Ancient Egypt: A View of the Fourth Dynasty from a Greek Perspective

A lot of our knowledge on ancient Egypt came from the work of Herodotus, a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (c. 484–c. 425 BC). Renowned as the “Father of History”, he was the first historian known to have broken from Homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation by collecting his materials systematically and critically and arranging them into a historiographic narrative. In Book Two of The Histories, his masterpiece work, he related the stories of Khufu (“Cheops”) and Khafra (“Chephren”) and Menkaura (“Mycerinus”). These accounts are allegedly told to him by Egyptian priests during his visit to the pyramids in the mid-fifth century BC. Surprisingly, Herodotus described both Cheops and Chephren as tyrants, while Mycerinus was portrayed as a good king.

Account of Khufu’s Reign

Khugfu was portrayed as a Pharaoh who brought Egypt into all sorts of misery. Not only did he close all the temples thereby excluding his subjects from practicing their religion, he also compelled the, to labour as his slaves for his own end (obviously to build his lavish tomb). Details were given of how slaves were forced to bring blocks of stone from the quarries in the Arabian hills to the Nile, where they were further ferried across by others. Herodotus described how the work went in three-monthly shifts, 100,000 men working in each shift. After 10 years, the track along which the blocks were hauled was finally completed. The building of the pyramid itself took 20 years, and, according to Herodotus’ account, it is 5 furlongs (1 km) in length, 60 feet wide and 48 feet high. The pyramid is square at the base, its height equal to the length of each side, and is of polished stone blocks. Interestingly, Herodotus also told us the method the Egyptians employed to construct the pyramid i.e. to build it in steps or as tiers or terraces. When the base was complete, the blocks for the first tier above it were lifted from the ground by contrivances made of short timbers. In this first tier there was another, which raised the blocks on a stage higher, then yet another which raised them higher still. He also recounted how the interpreter helped him decipher the Egyptian inscription so as to ascertain the amount spent on food for the labourers.

“And I remember distinctly that the interpreter who read me the inscription said that the sum was 1,600 talents of silver…”

The account’s climax came when Herodotus alleged that at the end of his money, Cheops sent his daughter to a bawdy house to earn some money! Ironically the sum earned from such shameful transactions was then expended in the construction of the middle pyramid of the three standing in front of the great pyramid. Now whether this story is to be believed is extremely doubtful indeed!

Account of Khafra’s Reign

Cheops ruled for 50 years (according to Herodotus) and was succeeded on his death by his son Khafra (Herodotus said Khafra was Khufu’s brother!). Like Khufu, Khafra was oppressive. His pyramid is of smaller size (40 feet lower than Khufu’s). Herodotus proudly stated that he measured both pyramids himself. Khafra ruled for 56 years. This, said Herodotus, combined with his father’s reign made up a total of 106 years during which temples were never opened for worship and the country reduced to the greatest possible misery. Surely there must be an element of exaggeration in Herodotus’ account as it was usually agreed that Khufu and Khafra’s reigns were among the most prosperous and peaceful of those of the Old Kingdom. 

Account of Menkaura’s Reign

The next king of Egypt to rule after Chephren was Mycerinus, the son of Cheops. Mycerinus, reversing his father’s policy of which he did not approve, reopened all the temples and allowed his subjects, who had been brought into such abject slavery, to resume the practice of their religion and their normal work. Herodotus further commended the king for his reputation for justice in the decision of legal causes, and it was said how Mycerinus used to compensate out of his own property any man who was dissatisfied with the results of his suit. On his only daughter’s death, in his grief he built her a wooden cow, hollow inside and plated on the outside with gold, to receive her body. Herodotus then described how the cow was not buried, but could still be seen by him in Sais, with offering and incense offered before it every day. Another version of the story is that Mycerinus conceived a lust for his daughter and violated her, driving her to hang herself. However, this version seems improbable.

