Peasants Relationship With The Pharaoh History Essay

Peasants Relationship With The Pharaoh History Essay The great story of ancient Egypt has existed from thousands of years; it took place around 7000 B.C- 30 B.C. At first Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, and had different ruler. These two kingdoms developed along the Nile River. The first one was in Upper Egypt, which known as the White Crown; while the second one was in Lower Egypt, which known as Red Crown. Then, in about 3200 B.C the Pharaoh of the north captured the south and united these two into one. The name of pharaoh was King Narmer or Menes. As we already knew, Ancient Egypt was one of the superlative civilizations in the past period because of its geographical condition, social system, and educational system. Egypt is located in the Northeast corner of Africa. It is the great position; also there is the longest river in the world, the Nile River, flows through the country into the Mediterranean Sea. In the history of ancient Egypt, Egyptians people divided their owned country into two areas. The first one was called Deshret (Red land) because that area is full of deserts and surrounded Kemet (Black Land), moreover these deserts prevented ancient Egypt from invading armies and separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries. The second one was called Kemet (Black Land) because the Nile floods were so flexible. Since the Nile River flooded every year between June and September, Nile reached rich soil from central Africa and left it on the banks of its valley, and its areas of low flat land in Mediterranean. All of these stuffs produced such an excellent alluvium that gave a priority to the ancient Egypt on their agriculture and their life as well. The Nile River was the giver of life bec ause Nile not only provided water, food, and transportation to stabilize the Egypts lives, but also provided fertile land, which facilitated them to grow their crop and raise their animals as well. The people in Egypt society were structured in a hierarchical system like a pyramid that pharaoh stood at the top, then the ruling class and the middle class, and the bottom one was peasants and slaves. The majority of Egyptians were peasants. This term paper is going to describe more about peasants lives in ancient Egypt. What did they do? How did they survive in the ancient time? What was their relationship with the Pharaohs? And what were their religions and beliefs? Peasants Daily Lives in Ancient Egypt Working Condition Like the rest of the ancient world , the Egyptian people lived an agricultural life . Such a life seemed so far removed from the common stories heard about Egypt the glory of its treasures and pyramids Egypt s glorious past connotes an image of ancient Egyptians living more advanced , luxurious lives , as if all they do was to gather treasures and eat in abundance well , in some sense they are true , but only for their rulers , noble families , and priests . The rest of the Egyptian population of long ago , especially before the 1800 s , were poor peasants who have to rely on the predictability of the Nile flooding to plant and harvest crops . The peasants (fellahin ) however , were very much connected to the glories of Egypt for it was their constant , persevering unacknowledged , often despised , and always ill-rewarded toil as tiller of the land that made possible all the achievements of Egypt ensuring for it a leading position among the nations of preclassical antiquity Needless to say , it was the sweat of the fellahin that produced the great pyramids , jewelry and treasures to Egypt , that provided the luxurious living of their Pharaoh and ruling families and that made possible all of Egypt s military conquest , commercial expansion and influence and prestige abroad Peasants also played an important role to build Pyramids for Pharaoh. While the flooding season was coming, the Nile River flooded the ground and made the filed more fertilized. This was the time for the peasants help to build the Pyramids. On the other hand, peasants had no right to own the land even they were the one who plant the crop to supply for everyones need. They had to pay tax to the government and this made more complicated for them to release from the poverty. Livelihoods In ancient Egypt, peasants were considered as the lowest level in social classes. Peasants lived in mud brick houses with a bad condition. The house of an Egyptian peasant was well designed to stay cool. The main point of the house was the kitchen, which contained an oven to bake bread and a mill to grind flour. The stoves did not have chimneys and instead the smoke vented directly through an opening in the roof. The inside of the house was simply decorated but did not lack of comfort; the floors were usually covered with reed mats; the walls were painted and sometimes were also covered with colored linen. The furniture was made of wood and most houses had wooden stools, tables and raised beds. The ancient Egyptians gave great importance to hygiene and appearance. They bathed frequently in the Nile and used soap pastes based on animal fat and chalk. Sometime because of famine, they were forced to eat papyrus while the upper class live with a better condition, with enough food to eat and a comfortable lifestyle. Marriage was consensual and usually between one man and one woman, although polygamy was not forbidden. Males usually married at the age of 18 to 20 while females married between the ages of 15 and 18. Egyptians usually married cousins or other family members. Pharaohs were known to marry their sisters, but this was not common practice among the peasant class. Marriage to non-relatives was discouraged. The sage Scribe Ani, wrote during the New