Culture of Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian language is known to scientists for a large number of surviving inscriptions of hieroglyphic writing, executed on stone and papyrus. Since it is a dead language , at the dawn of Egypt there was a problem of its decryption, which the French scientist J. F. Champollion successfully dealt with in 1822, using bilingual Greek-Egyptian inscriptions. Modern science relates the Egyptian language to the Afrasian language family, within which it is assumed its proximity to either Semitic or Chadian languages. The formation of the language took place in the pre-dynastic period (c. 5200-3000 BC), when proto-Egyptian tribes began to stand out from various Eneolithic cultures of Egypt. Later, throughout the dynastic period (about 2700 years), the Egyptian language went through different stages of development and transformation, so the language of the speakers, for example, the periods of the Early and New Kingdoms , had significant differences. From the Hellenistic period, the Egyptians began to experience a strong influence of the ancient Greek language ^[1] , later, with the advent of the Romans - some influence of the Latin . After the Arab conquest, the last speakers of the Egyptian language disappeared among the newcomers of the Arab population of the Nile Valley and Delta, from whom they adopted a new language and customs ^[2] . The exception was a small part of the Egyptians - Copts , speaking the Coptic language , which was the last stage in the development of the ancient Egyptian language, and which over time became the language of religious ceremonies (developed from the II century, it is considered dead from the XIX century).

The Egyptian language is one of the oldest languages ​​in the world that had written language - the earliest surviving ancient texts date back to the turn of the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. e. ^[3] . From this period, the Egyptian writing possessed both signs “depicting” the words and signs denoting combinations of consonants, moreover, letter signs for individual consonants and generalized determinants that graphically hinted to which circle of concepts the word refers in its meaning. The bookkeepers used huge quantities: 10,000 , 100,000, and even 1,000,000 , for which there were words and signs. The writing of the Egyptians was divided into several types: hieroglyphics - from many images (hieroglyphs), hieratics - from their reduced styles and demotics - from even more simplified, sometimes merged characters. Ancient Egyptians most often wrote in horizontal lines, from right to left, less often - from left to right. Sometimes they were written in vertical columns, which were always read from top to bottom. Despite the predominant direction of Egyptian writing from right to left, in modern scientific literature, from practical considerations, spelling is more often accepted from left to right. From the Egyptian script comes the Meroitic and Coptic writing (insignificantly). By the middle of the 1st millennium, all types of Egyptian writing disappeared, the latest hieroglyphic inscription found dates back to the 4th century, and demotics to the 5th century ^[4] .

One of the outstanding achievements of the ancient Egyptians was a peculiar writing system, which was divided into three types of writing: the hieroglyphics , from which the more fluent hieratics originated, which developed approx. 700 BC e. in even faster italics with a lot of ligatures - demotics ^[5] .

Egyptian hieroglyphic writing has been used in ancient Egypt for almost 3,500 years, starting from the turn of the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. e. Hieratic writing was used to write texts in Egyptian. This is an early form of ancient Egyptian cursive writing that arose during the 1st dynasty when applying hieroglyphic signs with a brush to papyrus, ostracons , stone or skin, as a result of which the signs received a more rounded, italic shape. Demotic writing was used to write texts in the later stages of the Egyptian language ^[6] .

Egyptian literature, written from the Pharaonic period of Ancient Egypt to the end of Roman rule along with Sumerian literature, is considered the first literature in the world ^[7] . Over three thousand years, the Egyptians created rich fiction, developed its various genres.

By the period of the Ancient Kingdom (XXVI — XXII centuries BC), literary works included funeral texts, letters, religious hymns and verses, and memorable autobiographical texts telling about the careers of prominent nobles. Only at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom (XXI-XVII centuries BC) was narrative literature created. It was a “revolution of means”, which, according to R. B. Parkinson, was the result of the exaltation of the intellectual class of scribes , new cultural feelings of individuality, unprecedented levels of literacy and greater access to written material ^[8] .