After his daughter’s death, a second calamity fell on Mycerinus. He received an oracle from Buto to the effect he was destined to live for only six more years and to die within the seventh. Mycerinus in retaliation sent an angry message reproaching the god with the injustice of allowing a man so pious as himself to die so soon, whereas the last two kings who had closed the temples, forgotten the gods and afflicted their fellow men, lived to a ripe old age. Convinced his doom was drawing near, he had innumerable lamps made, by the light of which he set himself every evening to drink and be merry, and never ceased by day or ight from the pursuit of pleasure, travelling from place to place amongst the pools and woodlands. His object in this was by turning night into day to extend the six remaining years of his life into twelve, and so convict the oracle of falsehood.

Despite his claim of having visited Egypt, the accuracy of Herodotus’ account remains controversial as clearly it was evident he was working from inadequate sources. Many even accused his account defective and mostly untrue. Indeed, this appears to be the case looking at the above extracts and the exaggeration contained therein on the tyranny of Khufu and Khafra.

Ancient Egypt: The Age of the Pyramids (Part 3)

Khafra

The Great Pyramid was only the first of the three impressive structures erected on the plateau of Giza, which gave the Old Kingdom the title “Pyramid Age”. The Fourth Dynasty’s passion for pyramid-building continued to be passed on to Khufu’s descendants. Khufu’s son, Khafra (or Chepren in Greek) attempted to outdo his father and took up a challenge at Giza beside Khufu’s Great Pyramid. The pyramid of Khafra, being built on higher ground, managed to rise even higher than its neighbour, although it was actually second in size. Covering the top is the gleaming casing of white limestone transported by boats from quarries across the Nile. This casing was laid over interior limestone blocks which were cut from the surrounding Giza site.  

Pyramid of Khafra

It was conjectured that in the course of freeing these interior blocks, quarrymen struck a steam of harder rock they avoided, leaving behind a hill. Khafra subsequently had this hill carved out in the shape of a recumbent lion bearing his own face – our famous Sphinx. The Greeks misunderstood this earliest colossal royal statue of Egypt for a woman (perhaps taking its headdress for long hair). During the New Kingdom, the Sphinx was regarded as a manifestation of the sun god. Between its paws is the famous Dream Stela, an inscribed tablet that records the promise to Tuthmosis IV that the sun god would ensure his accession to the throne should he clear away the sand that had drifted around the Sphinx and carry any necessary repairs.

The Sphinx possibly bearing Khafra's face

Khafra’s son, Menkaura (or Mycerinus in Greek) erected the last pyramid of Giza. Despite being half in size of its neighbours at 218 feet in height, it is distinguished by a notable casing of hard red granite transported from Aswan 500 miles to the south. The casing only covers the bottom quarter of the pyramid as Menkaura died unexpectedly after a reign of 28 years, leaving his pyramid incomplete. The reason for the pyramid’s smaller size is unclear. Perhaps the building spree by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had put too great a pressure on Egypt’s resources, or lack of suitable location on the plateau.  

Pyramid of Menkaure

With this myriad of pyramids, the Giza plateau became virtually a city of the dead, laid out in orderly streets lined with several other smaller pyramids of princesses and queens, as well as hundreds of tombs for favoured nonroyal courtiers or royal sons.    

Menkaura and his Queen

How did ancient Egyptians construct these massive monuments that would have required intensive act of labour? Were it not for the two months every year when the Nile's water covered Egypt's farmland, leaving the entire workforce idle, none of these monuments would have been possible. During such times, a Pharaoh would have offered food for work and the promise of a good afterlife where he would later go to rule. In these two months, workmen gathered by ten of thousands from all over the Kingdom to help their Pharaoh complete his eternal resting place that would survive for 4,600 years.  

Ancient Egypt: The Age of the Pyramids (Part 2)

Sneferu's first (unfinished) pyramid at Meidum

Last time we talked about Djoser’s step pyramid, the prototype of all pyramids to come. This time we meet the ‘real’ pyramids, the talk of the era, which have continued to dazzle the beholders till this day from Julius Caesar, Napoleon to archaeologists of our days.

