ATLANTIS

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune".

Scholars dispute whether and how much Plato's story or account was inspired by older traditions. Some scholars argue Plato drew upon memories of past events such as the Thera eruption or the Trojan War, while others insist that he took inspiration from contemporary events like the destruction of Helike in 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC.

The possible existence of a genuine Atlantis was discussed throughout classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied by later authors. As Alan Cameron states: "It is only in modern times that people have taken the Atlantis story seriously; no one did so in antiquity". While little known during the Middle Ages[citation needed], the story of Atlantis was rediscovered by Humanists in the Early Modern period. Plato's description inspired the utopian works of several Renaissance writers, like Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis". Atlantis inspires today's literature, from science fiction to comic books to films. Its name has become a byword for any and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations.

EGYPTIAN TEMPLES

The ancient Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods and goddesses. Every temple was dedicated to a god or goddess and he or she was worshipped there by the temple priests and the pharaoh.
The large temple buildings were made of stone so that they would last forever. Their walls were covered with scenes that were carved onto the stone then brightly painted. These scenes showed the pharaoh fighting in battles and performing rituals with the gods and goddesses.

EGYPTIAN TRADES

Craftsmen in ancient Egypt were usually trained and skilled labourers. They were often well-respected in the community and had a comfortable lifestyle. Yet every craftsman's lifestyle and social standing depended on the quality of his skills and experience. Thus, some craftsmen had more difficult lives than others.
Most craftsmen worked in workshops with other craftsmen. Objects for temples or the pharaoh were made in temple workshops or palace workshops. Objects for ordinary people were made by local craftsmen in small workshops.

EGYPTIAN ROSETTA STONE

The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek). The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts because when it was written, there were three scripts being used in Egypt.

The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents.
The second was demotic which was the common script of Egypt.

The third was Greek which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time.

The Rosetta Stone was written in all three scripts so that the priests, government officials and rulers of Egypt could read what it said.
The Rosetta Stone was carved in 196 B.C..The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799.The Rosetta Stone was found in a small village in the Delta called Rosetta (Rashid).The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of priests in Egypt to honour the Egyptian pharaoh. It lists all of the things that the pharaoh has done that are good for the priests and the people of Egypt.

EGYPTIAN WRITTINGS

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate information about religion and government. Thus, they invented written scripts that could be used to record this information.

The most famous of all ancient Egyptian scripts is hieroglyphic. However, throughout three thousand years of ancient Egyptian civilisation, at least three other scripts were used for different purposes. Using these scripts, scribes were able to preserve the beliefs, history and ideas of ancient Egypt in temple and tomb walls and on papyrus scrolls.

EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS

The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'. As 'Lord of the Two Lands' the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. He owned all of the land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners. As 'High Priest of Every Temple', the pharaoh represented the gods on Earth. He performed rituals and built temples to honor the gods. Many pharaohs went to war when their land was threatened or when they wanted to control foreign lands. If the pharaoh won the battle, the conquered people had to recognize the Egyptian pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land.

MUMMIES OF EGYPT

The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand DEHYDRATED the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.
Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.

Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification.

GEOGRAPHY OF EGYPT

The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black land' and the 'red land'.

The 'black land' was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians used this land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded.

The 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semi-precious stones.

EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES

The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses. Each one with their own role to play in maintaining peace and harmony across the land.
	Some gods and goddesses took part in creation, some brought the flood every year, some offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Others were either local gods who represented towns, or minor gods who represented plants or animals. The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognise and worship these gods and goddesses so that life continued smoothly. The ancient Egyptians thought that it was very important to please the gods and goddesses. For that reason, worshipping the deities was a large part of life in ancient Egypt. Some gods and goddesses were worshipped by the pharaoh and priests in large temples. These were the 'official' gods and goddesses of the state, like Amun, Horus and Bastet. Other gods and goddesses were worshipped by ordinary people in their homes. These were the gods and goddesses like Bes and Tawaret who protected people from the dangers of daily life, like scorpion bites, crocodile attacks and childbirth.

EGYPTIAN LIFE

Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile and the fertile land along its banks. The yearly flooding of the Nile ENRICHED the soil and brought good harvests and wealth to the land.

The people of ancient Egypt built mudbrick homes in villages and in the country. They grew some of their own food and traded in the villages for the food and goods they could not produce.

Most ancient Egyptians worked as field hands, farmers, craftsmen and SCRIBES. A small group of people were nobles. Together, these different groups of people made up the population of ancient Egypt

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PYRAMIDS

The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the PHARAOHS and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the old kingdom to the end of the middle kingdom.

There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at GIZA at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the 'Great Pyramid'.