s afterlife was a demanding task,
requiring a sin-free heart and the ability to recite spells and
passwords from the Book of the Dead.

As clearly depicted in the above painting, the heart of the

deceased would be weighed against the Shu’s feather of truth and
justice which was taken from the headdress of the goddess Ma’at.
If the heart was lighter than the feather, they could pass on, but if
it was heavier, they would be devoured by the demon Ammut.
3. Cartouche of Tutankhamun

The Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun is probably one of the most well

documented and most famous of the Egyptian pharaohs. Ever since the
discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922, Tutankhamun, popularly
referred to as King Tut, has received unprecedented media coverage and
made frequent appearances in pop culture.

The cartouche of King Tut shown above depicts many events including the
moment of his birth. A cartouche is an oval hieroglyph with a horizontal line
at one end which indicates that the text within it concerns royalty. King
Tut’s cartouche show his birth and throne name. The two cartouches can be
seen between rampant Sekhmet lioness warriors depicted crushing several
ethnic enemies while the vulture goddess Nekhbet flies protectively
overhead.
2. Battle of Nubia

King Ramesses fought numerous wars during his reign, and

emerged victorious from most of them, expanding the riches of
the vast Egyptian empire during his 66-year rule from 1279 BC to
1213 BC. He is often regarded as the most celebrated and most
powerful pharaoh in ancient Egypt.

His battle against the Nubians, a 200-year-old wealthy civilization,

stands well documented in the form of the above papyrus
painting. The battle is depicted on the south wall of the Beit el-
wali temple, a Nubian stronghold. Ramesses II is depicted as
charging into battle against the Nubians in a war chariot, while his
two young sons Amun-her-khepsef and Khaemwaset are present
behind him, also in war chariots.

On one of the walls of the temple it says that in one of the battles
with the Nubians he had to fight the whole battle alone without
any help from his soldiers.
1. Ramesses the Great – Battle of Dapur

Ramesses was one of the greatest pharaohs to have ever ruled in

ancient Egypt. During a reign of more than 66 years, he led a
number of military expeditions expanding Egyptian territory and
gaining a stronghold over an impressively wide area from the Nile
delta to the scorching deserts. His reign saw many major historic
events and campaigns which were well documented in the
numerous statues, paintings, and other artefacts from that era.

This painting, found in one of the pharaoh’s tombs, shows the

Egyptian king’s raid against the resurgent Hittite forces of
Muwatalli, the entire battle being fought in present-day Syria.
Against a substantial and far stronger enemy, Ramesses’ forces
were outnumbered and caught in an ambush, but the pharaoh
somehow fought the battle to a stalemate and returned home a
hero.
Conclusion
Ancient Egyptian art has an almost 5,000-year-old history and boasts many
extremely symbolic and fascinating paintings and sculptures. Even more
notable is the fact that most elements of Egyptian art remained intact and
stable for over 3,000 years, with no significant outside influences.

From some of the most beautiful depictions of ancient wars to the symbolic
representation of religion, rituals and deities, the art of ancient Egypt has
stood the test of time and survived to this day, allowing us a glimpse into this
fascinating bygone era.