Calliope articles from September 2001

Calliope archives from September 2001

Time Line.(chronology of ancient rulers in Egypt)
September 1, 2001... Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, from about 2686 to about 2181 B.C., includes the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Dynasties of rulers. NOTE: Today, Egyptologists still consult the chronological list of Egypt's kings compiled by an Egyptian...

THE WORLD OF EGYPT'S OLD KINGDOM.(geography of Upper and Lower Egypt)
September 1, 2001... Ancient Egypt is actually two lands: the broad Nile Delta (Lower Egypt) and the long Nile Valley (Upper Egypt). Ninety-six percent of Egypt is desert, only five percent is fertile land. The Nile River flows from the mountains of Ethiopia that...

RELIGION AND THE AFTERLIFE.(in ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... Excavations of Egyptian burial sites predating the oldest recovered written documents have revealed much about early Egyptian beliefs. The burial customs practiced at these sites indicate a widespread belief in an afterlife that closely...

GLOSSARY OF GODS.(gods in ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... During the Old Kingdom, the Egyptian pantheon (all the gods of a people) included several important gods. Anubis, the jackal-headed guardian of the cemetery, was associated with embalming. Hathor, a sky goddess, was represented as a...

QUEENS OF THE OLD KINGDOM.(ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... BECAUSE EGYPT'S KING WAS REGARDED AS THE EARTHLY FORM OF THE SKY-GOD HORUS, THE kingship was traditionally male role. However, the mother of the reigning king was seen as divine herself. As a result, royal marriages in the Old Kingdom were kept...

A QUEEN'S BRACELETS.(jewelry found in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres; how to make an imitation bracelet)
September 1, 2001... Semiprecious stones such as carnelian, jasper, and amethyst were found in the desert of the Old Kingdom. Along with imported lapis lazuli and turquoise, these gems were used to make beads and embellish jewelry of gold, silver, and electrum. ...

BUILDING A PYRAMID.(how the ancient Egyptians built pyramids)
September 1, 2001... The pyramids are basically giant tombs that were built to house the mummified body of the dead pharaoh. The Great Pyramid, the only one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" to survive to this day, was built by King Khufu. It is nearly a...

GETTING AROUND IN THE OLD KINGDOM.(transportation in ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... The Nile River was the Interstate 80 of ancient Egypt. Traffic of all kinds went by the Nile. Kings on tours of inspection and officials on royal errands traveled by ship. Both kings and noblemen dispatched cargo boats to collect agricultural...

Fund With Words.(English words that come from ancient Egyptian)
September 1, 2001... WORD ORIGINS Oasis By definition, an oasis is a fertile (rich in soil) place in a desert. The ancient Greeks recognized this and used the word to mean just that. Etymologists (people who study words) believe that "oasis" traces its...

The Egyptians at Play.(recreation in Ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... NOBLES AND OFFICIALS WHO COULD AFFORD THE LEISURE TIME SPEARED FISH AND HUNTED WILD FOWL in the marshes. These were rather challenging tasks, since they involved standing up in a papyrus canoe while thrusting with a two-pronged fish spear or...

FAMILY VALUES AND SOCIETY.(in Ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... In family groups depicted on tomb walls or in statuary, wives have an arm around their husband's waists or shoulders and children cling to their parent's legs or their father's staff. Clearly, there was great affection between the generations....

Up Close and Personal.
September 1, 2001... Egypt is located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe. From the Near East came Semitic peoples, from the area to the west of the Nile Valley (modern Libya), Caucasian peoples, and from the south, African peoples. Thus, in its own way,...

MUD BRICK HOUSES.(in Ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... DUE TO THE EFFECTS OF TIME, THE NATURE OF THE BUILDING MATERIALS, AND THE LOCATION of Old Kingdom houses close to the Nile River, few traces of these houses remain. Above is the floor plan of a house from Giza. The family quarters (orange) and...