Kingdom: Beware of a woman who would is unknown in your city. Do not look at her as is she were better than the others, do not know her physically: she is like a very deep water which we do not know the currents. The ideal of Egyptian family life was for a man and a woman to settle down together and make a home and have children. Most Egyptians wished to have at least one boy. Leisure Activities In spite of their activities on agriculture and building temples for the pharaoh, peasants also had their leisure activities. Most of the activities were outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and playing river games. Peasants hunted water birds, desert animal, etc. They caught some animals such as gazelle, oxen, hares and ostriches (Leisure Time in Ancient Egypt, 2001). The weapons that they used for hunting were bows and arrows, lassos, and throwing sticks. Moreover, peasants enjoyed fishing during their free time. Due to their location nearby the Nile River, the canals and the lakes, peasants liked to go there after they finished their works. They went fishing in the Nile River, where it was rich of fish, chatted with their people, and collected fish for their family. Besides, the river games were also their leisure activity. For instance, boat racing, there were boats that started in the same direction and there were two or three men for each boat with poles. After they had won, they knocked all the men off a boat, and then they would turn it over. This was one of the most interesting games played in ancient Egypt. Furthermore, the Egyptians also enjoyed music. There were many religious celebrations and secular festivals that provided entertainment and relief from work throughout the year. Music and dance were a part of daily life, with the flute and the harp being commonly used. Later the trumpet and the oboe were also introduced to Egypt, and the Egyptians also adopted the cymbals, tambourines and drum, as well as the Asian lute. Peasants Relationship with the Pharaoh The relationship of the Fellahin to the Pharaoh / government was more of a dictatorship a religious, physical and intellectual enslavement that was carried on for almost three historic centuries. Like other early civilizations, Egypt had its own specific class system. At the top of the class stood Pharaoh and his royal family, then directly next to him were the priests and priestess, and then below them were the nobles who fought Pharaoh s war. A small percentage of merchants, artisans and scribes made up the next rank. Then occupying the bottom of the ladder is the majority of the population It was very hard for them sometimes. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. We were slaves to Pharaoh. Of course, the relationship is a personal relationship tough. Religions and Beliefs The beliefs of gods and life after death were the center aspect of life in ancient Egypt. Egyptians were polytheistic They worshiped a lot of gods, except during the reign of Akenaton. The ancient Egyptians had many different gods and goddesses; totally there were around 2000 gods and goddesses. Gods and Goddesses Besides worshiping pharaohs as their god, peasants also worshiped other gods and goddesses. They believed those gods had a lot of impacts on their birth, daily life, and death. Each god or goddess had his/her own role to provide peace and harmony or harmfulness to every single life of Egyptians. Some of the gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt are Anubis, Amun, Thoth, Hathor, Bes, Isis, Khnum, Horus, Ptah, Osiris, Sebek and Ra. However, the three most important Amun-Re was regarded as one of the most well-known and important gods in ancient Egypt. He was known as the symbol of the sun, king of the gods, life creator, and the bringer of light. Amun-Re came form the combination of two gods Amun, god of air or hidden, and Re, god of the sun. Osiris was worshipped as the god of living and vegetation among the peasants. The majority of peasants in ancient Egypt were farmers that depended on growing crops near the Nile River in ancient Egypt, moreover; He was regarded as the one that controlled the annual flooding of the Nile River that fertilized the land, where peasants grew crops. However, Osiris was also known as the god of afterlife and the dead. Rituals and Ceremonies Egyptians concerned about life after death. When a person died, they always practiced burial ritual in order for the person to be happy and harmonious afterlife. One of the most important ceremonies was the opening the mouth ceremony that was leaded by a priest. At the entrance of the grave, the mummy was lifted to on upright position. The priest utters the words of ritual, touch the mummy; and moreover, he puts water and incense in the coffin. Meanwhile, a daze (a tool used for smoothing rough-cut wood) was lifted to the lip of mummys face. The daze was raised in this twice. This ceremony is very essential because it makes the mummy could breathe and speak in the next life. In addition, the priest could utter the words to reanimate the mummys legs, arm and the other part of the body. One ritual that can preserve the dead body is Mummification. In this process, the internal organs of the dead body were removed. Then they fill the body hollow with fragrant spices and perfume. After 70 days, the body was wrapped in bandages. Furthermore, they decorate the body with gold and jewels that cover around the head and shoulder of the mummy. Besides these rituals, other rituals were performed to help prepare for the kings final journey. The kings mummy was kept inside the Pyramid with enormous amount of food, drink, furniture, clothes and jewelry, which were to be used in the afterlife. After the kings funeral, the king becomes god. Conclusion

