Changes

Egyptians invented mummification, which began in the 4th Dynasty.  It took the Egyptians a long time to develop this art, but they ultimately succeeded to perfection.  Without going into all the gory details, it consists of removing the internal organs from a body after death, treating the body with resin, and then wrapping it tightly in linen bandages.  You should consider becoming a doctor if you have an interest in this!

Egyptians invented mummification, which began in the 4th Dynasty.  It took the Egyptians a long time to develop this art, but they ultimately succeeded to perfection.  Without going into all the gory details, it consists of removing the internal organs from a body after death, treating the body with resin, and then wrapping it tightly in linen bandages.  You should consider becoming a doctor if you have an interest in this!

''Religion'': The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods, often inspired by animals or aspects of nature such as the sun.  Only nobles could aspire to an afterlife, and only the king himself could become unified with Osiris, a legendary king who represented the forces of agriculture.  These religious views subsequently lost out to more powerful concepts of Christianity and Islam.  Now Egypt is 90% Sunnite Muslim, and the remainder mostly Christian (Copts).   

''Religion'': The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods, often inspired by animals or aspects of nature such as the sun.  Only nobles could aspire to an afterlife, and only the king himself could become unified with Osiris, a legendary king who represented the forces of agriculture.  A pharaoh was considered to be a sun god, and eventually monotheism (one all-powerful god) became popular in Egypt, with the sun god Aton commanding all Egyptians' attention.  That religious view subsequently lost out to the more powerful religions of Christianity and Islam.  Now Egypt is 90% Sunnite Muslim, and the remainder mostly Christian (Copts).   

The Christian Copts trace their ancestors directly to the ancient Egyptians.  Unlike the Muslims in Egypt, who consider themselves Arabs, the Christian Copts do not consider themselves to be Arabs and the Christian Copts still use ancient Egyptian surnames.  They cite the sojourn by Jesus' family in Egypt to escape Herod, and the proselytizing in Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel and was martyred at Alexandria, Egypt.  He is considered the first leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, followed by an unbroken line of 117 successors to the present Pope Shenouda III.  A pharaoh was considered to be a sun god, and eventually monotheism (one all-powerful god) became popular in Egypt, with the sun god Aton commanding all Egyptians' attention.   

The Christian Copts trace their ancestors directly to the ancient Egyptians.  Unlike the Muslims in Egypt, who consider themselves Arabs, the Christian Copts do not consider themselves to be Arabs and the Christian Copts still use ancient Egyptian surnames.  They cite the sojourn by Jesus' family in Egypt to escape Herod, and the proselytizing in Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel and was martyred at Alexandria, Egypt.  He is considered the first leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, followed by an unbroken line of 117 successors to the present Pope Shenouda III.   

''Language'': The Egyptians developed a written language consisting of hieroglyphics, which are pictographs.  It originated around 3100 B.C.  It was written on papyrus as a kind of paper; papyrus is a thin parchment constructed from reeds near the Nile river.  No one could fully understand hieroglyphics until the discovery of the "Rosetta Stone" by Napoleon's troops in 1799 near the seaside town of Rosetta, located in northern Egypt.  It sits in the British Museum today.  It consists of a slab of black basalt inscribing a royal decree to the king Ptolemy V, dating from 196 B.C.  The Stone is marvelous in inscribing the same message three times: once in Greek, once in Demotic (a simple form of hieroglyphics used 700 B.C. to A.D. 400), and once in hieroglyphic.  This enabled Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion to determine what the hieroglyphic characters mean, and build a dictionary that could be used to translate other works written in hieroglyphics.   

''Language'': The Egyptians developed a written language consisting of hieroglyphics, which are pictographs.  It originated around 3100 B.C.  It was written on papyrus as a kind of paper; papyrus is a thin parchment constructed from reeds near the Nile river.  No one could fully understand hieroglyphics until the discovery of the "Rosetta Stone" by Napoleon's troops in 1799 near the seaside town of Rosetta, located in northern Egypt.  It sits in the British Museum today, and consists of a slab of black basalt inscribing a royal decree to the king Ptolemy V, dating from 196 B.C.  The Stone is marvelous in inscribing the same message three times: once in Greek, once in Demotic (a simple form of hieroglyphics used 700 B.C. to A.D. 400), and once in hieroglyphic.  This enabled the Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion to determine what the hieroglyphic characters mean, and build a dictionary that could be used to translate other works written in hieroglyphics.   

Egypt's complex, picture-based language probably hindered its growth.  The picture-based language was not as easy to use as the alphabet-based Phoenician language later adopted by the Greeks and Romans.  How would one express Christian concepts like salvation, faith, hope and redemption in hieroglyphics?  It seems impossible.

