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The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt were an integral aspect of the peoples’ daily lives, inhabiting not only the temples thought to be their homes but the streams, lakes, plains, and trees of the land and, of course, the Nile River. The...

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 7000-c. 600 BCE) is among the oldest in the world but, as it was only “discovered” in 1829 – after ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sites had already been excavated – many of the “firsts” of civilization...

Death in ancient Egypt was understood as a transition of the soul from the earthly plane to the afterlife, a rebirth, not a conclusion. After death, the soul passed through judgment by the god Osiris and, if justified by a life well-lived...

Architecture in ancient Egypt reflected the Egyptian culture's values, primarily that of ma'at (harmony/balance) symbolized by the symmetry of the completed works. Exteriors and interiors were carefully planned and executed in accordance...

Ancient Egyptian art was created to serve a practical purpose, not for its own sake, and so every piece had a specific function. At the same time, these works were crafted in accordance with the cultural value of ma'at (harmony) and so attention...

The temple in ancient Egypt was the home of the deity it was built for, and the clergy attended the statue of that god or goddess as they would a living person. Every temple was designed with a forecourt, a reception area for public gatherings...

Government and religion in ancient Egypt were fully integrated beginning with the First Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3150 to c. 2890 BCE). The king was understood as a representative of a god, the specific deity sometimes changing with different...

Daily life in ancient Egypt was lived with an awareness of the gods and the understanding that they had given the people the gift of the most perfect place on earth. Ancient Egyptians worked at their jobs and performed community service for...

A ziggurat is an artificial mountain built by the ancient Mesopotamians to elevate the clergy toward the realm of the gods. A form of monumental architecture, the ziggurat had a rectangular base from which a series of steps rose to a flat...

In this collection of resources, we examine daily life during the London Blitz, the period of intense bombing of the British capital from 1940 to 1941 during the Second World War (1939-45). We look at Nazi Germany's objectives for the bombing...