TAKE A SEAT IN ANCIENT EGYPT.(chairs from Ancient Egpyt)
September 1, 2001... A wall painting in Hesyre's tomb depicts a variety of chairs. When necessary, the Egyptian artist could depict a single object from different points of view in the same drawing. In the middle illustration above, the lower part of a bull's-leg...

MEAL TIME.(social customs of ancient Egyptians)
September 1, 2001... The Egyptians did not sit at dining tables the way we do. Rather, they ate from individual flat-topped circular tables with low tubular supports of stone or wood. The custom was for diners to sit on mats on the floor with their tables before...

A Good Night's Sleep.(discoveries about ancient tombs of Egypt)
September 1, 2001... A wall painting in the tomb of the chief physician and dentist Hesyre at Saqqara provides us with a glimpse of the contents of a well-to-do Old Kingdom household. The variety and sophistication of the bedroom furnishings are impressive. They...

A HIGH SCORE IN PERSONAL HYGIENE.(in Ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... THE NILE PROVIDED A READY BATH FOR THOSE WHO LACKED A SHOWER STALL AT HOME. FACIAL HAIR WAS LIMITED TO A TRIM moustache or a short chin beard. Only field hands (and men as a sign of mourning) wore fuller beards. Men, at least, appear to have...

THE SWEET SOUND OF THE SISTRUM.(musical instrument in Ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... IN ANCIENT EGYPT, SINGING, DANCING, AND MUSIC WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE GODDESS HATHOR. Priestesses in the Old Kingdom used a rattlelike instrument known as a sistrum in rituals and ceremonies honoring Hathor. The sistrum was made of wood or...

CALLIOPE's World.(Poem)
September 1, 2001... THE TROJAN WAR Here Aeneas tells the tale. In these few lines he will unveil, The Greeks were ready for a war. For the Trojans, death was in store. They fought for a very long time. The Greeks committed many a...

BOOKS.(about Ancient Egypt)(Bibliography)
September 1, 2001... The Complete Pyramids by Mark Lehner (Thames and Hudson, 1997) is an outstanding resource, its text complemented by clear, detailed diagrams, illustrations, and photos. Egyptian Mummies: A Pop-Up Book by Milbry Polk (Intervisual, 1997)...

RESOURCES.(books about ancient Egypt)(Bibliography)
September 1, 2001... Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide by Marian Broida (Chicago Review Press, 1999) accompanies directions for historically related, fun-filled activities with informative introductions and sidebars. Also included in this...

COBBLESTONE RESOURCES.(ancient Egypt)
September 1, 2001... Materials that complement this issue's theme, "Egypt's Old Kingdom," and are available from Cobblestone Publishing include: CALLIOPE Nubia (November/December 1996) Pharaohs of Egypt (September/October 1994) Queens of Egypt...

On the Net.(Web sites on Pyramids of Giza)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... For more information about the Giza plateau and the Great Pyramid, chekc out: www.guardians.net/egypt/giza1.htm www.-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/COMP/GIZ/MODEL/Giza_Model.html For information bout the Old Kingdom, hit on:...

The CAIRO-BROWN EXPEDITION.(expedition to pyramids of Giza)
September 1, 2001... FROM 1960 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1976, THE RENOWNED archaeologist Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abu Bakr excavated at Giza in the far northwest corner of the great Western Field of mastaba-tombs on behalf of Cairo University. Beginning in March 2000 and...

WORKING ON SITE AT GIZA.(Pyramids of Giza)
September 1, 2001... The large hieroglyphic signs on the wall behind expedition member Nghiem Thai inside the serdab of Persen name the architect and his wife. No trace was found of their statues that originally stood here. OUR GROUP ARRIVED IN CAIRO ON A WARM...

THE GIZA ARCHIVES PROJECT.(Pyramids of Giza information at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
September 1, 2001... In June 2000, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, received a $750,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to provide integrated, online access to its archives documenting its excavations at the pyramids of Giza, one of the world's...