Essays

ESSAY A 

     The social hierarchy of the Egyptians starts at the bottom with slaves and servants. These men and women worked for the wealthy with house duties and raising children. Above them are the farmers who raised wheat, barely, lentils, and onions. Next are the artisans who carved statues often featuring soldiers and scenes of the afterlife.
     Higher up on the food chain are the merchants. They used the barter system (for example, accepting a bag of grain for their payment). Later though, coinage came about. Next were the scribes. They kept records, told stories, wrote poetry, and described anatomy and medical treatment. One of the more respected professions was that of a soldier. Back then they used wooden weapons with bronze tips and rode wooden chariots.
     The upper class, also known as the "white kilt class" because they were often identified by their spotless white robes. Those of the upper class were priests, physicians and engineers.
     On top of the hierarchy was the pharaoh. He (and in a few cases, she) was the political and religious leader. He/she was many times referred to as "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High Priest of Every Temple" If maat (or harmony and balance of the universe) wasn't achieved, it was blamed on the pharaoh. This person also owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt from foreigners.

ESSAY B

     Egyptian life centered around the Nile River. In fact about 95% of Egyptians lived within a few miles of it. The Nile flows from South to North and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The mouth of the river (the delta) flooded every July and every October, left behind fertile silt.
     The lives of Egyptians centered around the Nile because it was one of the only sources of water and rich soil for hundreds of miles. Over thousands of years, the people started to understand the river's patterns and domesticated accordingly. They learned how to use it for many things like irrigation. With the invention of the sail boat, they also could us the Nile for transportation.
     Basically, everything that people need to survive, they found with the Nile River. They had drinking water, bathing water, transportation, fertile soil to plant crops with, and more.