13. Describe the key themes of Egyptian history.

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Throughout Egyptian history, there have been many common themes, reflected in mythology on both papyrus and stone. Despite the optimistic Egyptian attitude from the Nile, the Egyptians' close proximity to the desert led to deep religious roots. For 3000 years the Egyptians have believed in two primordial forces- order and chaos, represented by the Nile and the desert. Mythology and history have merged in Ancient Egypt- another theme in their mythology was the the battle between Horus and Set, which may have incited or inspired the rivalry of Hierakonpolis and Nagada, the respective cult centers. But the central themes of Egypt was founded with the creation of a stable religion, which enforced centralized power, royal rituals, and a preoccupation with death or life. The Egyptians formulated a complex depiction of death:

Their history is influenced by both a strong obsession with religious judgement [1] and Narmar-Menes, who set the precedent for all the pharaohs after him as builder-warriors.

As such, Egypt enjoyed large periods of peace and prosperity.

Source: LM 125-128

Linda Yu