Yr Eifftiaid Duwiau Coll


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-888

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-From time immemorial,

-people have wondered about God.

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-As images of their God

-formed in their minds...

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-..they began to portray him

-in wood, paint and stone...

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-..and kept him in sacred places.

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-The ancient world

-recognised innumerable gods.

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-Today, one God

-dominates the world of believers.

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-So where did the old gods go?

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-We shall delve back in time...

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-..and look at those civilisations

-that brought gods to power...

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-..and honoured them

-in art and architecture.

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-We'll attempt to discover

-the fate of the lost gods.

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-888

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-888

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-The Egyptians

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-This place was once a sea of grass,

-waving in the breeze.

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-On that savannah, gazelles grazed,

-elephants roamed...

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-..and men hunted.

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-But 7,000 years ago,

-the climate changed.

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-Today, most of Egypt is desert.

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-It is baked to a crisp by the sun.

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-But this barren land

-contains treasure...

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-..that many other civilisations

-would covet.

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-The Nile river is a blue ribbon

-between two fertile green borders.

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-The Nile gave life to Egypt.

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-As hunters and shepherds

-became farmers...

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-..they began to focus

-on higher matters.

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-Gods were born.

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-There was a god for everything.

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-The gods brought order to the world.

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-When the country united

-under one king...

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-..he became the chief priest.

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-They called him Pera - "Great House"

-- the pharaoh.

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-He would make sure

-that the gods were worshipped...

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-..and that the Nile river

-would bring life.

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-What about the afterlife?

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-The Egyptians believed

-that every person had a soul...

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-..that would survive after death.

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-But the body had to be preserved,

-to give the soul sustenance.

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-That belief inspired Egyptian art

-and architecture...

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-..which are still considered

-to be wonders of the world.

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-Where can we see the first evidence

-of the glory of ancient Egypt?

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-Traditionally, the dead left the

-dark, fertile land of the Nile...

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-..for the red sand of the desert.

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-Saqqara is a stone text.

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-It records the history of the art

-and architecture of the Old Kingdom.

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-It is a gallery

-of religious pictures.

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-There was snobbery even in death.

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-These were the tombs of the elite.

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-These are the remains of a mastaba,

-built of mud bricks.

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-It illustrates the changes

-in Egyptian architecture...

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-..from the Nile's reeds, wood

-and mud...

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-..to stone.

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-But mastabas

-did not preserve bodies.

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-Noblemen like Irukaptah arranged

-statues of family members...

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-..who would accompany them

-into the afterlife.

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-But money could not buy immortality.

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-Later, they discovered

-a substance called natron.

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-Every day, people washed clothes

-using washing soda...

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-..and cleaned their teeth

-with baking soda.

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-When they put the two together...

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-..they had a substance

-that would dry and preserve bodies.

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-This was the key

-to eternal life - mummification.

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-Natron was a combination of the

-salts found in washing soda...

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-..and soda bread.

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-It was applied to the corpse

-to draw out moisture...

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-..and thus preserve

-a pharaoh's mummy.

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-A mastaba was far too insignificant

-for the immortal pharaoh.

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-Egypt's first pyramid

-can be seen here in Saqqara.

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-It is the step pyramid of Djoser.

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-Six mastabas

-stacked on top of each other...

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-..each one smaller

-than the one beneath.

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-The journey to the afterlife

-was fraught with danger.

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-Here are the sacred passwords

-to eternal life...

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-..inscribed almost 4,500 years ago.

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-Prayers, advice and ritual chants.

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-The step pyramid of Djoser

-was a work of faith.

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-It was the pharaoh's staircase

-to the stars...

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-..and the prototype for the pinnacle

-of ancient Egyptian architecture.

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-It also records its fall.

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-Cairo - the busy, modern,

-21st century capital city.

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-The site of the Giza pyramids...

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-..has almost been overwhelmed

-by Cairo's suburbs.