It is none other than the Great Pyramid Complex of Giza, the most famous present-day tourist attraction of Egypt and only one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing. The complex comprises of three pyramids, the largest and most well-known of which is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, a Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh.

Sneferu's second (bent) pyramid at Dahshur 

So before going any further, it is important for us to get to know the family who started the great and glorious Egyptian Pyramid Era. It all began with King Sneferu, the first Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty (remember, King Djoser was a Phaorah of the Third Dynasty, the dynasty directly preceding that of Sneferu and Khufu), who attempted to erect a 300 feet high eight-step pyramid 30 miles distant at Meidum. This pyramid incorporated a significant feature. For the first time, the steps that used to be the hallmark of Djoser’s pyramid were filled with polished stone to form smooth slanting sides – the archetype of all subsequent Egyptian pyramids. Unluckily, this first pyramid of his proved structurally unstable (the angle was too steep!). He continued experiments with his second pyramid and failed yet again, the angle of the sides of the pyramid having been abruptly changed from 54 degrees to 43 degrees about half way to the top. The result was the bent pyramid. However, the change in the angle caused cracks in the burial chamber, and the construction was yet again abandoned. Sneferu’s third attempt was eventually successful, the pyramid having a new 43-degree slope that ascended 343 feet from a base 722 feet on each side. It is the first intact pyramid that survives to this day.

Sneferu's third (red) pyramid at Dahshur 

Sneferu’s son, Khufu, whom the Greeks (the world’s first historians believe it or not!) commonly mis-referred to as “Cheops”. This son must have somehow inherited his father’s craze for pyramids for near Cairo on a dessert plateau of Giza he built the most splendid, glorious and enduring stone structure the world had ever witnessed. The pyramid originally rose 481 feet and was the tallest building until it was surpassed by the Eiffel Tower 4500 years later. The base is 756 feet square – large enough to contain the cathedrals of Milan, Florence and Saint Peter’s in Rome as well as Westminster Abby and Saint Paul’s in London.  Altogether 2,000,000 stones were used and average two and a half tonnes each. It was estimated from the duration of Khufu’s reign (23 years in total) that his pyramid must have been completed in about 20 years. Sadly, only an empty sarcophagus remains. The complex traps and anti-burglary system proved no might against tomb robbers. The tomb was cleansed of its treasure in ancient times. Also any statues of Khufu himself have all vanished save for a tiny statuette found by Flinders Petrie at Abydos. In fact, the only link between Khufu and the Great Pyramid was established by his cartouche in his burial chamber.

Great Pyramid of Khufu

Statuette of Khufu

Read on in our blog where we go on to tell stories of other pyramids of the famous Giza Pyramid Complex constructed by the successive Fourth Dynasty Pharaohs!!  

Ancient Egypt: The Age of the Pyramids (Part 1)

King Djoser

When we mention Egypt, inevitably the first thing that leaps to our mind is no doubt the pyramids; that triangular structure serving as great burial places for glorious Pharaohs of the long lost eras. Pyramids continue to enthrall and enrapture countless generations of people from the Greeks, Romans to modern day tourists visiting Egypt. But when did pyramids enter Egypt’s great history? Who started the construction of such a marvel that helps immortalise Egypt and its culture?

The answer lies about 24 km south of Cairo, the current Egyptian capital. Memphis had served as the Egyptian capital during the old kingdom period, the first capital when Egypt became united by the famous and enigmatic Narmer. It remained an important religious and administrative centre of Egypt through the Pharaonic Period.

It is the Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt that began the culture of pyramid-building at Memphis. King Djoser was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, the last king and queen of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. One of the most famous contemporaries of king Djoser was his vizier, "head of the royal shipyard" and "overseer of all stone works", Imhotep, who of such importance and fame that he was honoured by being mentioned on statues of king Djoser in his necropolis. Indeed, it was Imhotep, who designed the famous step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, the first forerunner of a myriad of later pyramids to come (including the famous Pyramids of Giza). The pyramid was originally built as a nearly quadratic mastaba, but then five further mastabas were literally piled upon the first, each new mastaba smaller than the ones below, until the monument became Egypt's first step pyramid. The monument was clad in polished white limestone and considered the earliest large-scale cut stone construction.

