Compare And Contrast Ancient Egyptian Culture

Egypt claims a five thousand year old rich culture and history. However, Egyptian culture holds a lot of contradictions between its old and new. Even though ancient Egyptian and modern Egyptian cultures sprout from the same country, they are drastically different in many aspects, most importantly in their religion and beliefs, jobs, and written and spoken languages. Egypt’s first and oldest civilization, known as Ancient Egypt, represented a very fascinating period of history. Ancient Egyptians attributed this great period of prosperity and success to their gods. They were deeply religious as religion played an important role in almost all aspects of their daily lives. Their religion was known to be polytheistic, meaning they worshipped a
They centered their lives on the Nile River either to obtain their basic needs or to make a living out of farming or fishing. The boys accompanied their fathers in master the skills needed to take their fathers lead later on. As for the women, it was their duty to teach their daughters household responsibilities as preparation for marriage. Skilled workers engaged in craftwork, pottery and leatherwork. The priests’ occupation was to keep the gods happy by performing rituals and ceremonies in the temple built in honor of each God. The Pharaohs, society’s most superior group of people, were perceived as gods on earth; hence they held a unique authoritative position. Since they had the most power, it was their responsibility to defend the country and maintain law and order. Viziers were often appointed as advisors to supervise all administrative documents. Scribes were known to be the only literate people. They recorded all the information related to the state and daily events on papyrus paper. However, they used a rather symbolic and alphabetic writing system called hieroglyphics. Each symbol used conveyed a unique meaning or gave off a particular sound Hieroglyphics was rather a local language, as Egyptians were the only ones able to “read”
Today, religion is not as controlling as it was in ancient times. Egypt has evolved into a monotheistic society where Islam is the most common religion followed by Christianity. Mosques and churches of all sizes scale the entirety of Egypt as prayer sites. Both religions followed by the Egyptian people have forbidden the concept of the afterlife; therefore the building of pyramids and tombs has ceased. Instead, vast areas of land have been set aside as burial sites known as the cemeteries. the religious customs are followed for burial; the body is wrapped in a special cloth and placed into an underground coffin. Funerals are held in mosques and churches where special prayers are