INTRODUCTION TO PHARAONIC EGYPT: MIND AND MEMORY OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

INTRODUCTION TO PHARAONIC EGYPT: MIND AND MEMORY OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION is part of the inter-university bachelor's degree program Ancient Civilizations for the Contemporary World and falls within the historical-archaeological field. The course aims to provide a historical, archaeological, and cultural overview of Pharaonic Egypt, with a particular focus on interactions and conflits with neighboring Nubians, defining the ways and times of Egyptian political and cultural influence in the ancient Mediterranean.

1. Knowledge and understanding: students will acquire the fundamental tools for studying Pharaonic civilization in its essential aspects (written and archaeological sources, iconography, religion).
2. Ability to implement knowledge: the course will provide students with the basic tools for Egyptological research (bibliography, online resources).
3. Development of critical skills: students will develope critical skills in their approach to Egyptian civilization and its interpretation.
4. Communication: students will be able to present the knowledge they have gained in a comprehensive and accurate manner.

There are no admission requirements for the course. A basic knowledge of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean is recommended.

Egyptology and Egyptomania: the birth of a discipline
Sources and deciphering of hieroglyphics
Egyptian territory and its neighbors
Before the pharaohs: Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods
The age of the pyramids: the Old Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom between Egypt and Nubia
The New Kingdom between Karnak and Napata
The world of the living and the world of the dead: funerary texts
Religion, magic, and demonology
The Temple from the Pharaohs to the Ptolemies
Contacts with the Mediterranean: Egypt, Nubia, and Rome

J. Baines - J. Málek, Cultural Atlas of ancient Egypt, Checkmark Books, Oxford 2000.

K. Bard, An introduction to the archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Oxford 2008.

F. Iannarilli, “Apedemak, Osiris and Dionysos between Meroitic and Mediterranean models”. In: (eds): E. M. Ciampini - F. Iannarilli, Jebel Barkal. Half a century of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Sudan, Gangemi, Roma 2022, pp. 115-118.

Two-hour written exam in the format of a multiple-choice test + 1 open-ended question, focusing on topics covered during the course.

written

The examination will consist of a written test. The assessment will be expressed in thirtieths (minimum required grade: 18/30; maximum grade: 30 cum laude/30).

The test will consist of 15 questions:
- 1 open-ended question (max 3 points out of 30)
- 9 multiple-choice questions (each question is worth 3 points --> max 27 points out of 30)

Honors are awarded to papers that have achieved the maximum score (30/30) and are excellent in content and form in the first question. Answers left blank will not be scored.

Lectures; special lectures on selected topics; student group presentations. Slides and teaching materials will be made available.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development