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, reading and writing were the main requirements for service in public institutions, although government officials received help in everyday work from an elite, competent social group - scribes ^{[9] [10] [11]} . As can be seen from the papyrus Anastasi II of the Ramessids period, scribes even had to “organize excavations of the lake and build a brick ramp, determine the number of men for transportation of the obelisk and organize the supply of the military mission” ^[10] . In addition, to serve in the government, scribes also provided services to illiterate people in the preparation of letters, advertising materials and legal documents ^[11] .

Literate people are thought to account for only 1% of the population ^{[8] [11]} , the remainder included illiterate peasants, shepherds, artisans and other workers, as well as traders who needed the help of scribes. The privileged status of a scribe is the subject of the educational text “Satire of Professions” (pSallier II), popular in the Ramessids period, in which the author ridiculed the severity of the professions of a sculptor, a carpenter, a potter, a fisherman, a farmer, a messenger, and others, as opposed to the profession of a scribe ^[10] .

The texts were performed by a wide variety of devices. Along with the chisel necessary for cutting inscriptions on stone, the main tool for writing in Ancient Egypt was the reed pen ^{[1] [12]} . The pens were dipped in pigments: black (charcoal) and red ( ocher ) for recording on papyrus scrolls - a thin material made by knitting strips of the core of the stems of the Cyperus papyrus plant, as well as on small ceramic or limestone shards ^{[1] [12] [9 ] ] [7]} . Papyrus scrolls are believed to be quite expensive commercial items, since many of them are palimpsests - manuscripts in which the older text is washed away or scraped off to make room for a new one ^[11] . This phenomenon, together with the practice of tearing off parts of papyrus documents for smaller letters, suggests that there were seasonal deficits caused by the limited vegetative period of the Cyperus papyrus plant ^[11] . This also explains the frequent use of ostracons and limestone flakes as a writing tool for shorter written works ^[11] . In addition to stone, ceramic ostracons and papyrus were painted on wood, ivory and gypsum ^{[1] [7] [11]} .

Narrative Literature

Tales and short stories are probably the least represented genre from the preserved literature of the Middle Kingdom and the Middle Egyptian language ^[8] . From the Ramessidic period of the New Kingdom to the late period of Ancient Egypt, however, narrative literature accounts for most of the surviving literary works ^[13] . Among the important stories are the works “ The Tale of the Court of Tsar Cheops ”, “ Tsar Neferkara and General Sasenet ”, “ The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant ”, “The Tale of Sinuha ” and “ The Tale of the Shipwrecked ” ^{[8] [9]} . The narrative corps of the New Kingdom includes “The Quarrel of Apepi and Sequenere”, “The Capture of Jupe ”, “The Doomed Prince ”, “ The Tale of Two Brothers ”, and “ Travel of Unu-Amon ” ^[9] .

Among the stories of the 1st millennium BC. Oe., written by demotics, one can name the story “Steles of Famine” (written during the Ptolemaic , but with a plot about the Ancient Kingdom), and cycles of stories of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods that transform famous historical figures such as Haemuas ( XIX dynasty ) and Inaros ( first Persian period) in fictional, legendary heroes ^[14] . Prior to this, in stories in the New Egyptian language, authors most often described divine and mythological heroes.

Teachings

The genres of “teachings” (or “directions”, “instructions”), as well as the genre of “reflective discourse”, can be grouped into the framework of the broad concept of literature of wisdom, prevalent in antiquity in the Middle East ^[8] . The genre has a didactic orientation and is believed to be part of the scribe’s education program in the Middle Kingdom ^[8] . However, teachings often include narrative elements of an entertaining nature ^[8] . There is evidence that the texts of the teachings were created primarily not for use in education, but for ideological purposes ^[8] . For example, Adolf Ehrman writes that the fictional teaching of Amenemhat I (c. 1991-1962 BC) to his sons “goes far beyond school philosophy, and there is no relation to school in warning his children to be faithful to the king” ^[9] . While narrative literature (such as The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant ) underlines the theme of an individual hero challenging society and accepted ideologies; texts of teachings, on the contrary, emphasize the need to comply with accepted dogmas ^[5] .