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-The pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu...

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-..is the biggest individual building

-in the history of the world.

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-It stands on a rock foundation.

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-203 steps rise

-to a height of 481 feet.

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-It weighs six million tons...

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-..equal to the total weight

-of all Europe's cathedrals.

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-It took 20 years to build.

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-The whole pyramid was covered

-with polished limestone...

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-..and topped with a pyramid-shaped

-gold capstone.

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-The world's most famous work of

-architecture also stands in Giza...

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-..the Sphinx.

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-It is 187 feet long.

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-It faces east and the rising sun.

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-It is a symbol of the sun god, Ra,

-and his son, the divine pharaoh.

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-Its Greek name is Sphinx.

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-In Arabic,

-it's known as Abu al-Hol...

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-.."Father of Terror".

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-But it failed to save

-the Old Kingdom from ruin.

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-Pharaoh Pepi II lived too long.

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-He reigned for 90 years.

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-His descendants died before him.

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-When he himself died in 2181 BC...

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-..the kingdom collapsed.

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-It was the end of the Old Kingdom.

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-But an amazing new development

-in Egyptian religion followed.

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-Abydos became as important

-for Egyptians...

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-..as Mecca is for Muslims.

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-Not because it was

-a prophet's tomb...

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-..but because it was the tomb

-of Osiris, god of the underworld.

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-Abydos marks a turning point

-in Egyptian religious attitude.

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-Here, the revolutionary belief

-developed that every individual...

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-..was responsible

-for the life given to them...

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-..and that the afterlife was open to

-everyone, whether pharaoh or farmer.

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-Osiris was a god of resurrection,

-like Jesus.

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-Osiris's resurrection...

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-..guaranteed that every pharaoh

-would live for ever...

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-..through reincarnation.

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-According to the myth, Osiris

-was resurrected by his wife, Isis.

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-This secured the succession

-of the pharaohs.

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-But in this life,

-power resides with people, not gods,

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-Political priests addressed a god

-who had been born in secrecy.

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-Amun rose to become king of the gods

-in the new Egyptian capital.

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-Amun was the most important god.

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-His temple was at Karnack.

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-Since the 20th century BC...

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-..several pharaohs

-have left their mark here...

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-..in art and architecture.

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-Karnack became Egypt's greatest

-religious and economic centre.

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-It was a state within a state,

-like the Vatican.

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-Here, history is written in stone.

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-The walls depict daily worship.

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-Two pink granite pillars...

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-..commemorate the union

-of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.

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-Lotus and papyrus.

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-United to worship

-the gods Amun and Ra.

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-Once a year,

-during the feast of Opet...

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-..Amun-Ra was carried

-on the Nile to visit his wife...

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-..in order to ensure

-the fertility of crops.

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-If Karnack was the powerhouse

-of Egypt, Luxor was its glory.

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-Beyond the Sphinx guardians...

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-..the pharaoh Ramesses

-waits to greet the god.

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-Inside are 70 columns

-topped with papyrus.

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-How were these huge walls built?

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-They placed layers of stone and

-supported them with ramps of rubble.

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-As the stone layers rose, the rubble

-served as scaffolding for workers.

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-After the rubble was removed,

-the top was beautifully decorated.

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-Artists created stencils of figures

-for the inscribers...

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-..who used copper

-and bronze chisels.

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-The walls were then painted

-with bright colours.

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-The paint has been worn away

-by centuries of sandstorms...

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-..but an echo of the former glory

-still remains.

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-Beyond, stands a hall

-of huge reed columns.

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-The floors were once coloured silver,

-to look like water.

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-Stars were painted on the ceiling.

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-Death held little mystery

-for Egyptians of this period.

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-What concerned them

-was the safety of the dead.

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-Every dead pharaoh was taken to the

-Valley of the Kings in the west...

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-..and hidden in the earth,

-safe for all eternity.

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-The Valley of the Kings

-was a dry area.