Egypt's complex, picture-based language probably hindered its growth.  The picture-based language was not as easy to use as the alphabet-based Phoenician language later adopted by the Greeks and Romans.  How would one express Christian concepts like salvation, faith, hope and redemption in hieroglyphics?  That would be very difficult to do.

   

   

''Science'':  A magnificent city named "Alexandria" was created by Alexander the Great in Egypt in 334 B.C., and it became a cultural center for many centuries.  Eventually it grew to be second only to Rome in size and wealth, but declined over a thousand years later after Islamic conquerors established Cairo as the capital of Egypt.  Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Alexandria is also known for the Library of Alexandria, then the largest in the world.

''Science'':  A magnificent city named "Alexandria" was created by Alexander the Great in Egypt in 334 B.C., and it became a cultural center for many centuries.  Eventually it grew to be second only to Rome in size and wealth, but declined over a thousand years later after Islamic conquerors established Cairo as the capital of Egypt.  Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Alexandria is also known for the Library of Alexandria, then the largest in the world.

   

   

In A.D. 100, while Alexandria was still a great city, Ptolemy (pronounced "tah-luh-mee") was born there and was named after the long line of Egyptian kings.  He wrote magnificent works on astronomy, optics, geography, mechanics and geometry.  He is best known for his complex theory that placed planet Earth at the center of universe, since all things appeared to fall towards Earth and thus towards the center.  The Ptolemaic system was the prevailing view until Copernicus proposed the sun as the center of the solar system over 1000 years later.

In A.D. 100, while Alexandria was still a great city, Ptolemy (pronounced "tah-luh-mee") was born there and was named after the long line of Egyptian kings.  He wrote magnificent works on astronomy, optics, geography, mechanics and geometry.  He is best known for his complex theory that placed planet Earth at the center of universe, since all things appeared to fall towards Earth as the apparent center.  The Ptolemaic system was the prevailing view until Copernicus proposed the sun as the center of the solar system over 1000 years later.

''Culture'': Egypt used slaves as most ancient cultures did.  Women in Egypt were powerful, holding the right to own property, divorce their husbands, manage businesses and even become priestesses.  It was possible for poor people to rise to the upper class through talent and hard work.  Taxes were a burden.  The government claimed ownership of one-fifth of all produce (Genesis 47:24).  The society had some ethical principles, such as the royal advice that "more acceptable is the character of one upright of heart than the ox of the evildoer."  Feeding the poor, taking care of the disadvantaged, and avoid bribes in administering justice were respected.  Egyptians traveled the Nile River by using the currents dowstream and the Etesian winds to propel sailboats upstream.  Egyptian architecture was the pyramid and colonnaded temples like the one Karnak, using a style later copied by the Greeks.  

''Culture'': Egypt used slaves as most ancient cultures did.  Women in Egypt were powerful, holding the right to own property, divorce their husbands, manage businesses and even become priestesses.  It was possible for poor people to rise to the upper class through talent and hard work.  Taxes were a burden.  The government claimed ownership of one-fifth of all produce (Genesis 47:24).  The society had some moral values, such as the royal advice that "more acceptable is the character of one upright of heart than the ox of the evildoer."  Feeding the poor, taking care of the disadvantaged, and avoid bribes in administering justice were respected.  For travel, Egyptians traversed the Nile River by using the currents downstream and the Etesian winds to propel sailboats upstream.  For architecture, Egyptians used the pyramid and colonnaded temples like the one Karnak, preferring this style as later copied by the Greeks.  

''Trade'' and ''Inventions'':  Egypt was not as advanced as Mesopotamia in trade and inventions.  Egypt's trade did improve during the New Kingdom and some commerce with Sumer was established then.  Egyptians invented our 365-day solar calendar, based on 12 months of about 30 days each.  But we owe our "base 60" system for our clock (60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour) to Mesopotamia.  Egyptians lacked money, and relied on primitive barter (selling a good in exchange for a different good in return).  The Egyptian Old Kingdom lacked the wheel; the pyramids were built without use of the wheel!

''Trade'' and ''Inventions'':  Egypt was not as advanced as Mesopotamia in trade and inventions.  Egypt's trade did improve during the New Kingdom and established some commerce with Sumer then.  Egyptians invented our 365-day solar calendar, based on 12 months of about 30 days each.  But we owe our "base 60" system for our clock (60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour) to Mesopotamia.  Egyptians lacked money, and relied on primitive barter (selling a good in exchange for a different good in return).  The Egyptian Old Kingdom lacked the wheel; the pyramids were built without use of the wheel!

== References ==

== References ==