The key words in teaching the text are “know” (rh) and “educate” (sba.yt) ^[8] . These texts usually have the generic name “teaching made by the Xth for Ya,” where X can be an authoritative figure (for example, a vizier or pharaoh) who provides moral guidance to his son or his sons. It is sometimes difficult to determine how many fictitious recipients there are, since the singular and plural are sometimes used in the same text ^[8] .

Examples of the teachings genre include Teachings of Ptahhotep , Teachings of Kagemni , Teachings of Merikar , Teachings of Amenemhat , Teachings of Hargedef , Teachings of the Loyal Subject , and Teachings of Amenemope ^[8] . The instructive texts that have been preserved from the Middle Kingdom are mainly written on papyrus ^[8] , although fragmentary versions of them are available on ostracons and tablets ^[15] . The earliest example of a wooden blackboard with a copy of the educational text (The Teachings of Ptahhotep ) dates back to the 18th dynasty ^[8] . The teachings of Ptahhotep and Kagemni were discovered on the papyrus of Priss , written during the reign of the XII dynasty of the Middle Kingdom ^{[16] [8]} . The first part of the “Teaching of the loyal subject” was preserved on the stone stele of the treasurer Sechepetepibera of the XII dynasty ^[8] , and the second part is installed on 69 copies of the New Kingdom ^[15] . The teachings of Merikar, Amenemhat, and Hargejef are genuine texts of the Middle Kingdom, but are preserved only in copies of the New Kingdom ^[8] . Amenemope's teaching is a compilation of the times of the New Kingdom ^[17] .

Weeping, talking, dialogue and prophecy

The genre of the Middle Kingdom - “ prophetic texts”, “ lamentations ”, “conversations”, “ dialogs ” or “apocalyptic literature” ^{[8] [14] [17]} - belong to such works, such as The Ipuver River , The Neferti Prophecy , and The Conversation Of The Disappointed With Their Ba (apparently related to the First Transition). As far as we know, this genre had no precedent in the Old Kingdom, and no original works were written in the New Kingdom ^[18] . Nevertheless, works like “The Neferti Prophecy” were often copied in the Ramessidic period of the New Kingdom ^[17] , when this genre of the Middle Kingdom was canonized, but discontinued ^[8] . Egyptian prophetic literature was revived in the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and in the Roman period, when such works as the “Demotic Chronicle”, “The Oracle of the Lamb”, “The Oracle of the Potter” and two prophetic texts in which the main character is Nectaneb II (c. 360) were written —343 BC) ^{[14] [8]} . Along with instructive texts, these texts fall into the category of literature of wisdom distributed in the Middle East.

For over 3,500 years, artists have adhered to forms and canons that were developed back in the days of the Old Kingdom, following a strict set of principles that persisted even during periods of foreign influence and internal changes ^[19] . Эти художественные стандарты выражались в простых линиях, формах, характерной плоской проекции фигур, без указания пространственной глубины, что создавало ощущение порядка и баланса композиции. Изображения и текст были тесно переплетены на усыпальницах и стенах храмов , гробницах, стелах и статуях. Краски получали из минералов, таких как железная руда (красная и жёлтая охра), медные руды (синий и зелёный), сажа или древесный уголь (чёрный) и известняк (белый). Их могли смешивать с гуммиарабиком для вязкости и разделять на куски, которые могли быть смочены водой при необходимости ^[19] .

Хотя каноны древнеегипетского искусства сохранялись на протяжении тысячелетий, художественный стиль некоторых периодов отражал изменение культурных и политических взглядов. Так, в Аварисе найдены фрески в минойском стиле, появившиеся после вторжения гиксосов , а в период правления Эхнатона получило развитие « амарнское искусство », для которого характерно реалистичное изображение окружающего мира ^[20] .