The Pyramid Complex

King Djoser was the first Pharaoh to set a celebrated precedent for the later cohorts. His step pyramid truly represented a novel departure from the previous architecture since people were often entombed in mastabas of a relatively small-to-medium size. So why not just stack one mastable on top of one another to create something different? This must be an awe-inspiring idea Imhotep put forward to king Djoser nearly 5000 years ago. The process of building such a structure would be far more labor-intensive than previous monuments small scale, suggesting that the state and the royal government had a new level of control over resources, both material and human. From this point onward, never again would kings of the Old Kingdom would be buried in Abydos, but instead the north.

Imhotep

Given the ingenuity of her architecture and the craftiness of her people, Egypt’s prosperity indeed becomes inevitable….  

The Humble Beginning of the Two-Land Jewel of the Nile: Egypt

When talking about great civilisations of ages past, one can never fail to mention ancient Egypt. For thousands of years, this civilisation has continued to captivate and enthrall countless generations of historians, professional and laymen alike. But how did such civilisation with a humble beginning thrive so well for several thousands of years since its unification?

It is definitely true that all great cities and empires start with a good water source, and what could be better than an undying river which flows all year around and floods the land with its fertile water once a year. The famous Nile River has been providing the ancient Egypt with all she needed to survive and to prosper, and in effect has served as the back-bone of a great civilisation that would last for more than 3,000 years. It is no exaggeration to say that Egypt is the ‘gift of the Nile’, upon which her very existence depends.

As Egypt polarised into South and North, into Upper and Lower Egypt, the two parts were eventually divided further into regional capital or nome, with its own leaders, deities, and flag-like standards. To complicate the matters further, Lower Egypt is actually Northern Egypt which borders the Mediterranean and where the Nile stretches out into several branches to the form the Nile Delta, while Upper Egypt refers to Southern Egypt. Hence, the terms “Lower” and “Upper refers to the flow of the Nile from the East African highlands to the Mediterranean (opposite of North-to-South). These two parts of Egypt were originally ruled by their own Pharaohs, who wore different colour crowns: White Crown for Upper Egypt (hedjet) and Red Crown for Lower Egypt (deshret). Thus, Egypt was known as the Two Lands, and the Pharaohs as rulers of the Two Lands.

Pharaoh Narmer, who unified Upper and Lower Egypt

Then at around 3000 BC, the two lands of Egypt underwent a great transformation with the arrival of a great figure, the mysterious Narmer, who was credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt, thus becoming the first Pharaoh of the unified Egypt, and the first Pharaoh of the first dynasty.  Even now, the enigmatic Narmer’s identity remains a subject of an ongoing debate, but a general consensus seems to identify Narmer with Nemes, the first dynasty Pharaoh who is also credited with unifying Egypt.  

The Narmer Palette

How did we know all this? Through the Narmer Palette, which contains some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found, and is thought by some to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the king Narmer, told us so. On it, the king is depicted with the White Crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, and the other side depicts the king wearing the Red Crown of Lower (northern) Egypt, while smiting his enemies. Some scholars argue that the Palette does depict a historical event, however, and claimed that it serves merely a symbolic purpose. Whatever the theories, the truth is that the Palette is one of most ancient historical artifacts which contains writing.

Thus, from Narmer sprang the successive generations and dynasties of Pharaohs that would continue to glorify the land of Egypt through its marvelous innovations, mesmerising and breath-taking architecture, wonderful art, and superb military achievement that will overshadow its neighbours for millennia to come.     

Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples: Italy Trip July 2016

Today’s blog will not be too intellectually rigorous and will be devoted to showcasing a few of the memorable moments and nice pics from my visit to the Bay of Naples and the glorious Vesuvius.

The Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius are located in the region of Campania, which is in the south-east of Italy. It has been known for its superbly warm climate and as a nice refuge from the busy life in Rome. Wealthy Romans since antiquity will most certainly have a villa down in this region as a nice get-away from the stressful city life.

For me, I have always been fascinated by Vesuvius. The glorious and yet perilous mountain, ready to bellow out its fuming black cloud and lava at any moment (it is merely dormant!). Indeed, that it has laid to waste several cities in around the Bay of Naples, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, in 79 AD need not be repeated.  Yet, the fertile land around it still lures people to inhabit its surrounding area till this day! It is as if there is an invisible charm or allure to the great mountain such that people are willing to risk their lives in order to be able to enjoy basking in its presence.  

Today, nothing has changed. Cities still sprang up around the mountain. Vineyards and tomato and olive plantation littered the landscape. People’s lives go on as normal. It is as if 79 AD never happened.   

Sorrentino Vini

On Mount Vesuvius, we found a lovely restaurant called “Sorentino Vini”, which is famous for their homemade made from the fresh produce of Vesuvius. The tomatoes were super nice (Italy is well known for its tomatoes), and their plate of appetisers includes various kinds of veggies and hams. The restaurant also lets the customers taste several of their wine (a complementary) to go with the food. Overall, it is highly recommended that anyone who visits Vesuvius should stop by at this place for a glass of wine and a nice healthy homemade meal right below Vesuvius! You can check out a few pics of some of the nice dishes below!

Welcome to Pompeii: What to see in Pompeii (Part 3)

Today, we conclude our splendid tour of Pompeii by finishing off with the Amphitheatre, Palaestra and the vineyard. 

The Amphitheatre

This structure lies to the south of the Via dell’Abbondanza near the Sarno Gate. It was completed in 80 BC and is the earliest surviving forerunner and prototype for later structure of its kind to come (including the famous Coliseum of Rome). It was commissioned by two magistrates, C. Quintus Valgus and M. Porcius, and measures about 135 x 104 metres and could accommodate around 20,000 people!  Six metres deep below the ground is the area. This is possibly where the animals and gladiators were kept for the show. It is elliptical and surrounded by a parapet more than two metres high.

The Amphitheatre was used exclusively for sports, gladiatorial contests and spectacles involving wild animals. These shows would have been advertised by posters around Pompeii. The crowd loved the show and several gladiators found themselves suddenly a centre of limelight, as witnessed by the inscriptions. Support could be fanatical. During one gladiatorial show arranged by Regulus in AD 59, a riot broke out between the people of Pompeii and Nuceria. Taunts and abuses were exchanged, stones thrown and then swords drawn. Many Nucerians were wounded or slaughtered. Regulus and others held responsible for the riot were exiled. As a result, the Senate forbade Pompeii from holding similar events for ten years. However, the order was revoked three years later after the earthquake of AD 62.

The Large Palaestra

The large Palaestra is located at the south of  the Via dell'Abbondanza in the eastern quarter of the city next to the Amphitheatre.  It was built during the Augustan era and occupies an area of 140 x 105 metres. The large size of this sport field was believed to have been in response to the Emperor Augutus’ call to improve the physical condition of young upper class men.

The Palaestra consisted of a central area for sports surrounded by a high wall and a colonnade. In the centre of the sports field was a large swimming pool measuring 34 x 22 metres. Several graffiti were also found in the area. They reflect other activities other than those connected with sports such as the school master complaining about his pay, advice on choosing barber, references to gladiatorial shows etc. The Palaestra proved to be a popular destination for those wishing to take a break, to eat and to drink.  

Vineyard

Lastly, to conclude our tour of this splendid city, the tour guide took us to a vineyard where apparently people have been cultivating grapes for wine production for 2,000 years! Grapes are still being cultivated in the vineyard up to this day.