Student Athletes Should Not Be Paid Essay -- College Sports

Student Athletes Should Not Be Paid In the world of college athletics there are endless topics discussed daily and most pertain to money. An issue that falls under this category includes the heated debate involving whether or not student athletes should receive money. Many people say student athletes should receive compensation according to their specific needs because they spend so much time earning their scholarship and have no time to work. On the other hand, the stronger argument is student athletes should not be able to acquire additional funds in order to help aid them through college. An athlete knows what he or she is involving themselves in before any money issue is even brought up. Signing a letter of intent shows that they understand this. But people still feel the opportunity to work a job while competing in a sport is virtually non existent in a division one atmosphere, and therefore athletes need money. When looking at all angles, those that feel athletes should be paid usually have the same arguments. They think because athletes have minimal free time and a lot of the school’s revenue is produced by them, this qualifies athletes to a portion of money. For instance, football and men’s basketball have proven over the years to make the most money for most universities. In fact â€Å"Since 1965, the NCAA increased its revenue by 8000 percent and CBS signed a contract through the year, 2002, for $72 million to cover the NCAA tournament. (â€Å"For Years† par. 5) With these kinds of numbers produced by college athletes many suggest they need to receive a little back. It’s a reasonable thought since athletes are responsible for such an enormous amount of cash flow. The NCAA is often compared to a business and a bu... ...a university and playing a sport at the same time was supposed to be easy or profitable. If a law was to pass regarding college athletes receiving money many things would be different in the future. A major concern involves recruiting. Universities allowed to pay players would be able to buy recruits persuading them to attend the school offering the most money. It’s almost like a free agent in professional sports. Attending the school with the most to offer decreases the likelihood of a fair playing ground for all of college athletics. As a result certain schools would be major powerhouses and it would stay this way forever. Although there are some schools considered powerhouses now, the odds of a school with complete domination would be much more likely. Overall if student athletes begin to get paid, collegiate sports will become corrupted.

Book The Problem of Media: U.S. Communication Politics

The book The Problem of Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century written by Robert W. McChesney discusses the issue of media Reform. He argues that, â€Å"The Policies, structures, subsidies and institutions that are created to control direct and regulate the media will be responsible for the logic and nature of the media system whether their content is good, bad or a combination, the media therefore presents a political problem for any society, and an unavoidable one at that† (16). He contends that there are two main issues on this problem.   The first problem is the structure that creates the content of the information and the second is the structures themselves.   He believes that the way society makes it decisions on how to structure the system and how it decides to solve this needs reformation.   Debates, he believes, will direct shape and create value to the media system. McChesney writes of how media will exist in all societies.   But their structure and content is determined cultural, economic and political and this determines the amount of solutions each society has to choose from.   In different societies the controlling government decides how this is structured.   He mentions dictatorships and authoritarian regimes will create the type of media that will influence and give him more power and stopping any chance of opposition.   With a democratic society the problem exists between those with power and those with none.   In this society the power is with the media and it is this power that gives a strong support in the building of democracy making media a political tool. The problems with media being a political tool in a democracy, he states is well known.   The foundation of this is that in order to have a democratic society the citizens must be informed and the media is the tool for this.  Ã‚   It is not that the media is to create the democracy but help to make it more effective to members of that society.   The issue in the reform is all about content.   If it is balanced with views that express both sides of the road.   Giving an opposite stand to democracy, equally important for the society members to make choices on how to structure their society and even more important is how media affects economics. Media’s beginning influences were in economics and soon spread to politics.   McChesney believes that, â€Å"In the United States the starting point for grasping the problem with media is seeing where the media fits in the broader capitalistic economic system† (117).   The problem is between the role media has in the profit-making commercial structured organizations and the need for information that deals with information needed for a democracy.   â€Å"It is this tension that fuels much of the social concern around media and media policy making† (17). The author gives great attention to the meaning of problem and how it relates to what is deemed the problem of media.   I thought this to be kind of repetitious because he gives meaning to the word problem often throughout the book.   I thought that maybe he was trying to make a point at how media will take something and give it so many different meanings as he did.   He then goes on to give a history of the media to give the reader a sense of where it was coming from to see where it was going.   Giving a good historical account of the affects of broadcasting in the 1930’s that created the way our society makes media policy. He then moves into an analysis into how media became corrupt, deceitful, and missing ethical bases just within this century.   McChesney believes that the United States has not faced these problems making media a servant to those in society that are self-servant.   These are usually the ones that make any decisions in private such as the media corporations that are driven by profits, ignoring what society needs. â€Å"This system has contributed to a political crisis of the highest magnitude and unless it is confronted directly will severely limit our ability to make progress on any of the other major social and political problems that face the nation† (21).   Media should help to give the society an ability to have informed debates on issues that arise from that society. After reading the book it gave me much to think about, but really no clear solution.   Granted he did talk of reforms but in what sense?   In my opinion reform should come in the way we educate our society.   Now with new technology freedom of speech is a whole new attitude.   Everyone has something to say, whether right or wrong.   I do think there should be some kind of reform, but I’m not sure what kind of reform would be effective.   Education society more on what the meanings of context and content would be more effective than trying to define the problem in multiple ways. I really didn’t understand context or content until I went to college.   It’s pretty simple but applying it everyday wasn’t something I did until college.   Now everything I read or see on television I take with a grain of salt, until I research it a little more I don’t hold it true.   This kind of education needs to be applied in primary learning structures.   This would help greatly with structuring a well informed society. I felt the book was very informative, but difficult to read.   I believe that this would make a very good book for educational structures to use.   It awakened an issue in me that I knew was there, but really didn’t think about too much.   I believe this to be pretty true with much of society.   Just yesterday a friend had mentioned something he had heard on the radio about making young school children in Australia stop sing a Christmas song that used the phrase â€Å"Ho, Ho, Ho† because of the implications of it’s meaning, whore. At first I was shocked and angry but after thinking awhile I first thought, the content wasn’t probably reliable or it was taken totally out of context and if it had to do with a more important issue I would have researched the information to find the truth.   This is why I believe media reformation is something that needs to be addressed but the key to the solution is education. Works Cited: McChesney, Robert W.   The Problem of Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Twenty-First Century.   New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004.   

