Editing Old Kingdom of Egypt

{{Short description|Period in ancient Egyptian history (c. 2686–2181 BC)}}
{{redirect|Old Kingdom}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Old Kingdom of Egypt
| common_name            = Old Kingdom
| era                    = 
| government_type        = [[Imperial cult|Divine]], [[absolute monarchy]]
| year_start             = {{Circa|2686 BC}}
| year_end               = {{Circa|2181 BC}}
| event_pre              = 
| date_pre               = 
| event_start            = Began
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = Ended
| date_end               = 
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = 
| image_map              = 4th Dynasty of Egypt-03.png
| image_map_caption      = During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (''circa'' 2700 BC – ''circa'' 2200 BC), Egypt consisted of the [[Nile River]] region south to [[Elephantine|Abu]] (also known as Elephantine), as well as [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and the [[oases]] in the western desert, with Egyptian control/rule over Nubia reaching to the area south of the third cataract.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=85}}</ref>
| p1                     = Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
| flag_p1                = Ancient Egypt map-en.svg
| s1                     = First Intermediate period

| capital                = [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = 
| common_languages       = [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]]
| religion               = [[Ancient Egyptian religion]]
| currency               = 
| leader1                = [[Djoser]] (first)
| year_leader1           = {{Circa|2686|2649 BC}}
| leader2                = Last king depends on the scholar, [[Neitiqerty Siptah]] (6th Dynasty) or [[Neferirkare]] (7th/8th Dynasty)
| year_leader2           = {{Circa|2184|2181 BC}}
| title_leader           = [[List of pharaohs|Pharaoh]]
| stat_year1             = 2500 BC
| stat_pop1              = 1.6 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brewminate.com/estimating-population-in-ancient-egypt/|author=Steven Snape|date=16 March 2019|title=Estimating Population in Ancient Egypt|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref>
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| today                  = 
}}

{{History of Egypt}}
In [[ancient Egypt]]ian history, the '''Old Kingdom''' is the period spanning {{Circa|2700}}–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], such as King [[Sneferu]], under whom the art of [[pyramid]]-building was perfected, and the kings [[Khufu]], [[Khafre]] and [[Menkaure]], who commissioned the construction of the [[Giza pyramid complex|pyramids at Giza]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Old_Kingdom_of_Egypt/|title=Old Kingdom of Egypt|work=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2017-12-04}}</ref> [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" [[Egyptian chronology|periods]] (followed by the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] and [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower [[Nile Valley]].<ref name=":7" />

The [[Periodization of Ancient Egypt|concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages"]] was coined in 1845 by the German [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] [[Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen|Baron von Bunsen]], and its definition evolved significantly throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schneider|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Schneider (Egyptologist)|editor=Klaus-Peter Adam|title=Historiographie in der Antike|pages=181–197|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTMAu2LRbVUC&pg=PA182|date=27 August 2008|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-020672-2|chapter=Periodizing Egyptian History: Manetho, Convention, and Beyond}}</ref> Not only was the last king of the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]] related to the first two kings of the Old Kingdom, but the "capital", the royal residence, remained at [[Ineb-Hedj]], the [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] name for [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. The basic justification for separating the two periods is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied by the effects on Egyptian society and the economy of large-scale building projects.<ref name=":7">Malek, Jaromir. 2003. "The Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2160 BC)". In ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0192804587}}, p.83</ref>

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]] to the [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] (2686–2181 BC). Information from the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasties of Egypt is scarce, and historians regard the history of the era as literally "written in stone" and largely architectural in that it is through the monuments and their inscriptions that scholars have been able to construct a history.<ref name=":0" /> Egyptologists also include the Memphite [[Seventh Dynasty of Egypt|Seventh]] and [[Eighth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighth]] Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration, centralized at Memphis. While the Old Kingdom was a period of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the [[First Intermediate Period]].<ref>Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', pp. 55 & 60.</ref> During the Old Kingdom, the [[Lists of rulers of Egypt|King of Egypt]] (not called the [[Pharaoh]] until the New Kingdom) became a [[divine right of kings|living god]] who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.<ref name="Roebuck-56">Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', p. 56.</ref>

Under King [[Djoser]], the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at [[Saqqara]] under his reign. King Djoser's architect, [[Imhotep]], is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new [[architectural form]], the [[step pyramid]].<ref name="Roebuck-56" /> The Old Kingdom is best known for a large number of [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]] constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings.

