Ancient Egypt, one of history"s first civilizations arose around the Nile River about 5,000 years ago. It lasted for over 2,000 years.
The Nile River was the centre of Ancient Egypt. The annual floods brought rich black soil to the banks of the Nile River and made it possible for farmers to grow crops. The river was also Egypt"s main transportation route.
The ancient Egyptians discovered many things. They invented the first kind of paper from the papyrus plant and were the first people to write in pictures, called hieroglyphs. But they became most famous for building stone structures, called pyramids, in which they buried their pharaohs. They still exist because the dry climate has preserved them for almost 5,000 years.
The people of ancient Egypt
The Egyptian population lived on both sides of the Nile valley and in the delta region. The ancient Egyptians had dark skin and dark hair. Most of them belonged to one of the three main classes. The upper class consisted of the pharaoh and his family, rich landowners, priests and doctors. Traders, merchants and craftsmen belonged to the middle class. Unskilled workers belonged to the lower class and worked on the fields of farms. Slaves were prisoners that the Egyptians took when they conquered foreign countries.
Daily life
Almost no other ancient culture gave women as many rights as Ancient Egypt. They could buy and sell land and goods, and even divorce their husbands. Still, the head of the family was the father. When he died his eldest son became its head.
Most Egyptians couldn"t read or write. Only a few upper class boys and girls went to special schools where they were taught to become scribes. Such scribes wrote official government documents.
Most boys became farmers and craftsmen. They followed their fathers and took on the same jobs. Girls were trained to become mothers and to give birth to children. They learned household chores from their mothers.
Bread made from wheat was the main source of food in Ancient Egypt. Richer families also had vegetables, fish and meat to eat. Middle and lower class people drank beer, the upper classes drank wine. Food was prepared on clay stoves.
Almost all Egyptians wore white clothes. Men wore skirts or robes and women wore skirts or dresses with shoulder straps. While most people went barefoot, richer people wore sandals on their feet. Women were very fond of wearing makeup. They painted their fingernails and put red powder on their lips. They also dyed their hair in many colours. Men and women liked wearing rings and other jewellery.
Egyptian houses were made of dried mud and had flat roofs. Poor people lived in simple huts while the richer people in the cities lived in buildings that had up to three floors. The houses had small windows to keep out the sun and help the house stay cool.
Ancient Egyptians did many different things in their free time. They liked to go swimming and fishing in the Nile River. Hunting crocodiles, lions and other wild animals were popular sports among ancient Egyptians.
Religion
The ancient Egyptians believed in several gods and goddesses. The most important god was the sun god Re (or Ra). People prayed to him for good harvests. The most famous goddess was Isis, who was seen as the ideal mother and wife. Her husband Osiris was the ruler of the dead.
Most Egyptians prayed at home. The gods and goddesses lived in great temples. One of the most famous is in Karnak. It consists of over 130 columns that are 25 meters high.
The Egyptians believed in life after death. They preserved people in mummies, so that their bodies would not decay. These mummies were then put into tombs or graves. Clothing, food and other items of their daily life were also put into the grave because the dead person might need them in their afterlife. Pictures of daily life were painted on the walls of such graves.
Work
Most ancient Egyptians were farmers. In a country that had almost no rainfall, Egyptian farmers depended on the Nile River. They built canals to bring water from the Nile River as far into their land as possible. They also prayed that the yearly floods would make their land fertile. The main crops were wheat and barley; some farmers produced dates, grapes and other fruits and vegetables.
Craftsmen had small shops and were very popular in Egypt. They made textiles, jewellery, bricks, pots and furniture. Building materials were limestone and sandstone that came from mines.
Travelling by boat on the Nile River was the main form of getting around. Early boats were made out of papyrus and moved by sticking poles into the water. Later on the Egyptians built sailing boats. On land people travelled with donkeys that could also carry food and other things.
Traders sailed to other neighbouring countries to get goods that they could not obtain in Egypt. They brought gold, ivory, skins, cattle and spices from Nubia, silver and wood from Syria and other areas of south-western Asia.
Architecture
Egypt"s pyramids are among the oldest buildings in the world. About 90 of them still stand on the Nile River. The three large pyramids at Giza belong to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Great Pyramid is about 140 metres high and was built with over 2 million blocks of limestone. Next to it is the Great Sphinx, a masterpiece of Egyptian sculptors. It is a stone statue with the head of a person and the body of a lion.
More meanings of this word and English-Russian, Russian-English translations for the word «ЕГИПЕТСКИЕ ПИРАМИДЫ» in dictionaries.
