Ancient Egypt

Tabula_Rasa:

So for school, in year twelve, we did a topic on the new kingdom era of Egypt. I thought it was absolutely fascinating, because I'm a huge ancient history buff, and I thought it would be interesting to discuss everyone's views on the pharaohs of that time.

I read these two books, Nefertiti and the Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (they're fantabulous, check them out), and they gave me some insight into the personalities of these pharaohs and their queens. I mean, it's not all exact but it's awesome to just imagine what everything was like then.

I had always wondered about Akhenaten and what possessed him to change an entire kingdom's religion and force everyone to worship just one god. In the books I read he was displayed as petulant and kind of like a sulky child. I thought it was really interesting, because I imagined him to be really proud and mighty. I never thought him to be a coward, the way Michelle Moran portrayed him in her book 'Nefertiti'

And then in the sequel 'The Heretic Queen' Ramesses II is shown as such a nice guy! I expected him to be really proud and commanding. He's a huge icon in Egyptian History, and I had always seen him as something as a god. To see him as a human being really makes you think...

Anyway, I just have always been fascinated by this period of time!!

I myself like Ancient Egypt, too. I think it's fascinating, and very inspiring. My favorite Egyptian queen is Cleopatra. She is a mystery we all wish we could solve at some point or another.

As an Egyptian, I've gotta say, their history is fascinating. I too love Cleopatra; if I have a girl, I'm naming her Selene, after Cleopatra's daughter. If it's a son, probably Alexander, after her son and Alexander the Great, because I'm a hint of Greek on my mom's side.

I just love learning about their history, it's a mystery, truly.

Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite ancient civilizations, if not my number one favorite. When I first learned about it in elementary school, I wanted to know more. By fourth grade, I had read all the school's library's books about Ancient Egypt, and was (surprisingly) undisturbed by reading about the mummification process. I've always been fascinated by Tutankhamun the most, maybe it's because of the mystery surrounding his death and all the theories.

My religion professor pointed something out to me that I found really interesting in class last week, that I'd never considered before. Egypt's ideas about the after life were so unique in the ancient near east, because they, for the most part, they thought the after life was a good thing. That wasn't really the case in Mesopotamia or the Israel/ Palestine area. We read something by one scholar who drew a correlation between the regular and useful flooding of the Nile, compared to the destructive and irregular flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates, and the limits of the Jordan river. The Egyptians just had a more positive outlook on life in general because they had relatively less chaos to handle.

Ancient Egypt <3

Not much to comment on, that hasn't already been said, by all you lovely people.

The thing that kills me the most about talking about Ancient Egypt is how people believe they were Arabs.

ayanasioux:

The thing that kills me the most about talking about Ancient Egypt is how people believe they were Arabs.

They were Egyptians.

^ Thank you! You're one of the only ones who say so.

I find myself particularly interested in Tutankhamen & Cleopatra. I used to be an Egypt-fanatic, specifically Tutankhamen and the hieroglyphs. A truly amazing ancient race.

My best best friend is so in love with Egypt (and all things to do with it) that her major is archaeology.

I find anything Ancient fascinating, but I've always loved Ancient Egypt from afar. I had to do a report on Cleopatra in sixth grade and I think that's where I really fell in love. Everything was so extravagant, and their ideals were so logical. I was enchanted by the way they found the afterlife, and especially the notions that when they moved on into the afterlife they had their most prized possessions with them.

I remember when I was really young I was obsessed with Egyptian history, the pyramids and all that but as the years have gone by I have drifted away from it. I still very much adore ancient Egypt and all the tales that surround it and I'd like to get into it again if I have the chance.

This year, I'm taking AP Art History and while we were in the Egypt unit, we learned about Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh! Apparently she was a really good ruler. Sadly her name was removed from history. Historians think her stepson Thutmose III may have done it, but her name wasn't erased until the end of his reign.