==History==

===Rise of the Old Kingdom===
{{Main|Third Dynasty of Egypt}}

The first King of the Old Kingdom was [[Djoser]] (sometime between 2691 and 2625 BC) of the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]], who ordered the construction of a pyramid (the [[Pyramid of Djoser|Step Pyramid]]) in Memphis' necropolis, [[Saqqara]]. An important person during the reign of Djoser was his [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]], [[Imhotep]].

It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as [[Nome (Egypt)|nomes]], under the rule of the king. The former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection. [[Egyptians]] in this era believed the king to be the incarnation of [[Horus]], linking the human and spiritual worlds. Egyptian views on the nature of time during this period held that the universe worked in cycles, and the Pharaoh on earth worked to ensure the stability of those cycles. They also perceived themselves as specially selected people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/history/herlin/textsup.htm|title=Ancient African Civilizations to ca. 1500: Pharaonic Egypt to Ca. 800 BC|last=Herlin|first=Susan J.|year=2003|page=27|access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030823031522/http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/history/herlin/textsup.htm|archive-date=August 23, 2003}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Saqqara BW 5.jpg|The [[Pyramid of Djoser]] at [[Saqqara]].
File:Templo de Zoser en Saqqara.jpg|The Temple of Djoser at [[Saqqara]]
File:Head of a King, ca. 2650-2600 B.C.E..jpg|The head of a King, likely [[Huni]] {{Circa|2650}}–2600 BC, [[Brooklyn Museum]]. The earliest representations of Egyptian Kings are on a small scale. From the Third Dynasty, statues were made showing the ruler life-size. This head wearing the crown of Upper Egypt is larger than human scale.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bothmer|first1=Bernard |title=Brief Guide to the Department of Egyptian and Classical Art|date=1974|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|location=Brooklyn, NY|page=22}}</ref>
</gallery>

===Height of the Old Kingdom===
{{Main|Fourth Dynasty of Egypt}}

[[File:Cairo, Gizeh, Sphinx and Pyramid of Khufu, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Sphinx of Giza]] in front of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]]]
The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached a zenith under the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]] (2613–2494 BC). King Sneferu, the first king of the Fourth Dynasty, held territory from [[ancient Libya]] in the west to the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in the east, to [[Nubia]] in the south. An Egyptian settlement was founded at [[Buhen]] in Nubia which endured for 200 years.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url= https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt/The-Old-Kingdom-c-2575-c-2130-bce-and-the-First-Intermediate-period-c-2130-1938-bce#ref134440 | title= The Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 BCE) and the First Intermediate period (c. 2130–1938 BCE)
|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> After Djoser, Sneferu was the next great pyramid builder. He commissioned the building of three pyramids. The first is called the [[Meidum Pyramid]], named for its location in [[Egypt]]. Sneferu abandoned it after the outside casing fell off of the pyramid. The Meidum pyramid was the first to have an above-ground burial chamber.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1525828|title=Ancient Egypt – the Archaic Period and Old Kingdom|website=Penfield High School|language=en|access-date=2017-12-04}}</ref>

Using more stones than any other Pharaoh, he commissioned the three pyramids: a now collapsed pyramid in [[Meidum]], the [[Bent Pyramid]] at [[Dahshur]], and the [[Red Pyramid]], at North Dahshur. However, the full development of the pyramid style of building was reached not at Saqqara, but during the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza.<ref>Carl Roebuck (1984), ''The World of Ancient Times'', p. 57.</ref>

Sneferu was succeeded by his son, [[Khufu]] (2589–2566 BC), who commissioned the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]. After Khufu's death, his sons [[Djedefre]] (2566–2558 BC) and [[Khafre]] (2558–2532 BC) may have quarrelled. The latter commissioned the second pyramid and (in traditional thinking) the [[Great Sphinx of Giza]]. Recent re-examination of evidence has led Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev to propose that the Sphinx was commissioned by [[Djedefre]] as a monument to his father Khufu.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1478998/I-have-solved-riddle-of-the-Sphinx-says-Frenchman.html |title=I have solved riddle of the Sphinx, says Frenchman |work=The Telegraph |first=Nic |last=Fleming |date=14 December 2004 |access-date=21 May 2022}}</ref><!-- Not enough detail at this page to verify: <ref>[http://documentarystorm.com/riddle-of-the-sphinx/ link 2]</ref> -->Alternatively, the Sphinx has been proposed to be the work of Khafre and Khufu himself.