Painting

В Древнем Египте все рельефы ярко раскрашивались, меньше всего изображений было во дворцах, храмах и гробницах, там рисунки были только на поверхности. Многие древние египетские рельефы сохранились благодаря засушливому климату. Каменная поверхность готовилась к покраске — грубый слой грязи с более мягким слоем гипса сверху, потом известняк — и краска ложилась ровно. Строительные пигменты были, как правило, минеральными, чтобы защитить изображения от солнечного света. Состав краски был неоднородным — яичная темпера, разнообразные вязкие вещества и смолы. В конечном счёте настоящая фреска не получалась и не использовалась. Вместо этого использовалась краска на слое высушенного пластыря, так называемая фреска a secco . Сверху живопись покрывалась слоем лака или смолы, чтобы сохранить изображение надолго. Небольшие изображения, выполненные в такой технике, хорошо сохранились, хотя на крупных статуях практически не встречаются. Чаще всего, используя подобные методы, раскрашивались маленькие статуи, особенно деревянные ^[21] .

Architecture

Архитектура Древнего Египта известна по сооружениям гробниц — пирамиды Гизы , храмовых и дворцовых комплексов — Луксорский храм , дворцы Амарны .

Наружные и внутренние стены зданий, а также колонны покрывались иероглифами и фресками ярких цветов ^[22] . Мотивы многих египетских орнаментов, такие как изображения скарабея или священного жука, солнечного диска и кречета, являются символическими. Другие распространённые мотивы включают пальмовые листья, папирус , а также почки и цветки лотоса ^[23] . Планировка многих культовых сооружений соотносилась с явлениями солнцестояния и равноденствия ^[24] . Иероглифы использовались не только в декоративных целях, но и чтобы сохранить исторические события, войны, которые велись, богов, которым поклонялись, быт древних египтян, жизнь и смерть фараонов, правивших древним государством.

The Egyptian pyramids are the greatest architectural monuments of Ancient Egypt, among which one of the seven wonders of the world is the Pyramid of Cheops . Pyramids are huge pyramidal stone structures. Some of them were used as tombs for the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. The word "pyramid" is Greek. According to some researchers, a large pile of wheat served as a prototype of the pyramid. According to other scholars, this word comes from the name of the pyramid-shaped funeral cake. In total, 118 pyramids were discovered in Egypt. According to the generally accepted version, the first Egyptian pyramid was built by order of the pharaoh of the III Joser dynasty - the Step Pyramid in Saqqara , the architect of which, according to the ancient Egyptian tradition, is the highest dignitary ( chat ) of Joser Imhotep . According to Egyptologists, this pyramid is a development of mastaba - a traditional tomb of the nobility in Ancient Egypt of the periods of the Early and Ancient kingdoms . The most famous pyramids are the Great Pyramids on the Giza Plateau (the pyramids of Cheops, Chefren and Mykerin ) ^[25] .

Ancient Egypt, which laid the foundation for architecture, was a country devoid of scaffolding ^[22] . The tree was also small, as in other oases of the African desert, the main vegetation was palm trees giving a poor quality tree and reed. All this largely determined that the main building materials were unbaked raw brick and stone, mainly limestone mined in the Nile Valley, as well as sandstone and granite ^[22] . Stone was used mainly for tombs and burials, while brick was used to build palaces, fortresses, buildings in the vicinity of temples and cities, as well as auxiliary structures for temples. Ancient Egyptian houses were built from the mud mined in the Nile. She was left in the sun to dry and suitable for construction.

