Ancient Egyptians in the Modern Media!

Ever since the tomb of King Tutankhamen was discovered Egypt has been a booming sensation for the modern era. Egypt has been all around the modern spectrum from Elizabeth Taylor’s adaptation of Cleopatra to the multitude of movies, TV shows and books all based on mummies. It seems many share the same fascination I have for the mysterious civilization that is thousands upon thousands of years old. I’m happy for all these modern adaptations because it opened my eyes up to the Egyptian culture and made me realize how desperately I wanted to learn more.

I remember my first experience with the Egyptians it was when I was smaller. I remember watching this show called “Tutenstein” on Discovery Kids. This show taught me a lot in a dimmed down version for elementary school children. Obviously some things weren't accurate like the fact that king tut is portrayed as a 10 year old mummy brought back to life. He was 18 when he died! *cough cough* It’s also not technically possible to bring someone back to life with just a lightning bolt, this isn't some Frankenstein shit. Regardless throughout the show they had a lot of facts about Egypt so you learned quite a lot. Throughout the show tut schemes to get himself a pyramid. Since in actuality there isn't a formal pyramid for him due to the fact that he died rather young so there wasn't much time for them to create a pyramid in his honor.

So another way I learned about Egypt was through this show called “Truth or Scare” also on the discovery kids channel (this channel was my life I learned a lot). I am a big advocate of scary things so Egypt’s mummy’s curse kind of tantalized my mind with all these spooky possibilities. Sadly I couldn't find the exact episode for The Curse of Tutankhamen but there are also other shows that you could watch on YouTube just search for Truth or Scare.   

Howard Carter (Egyptologist)

So the Mummy’s curse came about after Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. The tale goes as follows apparently James Breasted, a famous Egyptologist, worked with Howard shortly after he had discovered the tomb of King Tut. He stated that Carter had sent a messenger to his house and the messenger saw a cobra with Carter’s bird in its mouth. The cobra is a symbol of Egyptian monarchy. So the local people took this as a sign of a Mummy’s curse. Like in a sense that the Egyptians will kill Howard (bird got killed by snake). The insanity doesn’t stop there the story progresses. Well the first person to die was Lord Carnarvon, he had been bitten by a mosquito upon entering the tomb he then later accidently cut the wound while shaving which caused an infection. This infection turned into blood poisoning and he died soon after. Some reporter quoted an obscure thing from a book that indicated dire consequences to anyone that entered the tomb. This sparked the fuel for the Mummy’s curse. All of these coincidences were taken too seriously in the 20s. This is a bunch of Hogwash. Howard Carter the man who discovered the tomb didn’t die from any weird causes he never even had anything weird happen to him. Except this one instance where he saw jackals that looked like Anubis, god of mummification, but other than that he was skeptical about the curses.

I know the Mummy’s curse is still an interesting topic even though I don’t believe it. There are a lot of modern portrayals of it such as The Mummy movies or even TV shows like Truth or Scare. So if you want to know more about Egypt or the shows mentioned click on the links below!

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/curse-of-the-mummy/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_pharaohs

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4277-tutenstein-cartoon-show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwzwe-TRwzM&list=PLCED576E6A6DFD268

Cleopatra Please!

Let’s continue this trend I've established and talk more about the famous women of Egypt!

General Knowledge about Cleopatra:

Who doesn't know who Cleopatra is? I’m almost certain that everyone has at least heard that name once or twice in their lifetime. She is one of the most well-known Egyptian Queens like ever and you can see her many dapple gangers parading around the streets during Halloween. She was born during the Greek Hellenistic period specific date was 69 B.C. Her family had been ruling Egypt 100 years prior to her birth. Many perceive her of Greek heritage but some have speculated to believe she was from African descent. She is known for her narcissism and never ending need to look elegant. She may have been an Egyptian queen but her ties run deep with Greek society. Shakespeare even took the time to write a tragic play about her and Marc Antony. Julius Caesar and Marc Antony both had children with Cleopatra. Cleopatra did anything in her power to ensure her children would reign powerful in Egypt. Julius Caesar was her lover and she pursued him until he was assassinated in 44 B.C. I’m assuming after that she was like totally over him because she instantly sided with Marc Antony and had twins with him. I guess you can call that homie hopping ancient Egypt edition (boooo). She even resorted to murdering any competition that stood in her way, such ruthlessness was common and necessary in Egyptian dynastic politics. Her cunning deception and wit helped her survive during her reign and push to the top (something completely awesome and admirable of her personality). She was also very patriotic, even though during that time Alexandria based rulers took up the language and the customs of the Greeks, she took the time to learn Egyptian. She was a very popular queen of her time even being called Philopatris which means she who loves her country.

Some Wicked Facts:

-      After fleeing Egypt Cleopatra established an army to defeat her husband/brother Ptolemy XIII.

-      In a male dominated society Cleopatra held her ground and kept Egypt intact earning her the same rankings as her male counterparts.

-      Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of Egypt. Thus ending Egypt’s pharaoh based reign of power. (tear tear)

-      Cleopatra committed suicide by allowing a snake to bite her after she was informed that Marc Antony had killed himself.

-      Cleopatra married her brother who was only 10 years old at the time, she was 18. (Gross)

-      Cleopatra isn’t actually that beautiful she is portrayed with manly features such as thin lips a pointy nose and a defined chin in many ancient art depictions.

-      After Cleopatra and Marc Antony committed suicide their son, too young to defend himself, was killed by Octavian the future emperor of Rome.

-      Cleopatra seduced Marc Antony with her truckloads of perfume she owned. Most of her perfumes contained mercury which was deadly.

-      Cleopatra is a mastermind when it comes to the makeup world. She is known for her bold red lip color (my favorite color of lipstick).

Sources:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-cleopatra-151356013/?no-ist

http://www.biography.com/people/cleopatra-vii-9250984#marc-antony

http://www.yurtopic.com/society/people/cleopatra-facts.html