There were military expeditions into [[Canaan]] and [[Nubia]], with Egyptian influence reaching up the Nile into what is today [[Sudan]].<ref>p.5, ''The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History'' (4th edition, 1993), Dupuy & Dupuy.</ref> The later kings of the Fourth Dynasty were [[Menkaure]] (2532–2504 BC), who commissioned the smallest of the three great pyramids in Giza; [[Shepseskaf]] (2504–2498 BC); and, perhaps, [[Djedefptah]] (2498–2496 BC).

[[File:Kairo Museum Statuette Cheops 03 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Khufu]], the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza]]

===Fifth Dynasty===
{{Main|Fifth Dynasty of Egypt}}
The [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]] (2494–2345 BC) began with [[Userkaf]] (2494–2487 BC) and was marked by the growing importance of the cult of sun god [[Ra]]. Consequently, fewer efforts were devoted to the construction of pyramid complexes than during the Fourth Dynasty and more to the construction of [[Egyptian sun temple|sun temples]] in [[Abusir]]. Userkaf was succeeded by his son [[Sahure]] (2487–2475 BC), who commanded an expedition to [[Kingdom of Punt|Punt]]. Sahure was in turn succeeded by [[Neferirkare Kakai]] (2475–2455 BC), who was Sahure's son. Neferirkare introduced the [[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|prenomen]] in the royal titulary. He was followed by two short-lived kings, his son [[Neferefre]] (2455–2453&nbsp;BC) and [[Shepseskare]], the latter of uncertain parentage.<ref>Miroslav Verner: ''Archaeological Remarks on the 4th and 5th Dynasty Chronology'', Archiv Orientální, Volume 69: 2001</ref> Shepseskare may have been deposed by Neferefre's brother [[Nyuserre Ini]] (2445–2421 BC), a long-lived pharaoh who commissioned extensively in Abusir and restarted royal activity in Giza.

The last pharaohs of the dynasty were [[Menkauhor Kaiu]] (2421–2414 BC), [[Djedkare Isesi]] (2414–2375 BC), and [[Unas]] (2375–2345), the earliest ruler to have the [[Pyramid Texts]] inscribed in his pyramid.

Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as [[ebony]], incense such as [[myrrh]] and [[frankincense]], gold, copper, and other useful metals inspired the ancient Egyptians to build suitable ships for navigation of the open sea. They traded with Lebanon for [[Cedrus libani|cedar]] and travelled the length of the [[Red Sea]] to the [[Kingdom of Punt]]- modern-day [[Eritrea]]—for ebony, ivory, and aromatic resins.<ref>{{Citation |title= Adulis and the transshipment of baboons during classical antiquity | publisher= elifsciences | year= 2023 |
doi = 10.7554/eLife.87513 |
last= Franziska Grathwol, Christian Roos, Dietmar Zinner, Benjamin Hume, Stéphanie M Porcier, Didier Berthet, Jacques Cuisin, Stefan Merker, Claudio Ottoni, Wim Van Neer | journal= eLife | volume= 12 | pmid= 37767965 | doi-access= free | pmc= 10597581 }}</ref>
Shipbuilders of that era did not use pegs ([[treenail]]s) or metal fasteners, but relied on the rope to keep their ships assembled. Planks and the superstructure were tightly tied and bound together.
This period also witnessed direct trade between Egypt and its Aegean neighbors and Anatolia.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=76}}</ref>

