Egyptology Ladder · High school · Grade 9–12

Religion, Art and Architecture

The gods and their cults, creation accounts, kingship and maat, temples and festivals, the afterlife and mummification, tombs and pyramids, and the rules of Egyptian art.

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51 topics in 12 units. Builds on History of Ancient Egypt. Leads to Archaeology and Later Scripts. Not sure this is the right course? Find your rung.

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Unit 1 The Gods and Their Cults

6 topics

How Egyptians pictured their gods, where each was worshiped, and how gods were grouped and combined.

  1. Many Gods, Many Forms
  2. Recognizing the Gods
  3. Gods and Their Cities
  4. Divine Families
  5. The Osiris Myth
  6. Amun-Ra and Combined Gods

Unit 2 Creation Accounts

4 topics

The Heliopolis, Memphis and Hermopolis accounts of how the world began, and what they share.

  1. The Heliopolis Account
  2. The Memphis Account
  3. The Hermopolis Account
  4. The First Mound

Unit 3 Kingship and Maat

4 topics

Maat, the right order of the world, and the king's place between gods and people.

  1. Maat and Isfet
  2. The King Between Gods and People
  3. The King Offers to the Gods
  4. The Sed Festival

Unit 4 Temples

6 topics

Kinds of temples, their plan and meaning, the daily ritual and the priests.

  1. Cult Temples and Memorial Temples
  2. The Plan of a Temple
  3. The Temple as the World
  4. The Daily Ritual
  5. Priests
  6. Karnak and Luxor

Unit 5 Festivals

2 topics

When the gods left their temples: the Opet festival and the Beautiful Festival of the Valley.

  1. The Opet Festival
  2. The Beautiful Festival of the Valley

Unit 6 The Afterlife

6 topics

The parts of a person, the judgment, the underworld and the care of the dead.

  1. Beliefs About the Afterlife
  2. The Ka, the Ba and the Akh
  3. The Judgment of the Dead
  4. The Duat and the Sun's Night Journey
  5. The Field of Reeds
  6. Offerings for the Dead

Unit 7 Mummification

3 topics

Why and how bodies were preserved, and the coffins and masks that held them.

  1. Why Mummify?
  2. How Bodies Were Preserved
  3. Coffins, Canopic Jars and Masks

Unit 8 Funerary Texts

4 topics

From the Pyramid Texts to the Book of the Dead and the books of the underworld.

  1. The Pyramid Texts
  2. The Coffin Texts
  3. The Book of the Dead
  4. Books of the Underworld

Unit 9 Tombs and Pyramids

4 topics

From mastabas to pyramids and rock-cut tombs, and why tombs were decorated.

  1. Mastaba Tombs
  2. The Pyramid Complex
  3. Rock-Cut Tombs
  4. Why Tombs Were Decorated

Unit 10 The Rules of Egyptian Art

5 topics

Composite views, the grid of proportions, size by importance, colors and registers.

  1. Composite Views
  2. The Grid and the Canon of Proportions
  3. Size Shows Importance
  4. Colors and Their Meanings
  5. Registers and Ground Lines

Unit 11 Sculpture, Relief and Painting

4 topics

Kinds of statues, raised and sunk relief, painting methods, and the art of the Amarna age.

  1. Kinds of Statues
  2. Raised and Sunk Relief
  3. Painting and Pigments
  4. The Art of the Amarna Age

Unit 12 Everyday Religion

3 topics

Household gods, amulets, oracles and letters to the dead.

  1. Household Gods
  2. Amulets
  3. Oracles and Letters to the Dead
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