- ПИРАМИДЫ — Pyramids
- ПИРАМИДЫ — Pyramids
Russian Learner"s Dictionary - ЕГИПЕТСКИЕ — Egyptian
Russian Learner"s Dictionary - PYRAMID — 1. сущ. 1) а) пирамида б) предмет или некоторое образование, напоминающее по форме пирамиду 2) пирамидальное дерево 3) мн. пирамида, …
- ЕГИПЕТСКИЕ ИЕРОГЛИФЫ — Egyptian hieroglyph
Русско-Американский Английский словарь - ЕГИПЕТСКИЕ ДРОБИ — Egyptian fraction
Русско-Американский Английский словарь - PYRAMID — pyramid.ogg 1. ʹpırəmıd n 1. 1> пирамида the Pyramids - египетские пирамиды 2> что-л. имеющее форму пирамиды 2. мат. пирамида …
- PYRAMID — 1. [ʹpırəmıd] n 1. 1) пирамида the Pyramids - египетские пирамиды 2) что-л. имеющее форму пирамиды 2. мат. пирамида 3. …
- SOLERA — исп. система "солера" (испанский метод выдержки крепленых вин ("Херес", "Марсала"): дубовые бочки, на 5/6 заполненные вином складывают друг на друга в …
Англо-Русский толковый словарь - VERTEX OF PYRAMID — вершина пирамиды
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - TIME — 1. сущ. 1) а) время in/on one"s own time ≈ в свободное время on time амер. ≈ точно, вовремя make …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - SYMBOLIZE — гл. 1) символизировать 2) изображать символически Syn: mean символизировать изображать символически - the five elements *d by a sphere, …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMIDS — Пирамиды
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMIDICAL
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMIDIC — пирамидальный, имеющий форму пирамиды (анатомия) пирамидальный - * tract пирамидальный путь (разговорное) колоссальный, огромный - * ignorance вопиющее невежество - …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMIDAL — прил. 1) пирамидальный pyramidal cypress ≈ пирамидальный кипарис 2) анат. пирамидный pyramidal tract ≈ пирамидный путь 3) огромный, колоссальный (журнализм) …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - PETROSAL — анат. верхний край пирамиды височной кости (анатомия) верхний край пирамиды височной кости (анатомия) относящийся к каменистой части височной кости
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - MUMMY — I 1. сущ. 1) а) прям. и перен. мумия The old theological dogmas had become mere mummies. ≈ Старые богословские …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN — 1. прил. египетский Egyptian clover ≈ клевер египетский Egyptian cotton а) бот. хлопчатник египетский б) египетский хлопок Egyptian pound ≈ …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - DIAMOND PYRAMID HARDNESS MACHINE — прибор Виккерса (для определения твердости вдавливанием алмазной пирамиды)
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - BATTEN — I 1. сущ. 1) половая доска 2) дранка Syn: lath, shingle 3) деревянная рейка, металлическая рейка a good firm …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь - HIEROGLYPHIC — Египетские иероглифы
- HIEROGLIPHIC — Египетские иероглифы
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - HIEROGLIPH — Египетские иероглифы
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMIDS OF GIZA — Египетские пирамиды
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - GIZA PYRAMID COMPLEX — Египетские пирамиды
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS — Египетские пирамиды
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHS — Египетские иероглифы
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH — Египетские иероглифы
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - EGYPTIAN FRACTION — Египетские дроби
Американский Англо-Русский словарь - MUMMY — _I 1. ʹmʌmı n 1. мумия 2. мягкая бесформенная масса to beat smth. to a mummy - превратить что-л. в …
Англо-Русско-Английский словарь общей лексики - Сборник из лучших словарей - EGYPTIAN — 1. ıʹdʒıpʃ(ə)n n 1. египтянин; египтянка the Egyptians - собир. египтяне 2. древнеегипетский язык (хамитский) 3. амер. шутл. …
Англо-Русско-Английский словарь общей лексики - Сборник из лучших словарей - VERSED — versed прил.опытный, сведущий (in - в чем-л.) I am not much versed in Egyptian hieroglyphics. — Я не очень …
Англо-Русский словарь Tiger - SPHINX — сущ.; мн. ч. sphinxes, sphinges1) сфинкс (каменное изваяние лежащего льва с человеческой головой) Egyptian Sphinges — египетские сфинксы 2) (Sphinx) …
Англо-Русский словарь Tiger - MUMMY — I 1. [ʹmʌmı] n 1. мумия 2. мягкая бесформенная масса to beat smth. to a ~ - превратить что-л. в …
Новый большой Англо-Русский словарь - Апресян, Медникова - EGYPTIAN — 1. [ıʹdʒıpʃ(ə)n] n 1. египтянин; египтянка the ~s - собир. египтяне 2. древнеегипетский язык (хамитский) 3. амер. шутл. …
Новый большой Англо-Русский словарь - Апресян, Медникова - PYRAMID — 1. ʹpırəmıd n 1. 1> пирамида the Pyramids - египетские пирамиды 2> что-л. имеющее форму пирамиды 2. мат. пирамида 3. …
Большой новый Англо-Русский словарь - PYRAMID — 1. сущ. 1) а) пирамида - diet pyramid - Food Guide Pyramid - food pyramid б) предмет или некоторое образование, …
- FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID — сущ. пищевая пирамида (изображает набор продуктов для рационального питания; была разработана министерством сельского хозяйства США в 1992 г; подвергалась …
Англо-Русский словарь по общей лексике - PYRAMID — 1. сущ. 1) а) пирамида - diet pyramid - Food Guide Pyramid - food pyramid б) предмет или некоторое образование, напоминающее по форме пирамиду 2) пирамидальное дерево 3) …
- FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID — сущ. пищевая пирамида (изображает набор продуктов для рационального питания; была разработана министерством сельского хозяйства США в 1992 г; подвергалась изменению; включает …
Англо-Русский словарь общей лексики - EPIOTIC CENTER — точка окостенения пирамиды височной кости, центр окостенения пирамиды височной кости
Новый Англо-Русский медицинский словарь - PYRAMID — 1) пирамида 2) что-либо, имеющее форму пирамиды 3) располагать, строить в виде пирамиды. - truncated pyramid
Англо-Русский словарь по строительству и новым строительным технологиям - GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES — Большая печать Соединенных Штатов Америки Государственная эмблема США. Принята 20 июня 1782. Разработана по проекту секретаря Конгресса Ч. Томсона …
- GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES — Большая печать Соединенных Штатов Америки Государственная эмблема США. Принята 20 июня 1782. Разработана по проекту секретаря Конгресса Ч. Томсона }