The rulers of the dynasty sent expeditions to the stone quarries and gold mines of Nubia and the mines of Sinai.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=76, 79}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Verner|first=Miroslav|chapter=Old Kingdom: An Overview|editor-last=Redford|location=Oxford|editor-first=Donald B.|editor-link=Donald B. Redford|date=2001b|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510234-5|pages=585–591}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Ian|editor1-last=Hawass|editor1-first=Zahi|editor2-first=Lyla|editor2-last=Pinch Brock|title=Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Archaeology|chapter=New fieldwork at Gebel el-Asr: "Chephren's diorite quarries"|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|location=Cairo, New York|year=2003|isbn=978-977-424-715-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Klemm|first1=Rosemarie|first2=Dietrich|last2=Klemm|title=Gold and gold mining in ancient Egypt and Nubia : geoarchaeology of the ancient gold mining sites in the Egyptian and Sudanese eastern deserts|location=Berlin; New-York|publisher=Springer|year=2013|series=Natural science in archaeology|isbn=978-1-283-93479-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky8bVJ_fYEAC&pg=PA604}}</ref> there are references and depictions of military campaigns in Nubia and Asia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Verner|first=Miroslav|chapter=Old Kingdom: An Overview|editor-last=Redford|editor-first=Donald B.|editor-link=Donald B. Redford|date=2001b|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510234-5|location=Oxford|pages=588}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341398058 |title=Siege Scenes of the Old Kingdom |access-date=2022-02-04 |archive-date=2022-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204144143/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341398058_Siege_Scenes_of_the_Old_Kingdom |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Darrell |year=2008 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I&nbsp;– Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC|publisher=Stacey International |isbn= 978-1-905299-37-9|pages=84}}</ref>

===Decline into the First Intermediate Period===
{{Main|Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|First Intermediate Period}}

The sixth dynasty peaked during the reigns of Pepi I and Merenre I with flourishing trade, several mining and quarrying expeditions and major military campaigns.
Militarily, aggressive expansion into Nubia marked Pepi I's reign.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hayes|first=William|year=1978|title=The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/The_Scepter_of_Egypt_Vol_1_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_End_of_the_Middle_Kingdom|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|location=New York| pages=122|oclc=7427345}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William Stevenson|year=1971|chapter=The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Beginning of the First Intermediate Period|editor1-first=I. E. S.|editor1-last=Edwards|editor2-first=C. J.|editor2-last=Gadd|editor3-first=N. G. L.|editor3-last=Hammond|location=London, New york|pages=191–194|title=The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 1, Part 2. Early History of the Middle East|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521077910|edition=3rd|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slR7SFScEnwC&q=Phiops&pg=PA167|oclc=33234410}}</ref> At least five military expeditions were sent into Canaan.<ref name="Grimal 1994">{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell |date=19 July 1994 |page=85}}</ref>

There is evidence that Merenre was not only active in Nubia like Pepi I but also sent officials to maintain Egyptian rule over Nubia from the northern border to the area south of the third cataract.<ref name="Grimal 1994"/>

During the [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] (2345–2181 BC) the power of the pharaoh gradually weakened in favor of powerful [[nomarch]]s (regional governors). These no longer belonged to the royal family and their charge became hereditary, thus creating local dynasties largely independent from the central authority of the Pharaoh. However, Nile flood control was still the subject of very large works, including especially the canal to [[Lake Moeris]] around 2300 BC, which was likely also the source of water to the [[Giza pyramid complex]] centuries earlier.

Internal disorders set in during the incredibly long reign of [[Pepi II]] (2278–2184 BC) towards the end of the dynasty. His death, certainly well past that of his intended heirs, might have created succession struggles.  The country slipped into civil wars mere decades after the close of Pepi II's reign.

The final blow was the [[22nd century BC drought]] in the region that resulted in a drastic drop in precipitation. For at least some years between 2200 and 2150 BC, this prevented the normal flooding of the [[Nile]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jean-Daniel Stanley|year=2003 |title=Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: Strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence |journal=[[Geoarchaeology (journal)|Geoarchaeology]] |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=395–402 |doi=10.1002/gea.10065 |s2cid=53571037 |display-authors=etal|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/24322095/POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS.PDF }}</ref>

Whatever its cause, the collapse of the Old Kingdom was followed by decades of famine and strife. An important inscription on the tomb of [[Ankhtifi]], a [[nomarch]] during the early [[First Intermediate Period]], describes the pitiful state of the country when famine stalked the land.