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-Bodies remained preserved.

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-It was guarded by a small army

-of officials and priests.

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-The tombs of the dead

-are practically hidden.

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-Some of them can be seen.

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-The decorations are similar

-to those in Giza and Saqqara...

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-..in their mystique and splendour.

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-They depict the circle

-of life, death and rebirth...

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-..carefully organised by priests...

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-..accompanied by symbols,

-chanting and rituals.

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-This circle was expected

-to carry on for ever.

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-In the year 1353 BC...

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-..the young pharaoh Amenhotep

-composed a poem to the sun.

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-"God, giver of life...

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-.."Only god,

-like whom there is no other...

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-.."You created the world

-according to your desire...

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-.."You are in my heart."

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-For Christians, Jews or Muslims

-today, this is an orthodox prayer.

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-For an Egyptian pharaoh of the

-14th century BC, it was heresy.

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-Amenhotep's vision changed from that

-of multiple gods to that of one god.

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-He changed his name to Akhenaten,

-in honour of the one god, Aten.

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-It caused a revolution

-in Egyptian art and architecture.

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-If the sun was god,

-the temple didn't need a roof.

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-The walls

-didn't have to be so thick.

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-In art, the divine, perfect pharaoh

-was rejected.

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-The pharaoh

-became an ordinary man...

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-..who had weaknesses

-like the rest of humanity.

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-Egyptian art was touched by reality.

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-Like Henry VIII

-during his Protestant Reformation...

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-..Akhenaten took possession

-of the temple's treasure.

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-When powerful priests

-tried to challenge him...

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-..he shut down Karnack and Luxor...

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-..and built a new capital

-for the new god.

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-Akhenaten ruled for 17 years.

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-Within days of his death...

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-..every reference to his name

-and his god were destroyed.

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-The priests of Amun

-got their revenge.

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-Amun was restored, but not for long.

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-The Persian Empire swept through

-the desert and encircled Egypt.

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-The priests begged Amun

-for someone to save them.

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-"When the gods wish to punish us,"

-said Oscar Wilde...

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-.."they answer our prayers."

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-The saviour whom the gods

-sent to Egypt...

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-..was a 33-year-old Greek -

-Alexander.

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-He repelled the Persians,

-declared himself the son of Amun...

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-..then left Egypt because

-he had other worlds to conquer.

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-But he left a Greek general

-on the throne...

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-..the first of the Ptolemy pharaohs.

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-The reign of the ancient

-Egyptian dynasty had ended.

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-So what happened to Egyptian

-religion and its powerful gods?

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-The answer can be found

-on a small island in the Nile.

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-Philae, far up the Nile...

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-..had attracted pilgrims

-since the early days.

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-But art and architecture at Philae

-reveal the new reality.

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-The powerful figure

-on the pylon is Greek.

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-The space between the buildings

-is a Greek concept.

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-The pillars

-have a Greek perspective.

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-This is where the last

-Egyptian hieroglyphic was written...

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-..on August 24, 394 AD.

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-A tombstone to the glory

-of the past.

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-And then there's this.

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-The Kiosk of Trajan.

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-A new power was already spreading

-across the Mediterranean Sea.

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-The Romans were on their way.

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-Stability was the foundation

-of Egyptian religion.

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-But stability can easily turn

-to stubbornness.

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-The Nile floods, crops grow,

-the pharaoh dies and lives again.

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-Then the world turned upside-down.

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-Egypt as a whole

-was an inverted pyramid...

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-..supported by one man -

-the powerful pharaoh.

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-Everything came crashing down.

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-In religion as in archaeology...

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-..conservation and progress

-go hand in hand.

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-If the Egyptians had accepted this

-as they adapted to monotheism...

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-..perhaps the names of Amun,

-Hathor and Osiris...

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-..would not now

-be on the list of lost gods.

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-S4C subtitles by TROSOL Cyf.

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