From the Great Pyramids of Giza to the hieroglyphs, from the almost “divine” rules of the pharaohs to the religious beliefs that shaped everyday life in ancient Egypt.

Daily Life and Social Structure:

The society in Ancient Egypt was divided into hierarchies, with the Pharaoh at the top, then came his viziers, members of the court, priests, military generals, and at the bottom of the hierarchy were the slaves, peasants and farmers. Social mobility was practically non existent as it was thought that the gods had already established a perfect social order which was in keeping up with ma’at (balance and harmony), which according to Egyptian ancient beliefs, was a universal law which allowed the world to function as it was meant to.

Religion and Mythology:

The ancient Egyptian religion was based on polytheistic beliefs and rituals. The religion consisted of about 1,500 gods and goddesses. Like other polytheistic religions, this one was also primarily based on rituals such as offerings and prayers in return for a favor. Magic was used to compel some of the gods to act in their favor. Like humans, this ancient Egyptian religion has evolved over time, with some gods “gaining” importance and others “losing” it. In the 3500 years of this religions life time, there has been only 1 instance where under the rule of Akhenaten (1353-1334 B.C.) the religion consisted of only a single deity called Aten, which was the sun Itself.

Pharaohs, Dynasties and Political Power:

Egypt was initially divided into two parts, “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt”. This was the case up until 3100 B.C. when Narmer, the ruler of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and united them. One of the most important dynasties of Ancient Egypt was the third Dynasty, called “The Old Kingdom”. This dynasty was formed in 2680 B.C. During this time, Egypt was united under a single ruling dynasty, it developed systems of record-keeping, and formed an important caste of scribes, and the bureaucrats of Egyptian royalty were literate and mastered hieroglyphic writing. During this time, essential beliefs of the Egyptian religion emerged, especially the idea that the king was a de facto god, and that without a king and religious priests, terrible chaos and destruction would reign on Earth.

It was also during this Dynasty, when the first pyramid was built in Egypt, belonging to Djoser, the first ruler of The Old Kingdom.

Following the collapse of “The Old Kingdom” came 30 more dynasties. The last dynasty of Ancient Egypt was “The Ptolemaic” which happened to be the longest dynasty in the history of Ancient Egypt, as it lasted from 305 B.C. to 30, when it as incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Technological and Scientific Achievements:

The Egyptians were pioneers in several aspects of scientific and technological achievements. The word paper comes from the Greek word for an ancient writing material papyrus. Papyrus was essentially obtained from strips of papyrus plants.

Lighthouse technology was first developed during the Ptolemaic dynasty,between 294-246 B.C. it stood around 110 meters tall and it is said to be one of the tallest man made structures in the world, unfortunately, this structure was devastated as a result of several earthquakes.

One of the most famous structures to come out of ancient Egypt were the pyramids, and to this date, archaeologist still argue about how these pyramids were exactly built, given than with current knowledge about Ancient Egypt, they did not posses any specific tools that helped them build the pyramids.

Other achievements of Egyptians include: Obelisks and pillars, Astronomy, The Edwin Smith Papyrus, Lathes and Chariots.