==Art==
The most defining feature of [[Art of ancient Egypt|ancient Egyptian art]] is its function, as that was the entire purpose of creation. Art was not made for enjoyment in the strictest sense, but rather served a role of some kind in Egyptian religion and ideology.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=The Art of Ancient Egypt |last=Robins |first=Gay |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2008 |location=Cambridge}}</ref> This fact manifests itself in the artistic style, even as it evolved over the dynasties. The three primary principles of that style, frontality, composite composition, and hierarchy scale, illustrate this quite well.<ref name=":2" /> These characteristics, initiated in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]]<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=A Companion to Ancient Egypt |volume=I |last=Sourouzian |first=Hourig |publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |year=2010 |pages=853–881}}</ref> and solidified during the Old Kingdom, persisted with some adaptability throughout the entirety of ancient Egyptian history as the foundation of its art.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=When the Pyramids Were Built: Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom |last=Arnold|first=Dorothea |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rizzoli International Publications Inc. |year=1999 |pages=7–17}}</ref>

[[File:False door from the tomb of Metjetji MET DT259192.jpg|thumb|[[False door]] from the Tomb of Metjetji. ca. 2353–2323&nbsp;BC, Dynasty&nbsp;5–6, Old Kingdom. Tomb of Metjetji at Saqqara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543907 |title=The Metropolitan Museum}}</ref>]]
Frontality, the first principle, indicates that art was viewed directly from the front. One was meant to approach a piece as they would a living individual, for it was meant to be a place of manifestation. The act of interaction would bring forth the divine entity represented in the art.<ref name=":2"/> It was therefore imperative that whoever was represented be as identifiable as possible. The guidelines developed in the Old Kingdom and the later grid system developed in the Middle Kingdom ensured that art was axial, symmetrical, proportional, and most importantly reproducible and therefore recognizable.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |title=Proportion, and Style in Ancient Egyptian Art |last=Robins |first=Gay |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=1994}}</ref> Composite composition, the second principle, also contributes to the goal of identification. Multiple perspectives were used in order to ensure that the onlooker could determine precisely what they saw.<ref name=":2"/>

Though Egyptian art almost always includes descriptive text, literacy rates were not high, so the art gave another method for communicating the same information. One of the best examples of composite composition is the human form. In most two-dimensional relief, the head, legs, and feet are seen in profile, while the torso faces directly front. Another common example is an aerial view of a building or location.<ref name=":2"/> The third principle, the hierarchy of scale, illustrates relative importance in society. The larger the figure, the more important the individual. The king is usually the largest, aside from deities. The similarity in size equated to similarity in position. However, this is not to say that physical differences were not shown as well. Women, for example, are usually shown as smaller than men. Children retain adult features and proportions but are substantially smaller in size.<ref name=":2"/>

Aside from the three primary conventions, there are several characteristics that can help date a piece to a particular time frame. Proportions of the human figure are one of the most distinctive, as they vary between kingdoms.<ref name=":3"/> Old Kingdom male figures have characteristically broad shoulders and a long torso, with obvious musculature. On the other hand, females are narrower in the shoulders and waist, with longer legs and a shorter torso.<ref name=":3"/> However, in the Sixth Dynasty, the male figures lose their muscularity and their shoulders narrow. The eyes also tend to get much larger.<ref name=":2"/>

In order to help maintain the consistency of these proportions, the Egyptians used a series of eight guidelines to divide the body. They occurred at the following locations: the top of the head, the hairline, the base of the neck, the underarms, the tip of the elbow or the bottom of the ribcage, the top of the thigh at the bottom of the buttocks, the knee, and the middle of the lower leg.<ref name=":3"/>

From the soles of the feet to the hairline was also divided into thirds, one-third between the soles and the knee, another third between the knee and the elbow, and the final third from the elbow to the hairline. The broad shoulders that appeared in the Fifth Dynasty constituted roughly that one-third length as well.<ref name=":3"/> These proportions not only help with the identification of representations and the reproduction of art but also tie into the Egyptian ideal of order, which tied into the solar aspect of their religion and the inundations of the Nile.<ref name=":2"/>