Many Egyptian cities have not survived to this day, as they were located in the Nile flood zone, the level of which rose every millennium, as a result, many cities were flooded, or the mud used for construction became fertilizer for peasant fields. New cities were built on the site of the old, so the ancient settlements were not preserved. However, the arid climate of Ancient Egypt retained some of the raw brick structures - the village of Deir al-Medina , Kahun ^[26] , a city that reached its peak in the Middle Kingdom (modern El Lahun ), fortifications in Buchen ^[27] and Mirgiss. Many temples and structures have survived to the present day, since they were at an unattainable height for the Nile spills and were built of stone.

The basic understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based on the study of religious monuments as the best preserved structures ^[23] . Judging by some surviving columns of the temple in Karnak, the Egyptians, before laying the stone, turned over cleanly only beds and vertical seams; the front surface of the stones was heeled off at the end of the construction of the building. This technique was subsequently used by the Greeks. The stones were laid without mortar and without any artificial ties. In the Theban era, metal bonds were apparently not used at all, and only occasionally were used wooden staples in the form of a dovetail to connect the stones together ( Medinet-Abu , Abydos ) or for fastening cracked monoliths ( Luxor Obelisk ) ^[28] .

Sculpture

The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is one of the most distinctive and strictly canonically developed areas of art in Ancient Egypt. The sculpture was created and developed to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, pharaohs, kings and queens in physical form. Statues of gods and pharaohs were put on public viewing, as a rule, in open spaces and outside temples.

Statues, as a rule, retain the original shape of a stone block or piece of wood from which it is carved.

There was a strict canon of the creation of ancient Egyptian sculpture: the body color of a man was supposed to be darker than the color of a woman’s body, the arms of a sitting person were on her knees; There were certain rules for depicting Egyptian gods. God Horus should be depicted with the head of a falcon, the god of the dead Anubis - with the head of a jackal . All sculptures were created according to this canon, which during the three-thousand-year history of the existence of Ancient Egypt almost did not change ^[21] .

Faience and glass

Even before the Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians invented the glassy material, known as Egyptian faience, which they considered as a type of artificial semiprecious stone ^[20] . The material was used to create beads, tiles, figurines and haberdashery. The Egyptians could use several methods to create faience, but, as a rule, powder materials were used in the production, which were applied in the form of a paste to the bottom of the clay, which was then burned. Using a similar technique, the ancient Egyptians made pigment, also called blue frit , which is obtained by fusing (or sintering) silicon oxide , copper, lime and alkali, such as soda. The product could be crushed and used as a pigment ^[20] .

The ancient Egyptians made a wide range of glass objects with great skill, but it is not clear whether they developed the process on their own ^[20] . It is also unclear whether they made their own raw glass or simply imported pre-made ingots, which were then melted. However, they possessed technical knowledge in the field of glass manufacturing, as well as the addition of trace elements to control the color of the finished product. The range of colors they produced included yellow, red, green, blue, violet and white; glass could also be transparent or opaque ^[20] .

In ancient Egypt there was no one common religion, but there was a wide variety of local cults dedicated to certain deities. Most of them had a genotheistic character (focus on worshiping one deity with the simultaneous recognition of others), therefore the Egyptian religion is considered as polytheistic ^[29] .

Deities revered in various places personified natural forces and social phenomena. The sky was represented by a woman or a cow , the earth and air by male deities. God Thoth was the patron of writing and witchcraft, and the goddess Maat personified the truth. Natural phenomena were perceived as the relations of various deities. Some gods in ancient times were revered by the Egyptians in the form of animals or birds. The Egyptians associated the Falcon of Horus with the notions of a powerful heavenly deity. The falcon was depicted on tribal standards, he is also shown bringing victory to Narmer over Lower Egypt. After the formation of the state, Gore acts as the invariable patron of the pharaohs, who themselves were now called Mountains. The merging of the cult of Horus with the royal one was also facilitated by the fact that, with the development of worship of Osiris as a dead pharaoh, Horus was included in the circle of Osiric myths ^[30] . At different times, the deities of Ra and the later identified with him were Amon , Osiris, Isis , Seth , Ptah , Anubis ^[31] .

