Seeking the Lost Civilization · The Sealed Antiquity of Ancient Egypt

Author: Su Mengwei (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: When people think of the ancient land of Egypt, the first thing that comes to mind is its mysterious ancient civilization, which has left behind so much imagination and awe. For 5,000 years, from 3100 BC to 50 AD, Egyptian civilization was one of the most brilliant civilizations in human history. An American Egyptologist, Lionel Carnarvon, once said: A thousand years before the Minoans built their palace at Knossos on Crete, and several centuries before the Israelites followed Moses out of slavery, Egypt was already a great power. When the tribal peoples of the Italian peninsula were still living in huts by the Tiber River, Egypt was already prosperous. Two thousand years ago, the ancient Greeks and Romans looked at Egypt as modern people visit the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome. From that time on, the towering and magnificent pyramids stood on both banks of the Nile, overlooking the entire world. Long after the civilization of ancient Egypt had disappeared, Greek scholars were still sighing in regret as they explored its decline, and Roman rulers were still shocked by obelisks and transported them to Rome to place them in public squares. Although the ancient civilization of Egypt is now distant from us, it has left behind so much mystery for future generations: pyramids, mummies, obelisks, so many temples, and so many inscriptions written in hieroglyphs that we cannot yet understand. All of this has led later generations to ponder again and again: What does it mean? What is it saying? Why were such massive pyramids built? What meaning were they intended to convey? This has created a very strong attraction for later generations, and this attraction did not begin in modern times—it has existed since ancient times. For example, the ancient Greeks already had a strong interest in Egypt during the Greek period. Herodotus wrote extensively about Egyptian history in his Histories, leaving behind many valuable references for later generations. Whether it is credible or not, at least it tells us that the ancient Egyptian civilization is worth exploring for later generations. In addition to these ancient figures, it is hard to imagine that Napoleon had a mysterious connection with Egyptian hieroglyphs. When he led his army to fight the British and reached Egypt, his soldiers dug trenches at Rosetta and discovered a stele, which was later named the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone is valuable because it has three scripts on it: the top is ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Similar discoveries were made in ancient Egypt, such as its murals and sculptures, all of which are witnesses to the ancient civilization. The charm of ancient Egypt lies in its relentless display of its own culture. From the pyramids of Giza, the Karnak Temple of Amun, and the Valley of the Kings to the temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, these distant structures continue to stubbornly show their existence and the meaning of their continued existence to humanity and nature. Although the history of ancient Egypt has ended, we can still explore this brilliant civilization through the artifacts and texts left behind by the ancient Egyptians.