hoa note 3

• Egypt consists of a sandy desert with a strip of fertile country on the banks of Nile
• Egypt was the only nation of the ancient world which had once easy access to Northern or Mediterranean Sea, as well as to the Eastern, or Arabian Sea, or by the way of the Red Sea
• Materials abundant in Egypt

  • Stone - limestone, sandstone, alabaster, granite, quartzite, basalt porphyry
  • Sundried Bricks - clay & chopped stone
  • Date Palm - for roofing materials
  • Acacia - for boat
  • Sycamore - mummy cases
• Egyptian climate


  • Equitable and of warm temperature, snow and frost being wholly unknown, while storm, fog and even rain are rare, which accounts to a large extent for the good preservation of the temples
  • Structure has no downspout, drainage, and gutters due to absence of rain
• Egyptian gods and goddesses

  • Amun-Ra - chief god
  • Rah - symbol of the sun, hope for eternal life
  • Atum - world creator
  • Osiris - god of the dead
  • Isis - wife of Osiris
  • Horus - sky god, also reincarnation of "Ra" himself
  • Set - dread god of evil, brother of pleasure
  • Anubis - jackal headed god of death
  • Ptah - god of craftsmen
  • Serapis - bull god
• Pyramids


  • Built because they believe in life after death & for the preservation of the dead body
  • Priesthood was powerful, possessed of almost unlimited authority and equipped with all the learning of the age
  • Religious rites were traditional, unchangeable and mysterious
  • They are monotheistic in theory & polytheistic in practice
  • Herodotus mentions that they looked upon the dwelling house as a mere temporary lodging, the tomb being the permanent abode
• Old Kingdom (1st to 10th Dynasty)

  1. Capital being at Memphis

  2. Development of two types of tombs: Mastaba and Pyramid

  
• Mastaba


  Flat top or tapered (around 75 degrees slope) solid temple. Tomb-houses that were made to take the body at full length

  
• Pyramid


  Royal tombs of the kings, built by the kings as their future tomb to secure immortality by the preservation of the mummy
• Important Personalities in Old Kingdom

  • Djoser - first pharaoh to order the construction of a pyramid (Step Pyramid)
  • Imhotep - Djoser's vizier, considered by some to be the earliest known architect
  • Sneferu - constructed the Bent Pyramid
  • Khufu - Sneferu's son, the pharaoh who built the Three Great Pyramids of Gizeh
• Middle Kingdom (11th-16th Dynasty)

  1. A prosperous period in which much building was carried out

  2. Hyksos Dynasty - shepherd kings
• Important Personalities in Middle Kingdom

  • Mentuhotep II - founder of the Middle Kingdom, developed the 3rd type of tomb rock–cut tomb
  • Senuseret - erected the earliest known obelisk
  • Amenemhet I - initiated the foundation of Great Temple of Ammon Kharnak, grandest of all temples

  
• New Kingdom (17th – 20th Dynasty)


  Thebes as the capital, many imposing building were erected at Karnak, Luxor and elsewhere
• Important Personalities in New Kingdom

  • Thuthmose I - began the additions to the Temple of Ammon, Kharnak
  • Hatshepsut - queen of Egypt, famous for her funerary temple at Mount Der-El-Bahari
  • Thuthmose IV - the one responsible for the cleaning away of sand from the Sphinx
  • Amenophis III - erected the Colossi of Memnon, one of the wonders of the world
  • Rameses I - began the construction of the Great Hypostyle Hall, at Kharnak
  • Rameses II - finished the construction of the Hypostyle Hall, & erection of the Rock Temple at Abu-Simbel, and the Remission, Thebes

  
• Important Personalities in Ptolemaic Period

  • Ptolemy II - built the Pharaohs or the Light House
  • Ptolemy III - founded the Greatest Serapeum at Alexandria
• Monarchy


  Form of government in ancient Egypt
• Social ranks in ancient Egypt

  • Pharaoh - King of Egypt, ruler, highest priest
  • Son of Pharaoh - normal successor to the throne
  • Vizier - King's most powerful official
  • Chancellor - controls the royal treasuries, granaries, & supervises the census
  • Chief Steward - in charge of the King's personal estate & household
  • Noble Families - royal throne with his family
  • Soldiers, Viziers, Chancellors, Chief Stewards - next to leaders
  • Fishermen, Craftsmen, Merchants, etc. - ordinary Egyptians
  • Slaves - lowest form
• Architectural character of ancient Egyptian architecture

  • Simplicity
  • Monumentality
  • Solidity / Massiveness

  
• Systems of construction


  • Post & Lintel
  • Columnar Or Trabeated
• Battered Wall


  Inclination from base to top of the façade
• Hieroglyphics


  Formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements
• Rock Cut Tomb


  Burial chamber that is cut into the living rock usually along the side of a hill, common form of burial for the wealthy
• Temples


  Sanctuaries that only Kings and Priests can penetrate, of two types: Mortuary (built in honor of the pharaohs) and Cult (built for the worship of the gods)
• Pylon

  An Egyptian gateway, played a critical role in the symbolic architecture of a cult building that was associated with the place of recreation and rebirth
• Parts of an Egyptian temple

  • Entrance Pylon - massive sloping towers fronted by an obelisks
  • Hypaethral Court - large outer court open to the sky
  • Hypostyle Hall - a pillared hall in which the roofs rest on column
  • Sanctuary - usually surrounded by passages and chambers used in connection with the temple service
  • Avenue of Sphinx - where mystical monsters were placed

  
• Examples of Egyptian temples

  • Great Temple of Abu-Simbel
  • Great Temple of Ammon Karnak
  • Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Mt. Der–El-Bahari
• Obelisk


  Monumental pillars usually in pairs at the temple entrances, considered the symbol of "Heliopolis" the sun god
• Sphinx


  Egyptian sphinx portrayed as a female, symbolized Isis and/or the reigning queen. Types: Androsphinx (body of a lion and head of a man), Heirocosphinx (body of a lion & head of a hawk), Criosphinx (body lion & head of a ram)

  
• Gorge and Hollow Moulding

  The torus mold in Egyptian temples were used to cover the angles
• Egyptian capitals and columns


  • Various types of capitals and columns used in Egyptian architecture

  
• Important Parts of Mastaba - Outer Chamber - where offerings were placed. Its walls are decorated with representations of festal and other scenes. - Inner Secret Chambers/Serdab – inner chamber containing the statues of the deceased member of the family - Shaft/Well – leading to the chamber containing the sarcophagus of the mummy - Sarcophagus – chamber containing the coffin reached by an under ground shaft. - Stele- is the upright stone slab containing the name of the dead found in the mastaba
• Parts Of Pyramid Complex

  • Elevated Causeway
  • Offering Chapel
  • Mortuary
  • Valley Building
• Cult

  built for the worship of the gods, only high priest can enter in both types of temple
• Mortuary

  built in honor of the pharaohs
• Entrance Pylon

  massive sloping towers fronted by an obelisks
• Hypaethral Court

  large outer court open to the sky
• Sanctuary – usually surrounded by passages and chambers used in connection with the temple service.
• Hypostyle Hall - a pillared hall in which the roofs rest on column.
• TWO TYPES OF TEMPLES Temples - they were sanctuaries that only Kings and Priests can penetrate Pylons – An Egyptian gateway. It played a critical role in the symbolic architecture of a cult building that was associated with the place of recreation and rebirth. Pylons were often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a cult building
• Avenue of Sphinx – where mystical monster were placed