In the XIV century BC e. significant religious reforms were carried out by the pharaoh Amenhotep IV ( Akhenaten ), who introduced the cult of Aton ( atonism ). The opinion about the identity of Akhenaten’s religious reform and the appearance of the first monotheism ^{[32] [33] is} disputed by researchers: Akhenaten practiced a single cult ( genotheism or monolatry ) of Aton not because he did not believe in the existence of other gods, but because he refrained from worshiping any gods, except Aton ^[34] . Reform of Akhenaten was not only religious, but also cultural, all-embracing, created by the initiative of Akhenaten himself ^[35] . After his death, Amon became the supreme deity of worship again ^[36] .

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  Pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti make offerings to Aton (XIV century BC). Cairo museum

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  Gods Osiris , Anubis and Horus . Detail of the painting in the tomb of the pharaoh Horemheb . XIII century BC e.

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  The priest brings incense to the god Ra-Atum-Khorakhti. XX dynasty , approx. 900 BC e. The louvre museum

Funeral rites

The ancient Egyptians adhered to a complex set of funeral rituals, which, in their opinion, are necessary to ensure the immortality of the soul after the death of the body. The body of the deceased was preserved with the help of mummification , funeral rituals were performed, and the deceased's things that he would need in the afterlife were put into the grave. Before the Old Kingdom, bodies were buried in the desert in pits, where they were preserved by natural drying. The arid desert conditions remained suitable for the burial of the poor, who could not afford the complex expensive burial accessible to the elite. Wealthy Egyptians buried their dead in stone tombs and used artificial mummification, including removing the entrails , swaddling the body and burial in sarcophagi or in wooden coffins. Starting from the IV dynasty, some of the deceased's internal organs were placed in canopies ^[37] .

By the era of the New Kingdom, the Egyptians had perfected the art of mummification, which took 70 days and included the removal of internal organs, the brain through the nose, and drying the body in a mixture of salts called sodium. The body was bandaged, protective amulets were placed between the layers, and placed in a decorated anthropomorphic coffin. Late mummies were also placed in cardboard-stained sarcophagi. The actual practice of mummification was greatly reduced during the Hellenistic period , more attention was paid to the appearance of the mummy ^[37] .

The wealthy Egyptians were buried along with a large number of luxuries. Since the era of the New Kingdom, in the tombs appeared Books of the Dead , Uhebti - figurines, which were believed to have worked for the benefit of the owner in the afterlife ^[38] . Burials were often accompanied by rituals in which the deceased magically “came to life” again. After the funeral, relatives of the deceased were sometimes required to bring food to the tomb and read prayers on behalf of the deceased ^[31] .

The main diet consisted of bread and beer ^[39] and was supplemented with vegetables, such as onions and garlic, and fruits, such as dates and figs . Wine and meat were served on holidays.

There were many varieties of breads and rolls, characterized by flour, shape, degree of baking and additives in the dough, for which honey, milk, fruit, eggs, fat, butter, dates, etc. were used. Nowadays, there are up to fifteen words used in the era of the Old Kingdom to denote different types of bakery products. Dairy products were known - cream, butter, cottage cheese. The Egyptians used honey or carob fruits as sweeteners for drinks and foods ^[40] .

During the Late Kingdom , according to Herodotus , the Egyptians ate fish dried in the sun or salted. Of the birds, quail , ducks and small birds were eaten in salt form. Poultry and fish, other than revered by the sacred, were also eaten fried or boiled. The diet of the ancient Egyptians included peas, beans and chickpeas , cucumbers, and lettuce was grown in large quantities. Onions and leeks stood out from other "products of the year", garlic was also valued. Melons and watermelons were common. In summer, grapes, figs, dates and sycamore fruits were added to the diet. Pomegranate, olive trees and apple trees grown from the time of the Hyksos gave rich harvests. Coconuts were known, but rare and available to a few. The fruits of mimosa , balanites of the Egyptian and some other trees, still not identified, were also used ^[40] .