[[File:Menkaura.jpg|thumb|A statue of [[Menkaure]] with [[Hathor]] and [[Anput]] from the [[Egyptian Museum]] in Cairo. Demonstrates a group statue of graywacke with Old Kingdom features and proportions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=14994 |title=Statue of Menkaure with Hathor and Cynopolis |website=The Global Egyptian Museum}}</ref>]]
Though the above concepts apply to most, if not all, figures in Egyptian art, there are additional characteristics that applied to the representations of the king. Their appearance was not an exact rendering of the king's visage, though kings are somewhat identifiable through looks alone. Identification could be supplied by inscriptions or context.<ref name=":2"/> A huge, more important part of a king's portrayal was about the idea of the office of kingship,<ref name=":2"/> which were dependent on the time period. The Old Kingdom was considered a golden age for Egypt, a grandiose height to which all future kingdoms aspired.<ref name="Malek 1999">{{Cite book |title=Egyptian Art |last=Malek |first=Jaromir |publisher=Phaidon Press Limited |year=1999 |location=London}}</ref>

As such, the king was portrayed as young and vital, with features that agreed with the standards of beauty of the time. The musculature seen in male figures was also applied to kings. A royal rite, the jubilee run which was established during the Old Kingdom, involved the king running around a group of markers that symbolized the geographic borders of Egypt. This was meant to be a demonstration of the king's physical vigor, which determined his capacity to continue his reign.<ref name="Malek 1999"/> This idea of kingly youth and strength were pervasive in the Old Kingdom and thus shown in the art.<ref name=":4"/>

The sculpture was a major product of the Old Kingdom. The position of the figures in this period was mostly limited to sitting or standing, either with feet together or in the striding pose. Group statues of the king with either gods or family members, typically his wife and children, were also common.<ref name=":5"/>

It was not just the subject of sculpture that was important, but also the material: The use of hard stone, such as gneiss, graywacke, schist, and granite, was relatively common in the Old Kingdom.<ref name=":6">{{cite journal |last=Morgan |first=Lyvia |date=2011 |title=Enlivening the Body: Color and Stone Statues in Old Kingdom Egypt |journal=Notes in the History of Art |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=4–11 |doi=10.1086/sou.30.3.23208555|s2cid=191369829 }}</ref> The color of the stone had a great deal of symbolism and was chosen deliberately.<ref name=":2"/> Four colors were distinguished in the ancient Egyptian language: black, green, red, and white.<ref name=":6"/> Black was associated with Egypt due to the color of the soil after the Nile flood, green with vegetation and rebirth, red with the sun and its regenerative cycle, and white with purity.<ref name=":2"/>

