Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Crime and Punishment

During the time of Pharaohs, Egypt punished criminals by means of torture. Below are examples in hieroglyphics that represent these torturing methods.

Ancient Pharoahs

In Egypt's previous history, their political system revolved around a single person, the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was believed to be a god and was granted complete control over his people. Any country who to the Pharaoh in a battle was forced to recognize the Egyptian Pharaoh as their ruler ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land.



President Morsi's Uproar

Egypt's current president, Mohammed Morsi, is Egypt's first democratic president. He is also the fifth person to be elected as Egypt's president. However, many people are unhappy with his position in office. The cartoon above depicts the rule of Morsi. Many Egyptians and other countries are suggesting Morsi is demanding more than he is willing to do for his people.


Egyptian Political Parties

In the image above, there is a chart which labels all the following parties in Egypt's government. 


Electing Presidents

Egypt is based off a republicanism with a semi-presidential system. Egypt no longer is ruled by Pharaohs but by president.The image above depicts how the process of electing their presidents work. Egypt has had five presidents of whom is currently Mohammed Morsi.


Mohammad Morsi's Speech


Americans are also unhappy with President Morsi. Our country has loaned him millions while he wants to advocate the freedom of speech of his people.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Canopic Jars

During the mummification process, human organs were removed from the body and put into jars.  The jars were buried in the ground with the body as symbol to protect the persons internal organs.  Egyptians took out a persons liver, stomach, intestine, and lungs to slow down the bodies decomposing process.  Each organ had their own separate jar and a specific head to a god head on the top of it.  Although many organs were taken out of the body, the heart was one of the few organs kept.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Ancient Egyptian Art



The ancient Egyptians excelled in various forms of arts, which include pottery-making, paintings, and sculptures. Egyptian artists typically had no restrictions on where they created these forms of art. As a result researchers have discovered various ancient paintings on temple walls, pyramids, tombs, scrolls, and pottery. These forms of art gave great insight into the culture of this society. The paintings depict stories of their vibrant culture and life. Through these works of art ancient Egyptian dress, cuisine, and occupations were identified. In addition, art allowed us to see their religious beliefs as well as some myths. It is important to note that one of the most impressive forms of art developed by Egyptians was their system of  hieroglyphs. This system soon became their writing system, in which pictures and symbols represent various sounds and words. This system itself is made up of more than 700 symbols.





Tuesday, December 4, 2012

What Is next Morsi?


After a long week of political maneuvering in Egypt, President Morsi conceded that he overstepped his authority in making a decree limiting the powers of judges in Egypt.  He was faced with widespread protests in the streets and criticism by other democratic governments, including the U.S.  Today, the New York Times is reporting that Morsi is pushing for plans to have a referendum on the new national constitution by December 15 and asking for a national dialogue.
However, his actions do not seem to be as democratic as this might sound.  He is perceived by Egyptians to be furthering the agenda of his party and his Islamist allies, rather than listening to the more secular population.  People are taking to the streets to voice their positions.  Egypt continues to be at the very center if developing a new democracy.  The world is watching.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Major Cults of Egypt

The cults of Ra and Osiris were the
most important forms of Egyptian worship.



Osiris's myth displayed the ideals of family devotion and how important it is to community.  Along with family devotion, Osiris was connected with the Nile River, the grain of the Earth, the moon, and sun.  Osiris was the protector of all people, whether they were poor or rich and was known as king and judge of the dead.  When murdered by his brother, Set, he became a symbol of eternal persistence of life.  




Ra's cult was one of the most important in Ancient Egypt.  He was thought of as a living power whose everyday sequence of birth, journey, and death was an essential theme of life.  The pyramid was Ra's main emblem and became the main design of monumental tombs for Egyptian Pharaohs.  Ancient rumors have linked him to be a direct ancestor of past kings.  Some hymns have even called him a dead king.