The Egyptians paid great attention to appearance and personal hygiene. They washed themselves in river waters and used soap in the form of a paste of animal fats and chalk. To maintain cleanliness, men shaved their entire bodies and used perfumes that discourage unpleasant odors and ointments that soothe the skin ^[40] . The oils were made from vegetable or animal fat and seasoned with myrrh, incense or turpentine. One type of salt - bed - was used to gargle. After washing, they did manicures and pedicures , and makeup was applied to the face. On the eyelids applied green paint from malachite . Too dark skin was clarified with yellow ocher paint; it was also applied to the lips and cheeks flushed. The eyes were surrounded by a dark line. Nails, palms and feet painted with henna ^[40] .

The clothes were sewn from simple bleached linen cuts. Women wore kalashiris dresses , and men wore scarves for shti , workers usually went without clothes, sometimes wrapping a piece of fabric around their hips. The Egyptians walked either barefoot or in reed sandals. Children walked without clothes until they reached the age of about 12 years. The boys were circumcised and their heads shaved. Men and women from the upper echelons of society wore wigs, jewelry and used makeup. As a rule, short wigs were worn, however, over the centuries, the fashion for their size changed. Children were supposed to wear a lock of youth , priests shaved their heads ^[39] .

Mothers were responsible for childcare, and fathers provided family income ^[40] .

The Egyptians had fun with games (for example, mehen or senet). Senet is mentioned in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead and in other religious texts of the New Kingdom, as well as in myths. It is believed that the ancient Egyptian god of knowledge, Thoth , invented the game in order to defeat the Moon deity Honsu for a few extra days for the goddess Nut , on whom the sun god Ra imposed a curse (she could not bear children in any of the 360 ​​days of the year). At stake 1/72 of the "light" of each of the 360 ​​days of the lunar year, Thoth won 5 days, after which it became 365 days in the solar year and only 355 in the lunar year, and people got a new game and five extra days on the calendar ^{[ 41]} . Scientists know that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt loved to play board games, but their rules did not survive. Game equipment was made from various types of wood along with other materials.

Various toys, juggling and ball games were popular among children, and evidence of the popularity of wrestling was also found. Rich people practiced hunting (including using specially trained dogs) and boating ^[39] .

The significance of music in ancient Egypt is indicated by the wall reliefs of temples and tombs. The earliest musical instruments of the Egyptians were the harp and flute . During the New Kingdom, the Egyptians played bells, tambourines, drums and lyres imported from Asia ^[42] . Rich people arranged receptions with the invitation of professional musicians ^[39] .

Ancient Egypt left a huge cultural heritage for world civilization; works of his art were exported to various parts of the world in ancient times and were widely copied by masters of other countries ^[43] . Egyptian culture had a great influence on the ancient Romans. The cult of the goddess Isis was widespread in Rome. Egyptian sculptural portrait, landscape painting, obelisks and other elements of architecture, lions and sphinxes were perceived by ancient art, and through it European.

Ancient Egyptian culture and civilization laid the foundation for the subsequent cultural development of many peoples. Peculiar architectural forms - magnificent pyramids , temples, palaces and obelisks, have inspired the imagination of travelers and explorers for many centuries. Egyptian masters created beautiful wall paintings and statues , mastered the methods of producing glass and faience, poets and writers created new forms in literature.

В числе научных достижений древних египтян - создание оригинальной системы письма , математика , практическая медицина , астрономические наблюдения и возникший на их основе календарь .

Интерес к памятникам, артефактам и археологическим раскопкам в Древнем Египте, возникший на рубеже XVIII—XIX веков, привёл к созданию науки ( см. Египтология ) и возникновению некоторых тенденций в моде ( см. Египтомания , Египтизирующий стиль ) ^[43] .

• Танцы в Древнем Египте
• Древнеегипетская философия
• Правосудие в Древнем Египте