The statue of [[Menkaure]] with [[Hathor]] and [[Anput]] is an example of a typical Old Kingdom sculpture. The three figures display frontality and axiality, while fitting with the proportions of this time period. The graywacke came from the Eastern Desert in Egypt<ref>{{cite journal |last=Klemm |first=Dietrich |date=2001 |title=The Building Stones of Ancient Egypt: A Gift of its Geology |journal=African Earth Sciences |volume=33 |issue=3–4 |pages=631–642 |doi=10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00085-9 |bibcode=2001JAfES..33..631K |citeseerx=10.1.1.111.9099}}</ref> and is therefore associated with rebirth and the rising of the sun in the east.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Kairo Museum Statuette Cheops 03 (cropped).jpg|King [[khufu]] statue at Cairo museum.
File:Kairo Museum Sitzstatue Chephren 06.jpg|King [[khafre]] statue at Cairo museum
File:MenkauraAndQueen MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png|Greywacke statue of [[Menkaure]] and Queen [[Khamerernebty II]] at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Rahotep Nofret 01.jpg|[[Prince Rahotep|Rahotep]] and [[Nofret]] statues at Cairo museum
File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Ka-aper 02.jpg|[[Kaaper]] around 2500 BC
File:Egypte louvre 280 homme.jpg|Majordomo Keki statue,[[6th dynasty]] at [[Louvre museum]].
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Brewer |first=Douglas J. |url=https://archive.org/details/AncientEgypt-FoundationsOfACivilization |title=Ancient Egypt: foundations of a civilization |date=2005 |publisher=[[Longman]] |isbn=978-0-582-77253-3 |location=Harlow}}
* {{Cite book |last=Callender |first=Gae |title=Egypt in the old kingdom: an introduction |date=1998 |publisher=[[Longman]] |isbn=978-0-582-81226-0 |location=Melbourne}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kanawati |first=Naguib |title=Governmental reforms in old Kingdom Egypt |date=1980 |publisher=[[Aris & Phillips]] |isbn=978-0-85668-168-4 |series=Modern Egyptology series |location=Warminster, England}}
* {{Cite book |title=Artists of the Old Kingdom: techniques and achievements |date=2009 |publisher=Supreme Council of Antiquities Press |isbn=978-977-437-985-7 |editor-last=Kanawati |editor-first=Naguib |location=Cairo |editor-last2=Woods |editor-first2=Alexandra |editor-last3=Alexakis |editor-first3=Effy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lehner |first=Mark |title=The complete pyramids |date=1997 |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |isbn=978-0-500-05084-2 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Málek |first1=Jaromír |url=https://archive.org/details/inshadowofpyrami0000male_a3n6 |title=In the shadow of the pyramids: Egypt during the Old Kingdom |last2=Forman |first2=Werner |date=1986 |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=978-0-8061-2027-0 |location=Norman, OK |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last1=McFarlane |first1=Ann |title=Behind the scenes: daily life in Old Kingdom Egypt |last2=Mourad |first2=Anna-Latifa |date=2012 |publisher=[[Australian Centre for Egyptology]] |isbn=978-0-85668-860-7 |series=Studies |location=North Ryde}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxAZpKoo-YwC |title=Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids |date=1999 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |isbn=978-0-87099-907-9 |editor-last=O'Neill |editor-first=John P. |location=New York |display-authors=etal |editor-last2=Allen |editor-first2=James P.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Papazian |first=Hratch |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/788217545 |title=Domain of Pharaoh: the structure and components of the economy of Old Kingdom Egypt |date=2012 |publisher=Gerstenberg |isbn=978-3-8067-8761-0 |series=Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge |location=Hildesheim |oclc=788217545}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ryholt |first=K. S. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANRi7cM5ZwsC |title=The political situation in Egypt during the second intermediate period, c. 1800-1550 B.C |date=1997 |publisher=[[Museum Tusculanum Press]] |isbn=978-87-7289-421-8 |series=CNI publications |location=Copenhagen}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Sowada |first1=Karin N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwJe63dlNxUC |title=Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Old Kingdom: an archaeological perspective |last2=Grave |first2=Peter |date=2009 |publisher=[[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] |isbn=978-3-7278-1649-9 |series=Orbis biblicus et orientalis |location=Fribourg, Göttingen |oclc=428025036 |s2cid=127449010}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kanawati |first1=Naguib |url=http://www.gizapyramids.org/static/pdf%20library/strudwick_admininstration.pdf |title=The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom: The Highest Titles and Their Holders |last2=Strudwick |first2=Nigel |date=1992 |publisher=KPI |isbn=978-0-7103-0107-9 |series=Studies in egyptology |volume=78 |location=London |doi=10.2307/3822094 |jstor=3822094 |s2cid=69046660}}
* {{Cite book |last=Warden |first=Leslie Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ffh0AQAAQBAJ |title=Pottery and economy in Old Kingdom Egypt |date=2014 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-25984-3 |series=Culture and history of the ancient Near East |location=Leiden ; Boston}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Toby A. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ih2EAgAAQBAJ |title=Early dynastic Egypt |date=2001 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-26011-4 |location=London}}

==External links==
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/apocalypse_egypt_01.shtml The Fall of the Egyptian Old Kingdom] from BBC History
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060516022803/http://www.on-the-matrix.com/mideast/OldKingdom.asp Middle East on The Matrix: Egypt, The Old Kingdom] – Photographs of many of the historic sites dating from the Old Kingdom
* [http://www.aldokkan.com/egypt/old_kingdom.htm Old Kingdom of Egypt- Aldokkan]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=Time Periods of Egypt|before=[[Early Dynastic Period of Egypt|Early Dynastic Period]]|after=[[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]]|years=2686–2181 BC}}
{{s-end}}

{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Old Kingdom of Egypt| ]]
[[Category:3rd millennium BC in Egypt]]