Apr 30 2009
Interesting facts about the Ancient Egyptians
The civilisation and culture of the Ancient Egyptians has intrigued people for many years. Their tombs, their fabulous wealth their architecture. The pyramids, the sphinx, hieroglyphics and the Pharaohs all add to the intrigue, mystery and interest in the Ancient Egyptians.
Facts about Hieroglyphics - a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound
Facts about the Pyramids at Giza
The Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the Pyramids at Giza over a period of 80 years.
Facts about the Sphinx - A figure in Egyptian myth having the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk.
The most famous Sphinx is the Great Sphinx at Giza. The the entire length of the Great Sphinx at Giza is 150 feet long, the head is 30 feet long and 14 feet wide and the paws themselves are 50 feet long.
The Great Sphinx dated to within a few years of 2500 BC.
Facts about the riddle of the Sphinx. ( This is attributed to Greek mythology, the Sphinx of Thebes from Greek mythology who asked this riddle of all travellers who passed by. If the traveller failed to solve the riddle, then the Sphinx would kill them )
What is the riddle of the Sphinx?
“What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?”
What is the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx
“A man. He crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age.”
The Sphinx riddle refers to morning, noon, and night which are metaphors for the times in a man’s life
What was a Pharoah? A Pharaoh was a king of ancient Egypt - the most famous of the Pharaohs are detailed on the Timeline below.
Facts about Egyptian Mummys:
Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died that his spirit stayed within his body and that he became Osiris, king of the dead.
The Ancient Egyptians believed that if they did not take proper care of the corpse then the dead Pharoah would not be able to perform his duties in the Afterworld and that disaster would befall Egypt.
The dead pharaoh was therefore mummified, which preserved his body.
The process of mummification involved removing all moisture and internal organs, drying the body and anointing it with preserving chemicals
Facts about the tombs of the Pharaohs of Egypt:
The Pharaoh was buried with fabulous treasures to ensure he would have a good life in the afterworld
The Pyramids were built as monuments to the Pharaohs
The tombs of Pharaohs were believed to hold a curse
“Death comes on wings to he who enters the tomb of a pharaoh.” - this curse of the Pharaohs, often referred to as the Curse of Osiris (or even Isis!) has not been substantiated
Howard Carter entered King Tutankhamen’s burial chamber on February 17, 1923
On March 6, Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to open the tomb, was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito
The mosquito bite became infected, he contracted pneumonia, and he died on April 5
This fuelled the belief that the tombs of Pharaohs were cursed and that the most dire punishment would befall anyone who raided the tomb
It is believed that the Ancient Egyptians spread secret poisons before sealing a tomb
