Calliope articles from September 2007

Calliope archives from September 2007

5 'kingly' facts from Egypt.(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... 1. The crook a pharaoh held in his right hand represented him and his responsibility to protect and guard his people. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] 2. The hedjet crown was tall and white. It represented Upper Egypt. 3. The deshret crown...

The throne beckons.(MUSINGS)
September 1, 2007... BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE, APPEARING IN THE HORIZON OF HEAVEN, YOU LIVING ATEN, THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE. --"Great Hymn to the Aten," believed to have been written by Akhenaten Know what the word "heretic" means? --A person who promotes a...

Enter the new kingdom.(Amenhotep IV)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Amenhotep IV belonged to the 18th Dynasty of Egyptian rulers and reigned during what is now known as the New Kingdom. Dynasties were divisions that the ancient Egyptians themselves used in their official histories....

Tool time.(ACTIVITY)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Archaelogists work with all sorts of tools. Using your brain and hands as tools, excavate the words in the grid below. All words will be in a straight line, forward, backward, and diagonally. After you're done, read...

Tooling around.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Use your most portable tool--your brain--to work out the code below. If you decode the letters below successfully, you'll answer this riddle: Why did the boy take a ruler to bed with him? TO FIND OUT -- [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] ...

A new direction.(Akhenaten's reign )
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Akhenaten's reign brought about dramatic changes to all aspects of Egyptian life. Akhenaten is known as the world's first monotheist--believer in one god. When he called for worshipping the Aten--the light in the sun...

A move to the east bank.
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Akhenaten became king of Egypt, he had a palace at Thebes. There, Amen-Re (known also as Amun), the most important of all the gods, was worshipped. However, early in his reign, Akhenaten began to build temples...

The search for Nefertiti.(Queen Nefertiti )
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Queen Nefertiti is known as one of the most beautiful and influential women in the ancient world. But who exactly was she? And where was she buried? Egyptologists are not quite sure. Akhenaten married Nefertiti...

Whose head?(Nefertiti )(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On December 6, 1912, a German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt was busy excavating the ruined workshop of the Amarna sculptor Thutmose. Thutmose had abandoned his workshop when the court moved to Thebes....

The Amarna princesses.(Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Akhenaten and Nefertiti had six daughters within the first 10 years of their marriage. The elder three were born at Thebes, and the younger three after the move to Amarna. Four of the princesses died young and were...

Who's your mummy?(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... An archaeologist needs a sharp eye for detail. The 10 mummies below may all look the same, but only two are identical. Wrap this up quickly or you'll be stricken with the mummy's curse! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer The identical...

One-way wildness.(ACTIVITY)(Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten )(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten wants to attend the chariot races in Karnak. But first he has to get through his busy royal city of Akhetaten, where the streets are all one-way. Following the red arrows, help the far-out pharaoh find his way out...

Akhenaten's Art.
September 1, 2007... By the time Amenhotep IV came to the throne, Egyptian artists had been following the same design guidelines for more than 1,500 years. These unwritten rules were complex, and the art produced was conceptual, not perceptual. That is, artists...

Why?(discovery of Akhenaten's tomb )(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Europeans first discovered statues of Akhenaten in the 1800s, some thought this king was a woman disguised as a man. In the years that followed, some people suggested that he was a man who wished he were a...

A reversal.(Akhenaten's death )
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The years following Akhenaten's death were a time of confusion. According to the latest record of his name, he died in the 17th year of his reign--around 1334 B.C. The reason for his death is uncertain, but it could...

Ankh search.(ACTIVITY)(symbols)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The symbol below is an ankh. In Egyptian. ankh means "life." Some people live to eat and King Tut certainly ate well in his short life. Can you find all the food words in the grid below? The words are in straight lines up, down, backward,...

Let the workers speak.(Amarna )
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the most unusual discoveries at Amarna was a village constructed exclusively for the artisans and builders who carved and decorated the tombs for the king and his court. Perched on a rocky outcrop to the east...

Crown.(WORD ORIGINS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... A simple word and one that is used in many ways. Among its definitions are: a garland or wreath worn on the head as a sign of victory; a headdress, often of gold and jewels, worn by a ruling monarch; the top part of the skull or head; a unit of...

River.(WORD STORIES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Here's another commonly used word to whose origin we rarely give a thought. Most every language has a word for a natural stream of water that is larger than a creek and that empties into an ocean, a lake, or another river. How, then, did this...

What's in a name?(FUN WITH WORDS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Ever wonder about the name "Egypt"? The "word bits" below are sure to answer your questions: * The ancient Egyptians called their land Kmt, most likely pronounced "kernel." Remember, the ancient Egyptians did not use vowels. Kmt translates...

Add "Egyptian" to your vocabulary!(FUN WITH WORDS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Looking for a colorful way to improve and broaden your vocabulary. Try using these Egyptian words: NOTE: We have spelled the Egyptian words using our alphabet. EGYPTIAN WORD ENGLISH TRANSLATION Imentet "the west," which,...

The Amarna letters: write on!
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IMAGINE you are living in ancient Egypt more than 3,400 years ago. Now imagine that you need to get a message to a relative who lives several hundred miles away, across the barren desert, in faraway Mesopotamia...

Digging for answers.(Akhenaten's death)
September 1, 2007... After Akhenaten died, his successor, Tutankhamun, abandoned the worship of the Aten and moved the religious capital back to Thebes where Amun reigned supreme. He and his court left behind a frozen snapshot of time, a city that had been lived in...

Who's buried in KV 55?
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1907, a rich American named Theodore Davis and an English archaeologist named Edward Ayrton found the entrance to a new tomb, KV 55, in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. The tomb's entrance was still partly...

Ask Calliope.
September 1, 2007... [?] Why can't they decipher the Meroitic language?--Sean, Web post [!] Meroitic is one of three ancient languages that are still not deciphered. (The other two are Etruscan, from northern ancient Italy, and Minoan, from Crete.) The reason...

Akhenaten: The Heretic King.(BOOKS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Akhenaten: The Heretic King by Donald B. Redford (Princeton University Press, 1987, pup.princeton.edu) offers a fascinating read about the life and times of this 18th Dynasty ruler who revamped religious practices in...

The Amarna Letters.(BOOKS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Amarna Letters by William Moran (John Hopkins University Press, 2000, www.press.jhu.edu) offers excellent translations of these letters written more than 3,000 years ago.

Ancient Egypt.(BOOKS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... Ancient Egypt by Simon Adams (Kingfisher, 2006, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com) uses maps, accurate illustrations (with labels), and photos as it takes readers on a tour of the ancient lands. Included are a great time line and useful glossary....

Ancient Egypt: Make It Work!(OFF THE SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ancient Egypt: Make It Work! by Andrew Haslam (World Book, 1997, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com) uses detailed and well-labeled reconstructions of a variety of artifacts and landscapes to explain life at the time. Also...

On the net.(websites about Akhenaten)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Here's a good, detailed site about Akhenaten: www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/ akhenaten_01.shtml This site will take you to the Amarna Research Foundation and its many informative links: www.museum-tours.com/amarna/ Go onsite...

Akhenaten's: legacy in the arts.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
September 1, 2007... The world of the "heretic king" Akhenaten, his beautiful wife Nefertiti, and his religious revolution have captured the imagination of many people. The temptation to try to fill in the blanks of what we know about Akhenaten's time and reign has...

Then and now.(egypt)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S CHANGED? The recording of the scene, the time period, and the purpose of the trip. Above is a stone relief on the funeral monument at Deir el-Bahri. Hatshepsut, who ruled as pharaoh around 1490 B.C., ordered...