Cairo



 

Teacher's Notes for Ancient Cairo

Activities for all ages:

  1. This unit does not discuss ancient Egyptian religion. Have your students do preliminary research on the Egyptian pantheon, and have each prepare a short presentation on a specific deity. What was the deity's name, function, and relation within the pantheon? Deities include:
    2. Deity Represented by God of:
    Amon man, the sun the creator
    Anubis the jackal embalmers, healers, surgeons
    Aten the sun-disk everything
    Bastet the cat cats, women, protection
    Bes a lion-headed dwarf the household
    Hathor the cow love, fertility, women
    Horus the falcon the sky, the Pharaoh
    Isis the ankh protection
    Osiris a mummified king the underworld
    Ra falcon headed man the sun
    Sekhmet the lion war
    Set the pig, donkey, etc. storms and violence
    Taweret the hippopotamus childbirth
    Thoth the ibis & the ape the scribe
  2. Why were the pyramids built? Why would it be important for the pharaohs to build monuments for themselves? One ancient Egyptian tradition states that a spirit will never die as long as his name is spoken. Perhaps the pyramids were an attempt to keep the names of these pharaohs alive for all eternity. It has certainly been successful so far!


  3. Have your students prepare a report on the political history of ancient Egypt, looking at such powerful pharaohs as Rameses II, Akhenaton (Amenhophis IV), Hatshepsut, Sneferu, Cleopatra VII, etc. What did each pharaoh contribute? What, historically speaking, made a "good" pharaoh vs. a "bad" pharaoh?


  4. Have your students take the quiz on this unit.


  5. Talk about the things that were invented by the ancient Egyptians that are still used today:


    • Glass was invented by the ancient Egyptians
    • Shaving was a ritual devised by ancient Egyptian priests
    • Chairs originated in the ancient Middle East, as places of elevation for the kings, queens, and pharaohs. Everyone else had to sit on the floor, to mark their lower status.
    • The ancient Egyptians were the first to cure leather, and to use it as footwear.
    • The ancient Egyptians also were among the first to develop cosmetic makeup.
    • Fermented beverages, such as beer and wine, were developed by the Egyptians.
    • The Egyptians were also among the first to develop the concept of the number "zero," which was not used in Europe until the late middle ages.
    • Geometry was used by the Egyptians to locate their fields after the yearly flood of the Nile
    • The calendar was developed to determine when the Nile would flood each year


  6. Have your students look at Egyptian superstitions, and compare them to superstitions that are prevalent in our culture.


  7. Have your students look at daily life in ancient Egypt. What was it like to be a member of the royal family? To be a member of the clergy? To be a merchant? A farmer?

Activities for advanced students:

The activities suggested above can easily be used in a secondary school setting. Additionally, the following activities may be considered:

  1. For advanced classes: have your students prepare a report on the story of Osiris, Isis and Horus. compare the symbolism of the story with that of the story of the Virgin Mary (the birth of Horus) and the resurrection of Christ (the resurrection of Osiris). Identify the parallel symbolism between the two that would have made the story of Jesus recognizable to the ancient Egyptians.


  2. Have your students trace the evolution of certain practices and inventions developed by the ancient Egyptians that are still in use today. When did they first appear? How and when were they modified, and by whom?


  3. Follow the rise and fall of the Egyptian kingdoms over time. When was Egypt at its most powerful, and what factors contributed to its success? When was Egypt at its weakest, and why? Evaluate Egypt's interactions with neighboring kingdoms. What resources did Egypt have that were valuable to other kingdoms? What resources did Egypt need to get from other kingdoms? Was Egypt better or less suited than its neighbors in a geographic and military sense?


  4. Compare the hieroglyphic form of writing with the cuneiform system developed in the kingdoms of the Tigris-Euphrates valley (Assyria, Babylon). Focus on details such as: what did each character represent (a symbol, sound, idea, word, concept)? How was each character written? What kinds of things were recorded with each writing system? Which writing system was easier to use? What was the eventual fate of each system?


  5. Once you have completed the activities in this unit, finish the rest of the unit on the city of Cairo. When discussing the modern city, come back to this unit, and ask your students to discuss the following:

There is a large industry in Egypt today based around the manufacture and sale of items with an ancient Egyptian theme. Based on what you have learned about ancient Egyptian culture, and what you have learned about modern Egypt, particularly its Islamic culture, what do you think about this industry? Are the images and themes of ancient Egypt considered appropriate in modern Egypt? Are they still familiar to the modern Egyptians? What about the tourists who buy them? What are they missing out on by focusing on the culture of ancient Egypt, and not on the culture of modern Egypt?

This unit addresses the following standards:

National Standards for World History:

Era 2: Early Civilizations and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples, 4000-1000 BCE

1A: The student understands how Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley became centers of dense population, urbanization, and cultural innovation in the fourth and third millennia, BCE.

Therefore, the student is able to:

  1. Analyze how the natural environments of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile and Indus valleys shaped the early development of civilization. (5-12)
  2. Compare the forms of writing that developed in the three civilizations and how written records shaped political, legal, religious and cultural life. (5-12)

2B: The students understands how new centers of agrarian society arose in the third and second millennia BCE.

Therefore, the student is able to:

  1. Explain the development of commercial communities in such Mediterranean cities as Byblos and Ugarit and analyze the cultural significance of expanding commercial exchange among peoples of Southwest Asia, Egypt, and the Aegean Sea. (9-12)

Era 3: Classical traditions, major religions, and giant empires, 1000 BCE – 300 CE

2D: The student understands Alexander of Macedon's conquests and the interregional character of Hellenistic society and culture.

Therefore, the student is able to:

  • Assess the character of Greek impact on Southwest Asia and Egypt in the 4th and 3rd centuries and the influence of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultural traditions on one another. (9-12)

TEKS

Geography. The student understands the impact of geographic factors on major historic events.

The student is expected to:

(A) locate places and regions of historical significance such as the Indus, Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, and Yellow (Huang He) river valleys and describe their physical and human characteristics

History. The student understands major political ideas and forms of government in history.

The student is expected to:

(A) explain major political ideas in history such as natural law, natural rights, divine right of kings, and social contract theory; (here applying the concept of divine right of kings)

(B) identify the characteristics of classic forms of government such as absolute monarchy, authoritarianism, classical republic, despotism, feudalism, liberal democracy, and totalitarianism.