Feminist Reading of Hardy’s the Return of the Native

Feminist Reading of Hardy’s The Return of the Native Most of Hardy’s novels or better to say all of them are considered to be modern. In fact, one can notice so many features of modern novels in his fiction. By referring to Robert Schweik’s article (1994) pertaining to the idea that Hardy has influenced so many modern novelists such as D.H. Lawrence, one of the key critics of Hardy novels, chiefly in the notion of feminine and treatment of women which is one of the distinguishing features in his fiction. One can regard this type of treatment of women in Jude the Obscure, the sixth and the last of his major fictions, in a way that Sue, the heroine of the novel, is a liberated, unconventional and broadminded feminine who rebels†¦show more content†¦One can observe how the folk women hate her, that how they talk behind her or also there is almost no conversation between Eustacia and the other female characters throughout the novel. As evidence, there is a scene in the church, exactly the time of Wildeve and Th omasin marriage, â€Å"Susan had pricked Miss. Vye with a long stocking needle† (RN: 149), as a means of her hatred. But, just in opposite, whatever is thought by the folk people is not Hardy’s objective. He attempts to criticize the narrow-mindedness of such people, their counterfeit superstitions particularly religious ones. Using Althusser’s â€Å"Ideology†, here, it is very much pertinent to the social laws, the church and what the â€Å"Fathers† are establishing. By reading closely the chapter called â€Å"Queen of Night†, the mysteries regarding Eustacia is unfolded. The common element in the chapter is the high spirited woman rebelling against the constructions of her prescribed â€Å"woman’s lot† and seeking a life of wider personal freedom than customarily granted to women: â€Å"she had the passions and instincts which make a model goddess, that is, those which make not quite a model woman.† (RN: 55) Through st udying theShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis of the Causes of Tess’s Tragedies in Tess of the D’urbervilles3739 Words   |  15 Pagesmodernist either notwithstanding the traits of modern innovation as is clearly shown in his major works. Reflected in Hardy’s literary works is the transitional trend from traditional to modern literature, and the inspiration from both inheriting and challenging conventions of nineteenth-century at the same time. Among all his most known novels, Tess of the D’urbervilles is Hardy’s representative masterpiece which serves as a strong demonstration of his perspectives as a thinker and techniques asRead MoreIndian English Novel17483 Words   |  70 Pagesliterature. Hence the post colonial literature in India witnessed a revolution against the idiom which the colonial writers followed. Gradually the Indian English authors began employing the techniques of hybrid language, magic realism peppered with native themes. Thus from a post colonial era Indian literature ushered into the modern and then the post-modern era. The saga of the Indian English novel therefore stands as the tale of Changing tradition, the story of a changing India. The stories were