Ancient Women Powerfull or Powerless free essay sample

In ancient world, men’s and women’s life were highly segregated. Man worked in public places while women were confined to their homes, where they managed the household and raised children with the help of slave. This does not mean that women did not have a social, public and economic life. David Cohen says that Athenian women participated in many activities such as working in fields, acting as nurse and many other activities. Women were considered week in front of men, role’s of men were given more importance than roles of women. The role of women may differ depending upon the class of the women or the region of Greece she belong. It is believed that Spartan women enjoyed more freedom than Athenian women. Women also participated in religious festivals and in a sacrifice as said by Cohen. The relationship of women with man is made evident through the household, government and in wars. We will write a custom essay sample on Ancient Women Powerfull or Powerless or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Women also had some political ability which has been made evident through the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes where Lysistrata portrays the political ability by bringing the devastating Peloponnesian was to a end. The roles played by men and women in ancient Greek society are made evident through the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes. In the play an indication is given of women’s role in the households and their relationship with man. As this play was written by a male playwright it also provides a male point of view towards women. Women role were confined to the house where they produce legitimate children and ensuring that that household activities were executed. Sarah Pomeroy say, â€Å"The primary duty of citizen women towards the polis[city] was the production of legitimate heirs to the oikoi, or families, whose aggregate comprised the citizenry. † The women place was seen being within the home as Lysistrata provides evidence of this when, Cleonice, states, †¦but its not easy, you know, for women to leave the house. One is busy pottering about her husband; another is getting the servant up; a third is putting her child asleep or washing the brat or feeding it. Households were the only place in which women have power, as they were in command. The role of women to produce legitimate children was viewed as a most important duty of women. Women also participated in rites and rituals. The burial rites were most likely the mid ritual women were involved with. The roles of women in rituals are concerned with how Athenian women participated in religious festivals as stated in Lysistrata. This displays that Greek women participated in rites and rituals. The elationship between men and women in ancient Greek society illustrates the role of women was in relation to household duties and everyday affairs. A Women’s actions were expected to be respectful towards men and were dependent upon their husbands. The women’s were not also able to have an initiate communication with one, as it is displayed in Lysistrata when Lysistrata addresses the magistrate who then replies back, You disgusting creature, as he is appalled with her nonconformist manner. Men did not believe that women’s were capable of running the state as their political roles were viewed with contempt; despite the fact that they run the households in an efficient manner. Politics was not the business of women their business was confined to their household activities. This is displayed in Lysistrata when she asks about the affairs of the state and the response she receives is, Shut up and mind your own business! The involvement of women in war is seen in the same way as their involvement in politics. Go and attend to your work; let war be the care of the men folks. † This is from Lysistrata shows the reply to women’s involvement on the war effort. However, Lysistrata says that women did contribute greatly to the war, â€Å"We’ve given you sons, and then had to send them off to fight. † Women did have power within the households but they did not have any power over men, this is the reason why women did not posses many roles in the p olitics. The male view of women portrayed throughout the play is degrading of women. Popular opinion through the play is that women are drunkards and sex-crazed. In Lysistrata it states, If it had been a Bacchus celebration theyd been asked to attend or something in honor of Pan or Aphrodite particularly Aphrodite! You wouldnt have been able to move. This extract shows the opinion as Bacchus was the god of wine and Aphrodite the goddess of love, therefore implying that these are the festivals the women took pleasure in. The men also viewed women as being sub-human as said in Lysistrata, â€Å"There is no beast as shameless as a women. The women’s were also believed to be sensitive and emotional. The overall male view about women were seen as insignificant and an annoyance. All these roles played by women were slightly varied between the different cultures. Athenian women were different from Spartan women as their lives were much freer, as is alluded to in Lysistrata when the Spartan, Lampito, comments on her daily activities, If we were in training. There is also mention of the Metic women in Lysistrata who were able to carry out commercial roles. However, despite these differences, the women of citizen families, whether they were of middle class or royalty, still carried out the same roles and still had very little freedom and rights. It is made evidently apparent all the roles which women played in ancient Greek society and their relationship with men through these roles. Women in ancient Greece were given little to no freedom and rights, and their only true place of power was in the household.

Longitudinal studies Essays

Longitudinal studies Essays Longitudinal studies Paper Longitudinal studies Paper Longitudinal studies provide data about the same individual at different points in time allowing the researcher to track change at an individual level. Furthermore it could be argued that longitudinal studies can also be used to study change in the lives of organisations and institutions as well as individual people. In this essay I will be focusing on why longitudinal studies may be difficult to undertake and whether they are desirable. I will also mention the different types of longitudinal studies and why longitudinal studies are conducted. (Hakim: 1987) There are many different type s of longitudinal studies. One of these would be individual level panel surveys where samples of individuals are tracked and interviewed. Another type of longitudinal study is household panel surveys. This is where individuals are monitored within the contexts of the household where they live. Additionally, in this type of survey, information is normally collected about the whole household at each wave. Furthermore cohort studies can be categorised as one of the types of longitudinal studies. This consists of studies where samples from a particular age variety are followed to investigate their different trajectories as they age. Also, longitudinal studies which are linked across time can be record linkage studies and administrative or census data. (Hakim: 1987) (Miles et al: 1994) Many argue that the United Kingdom has always taken a prominent role in the development of longitudinal studies and this can be reflected through the numerous types of longitudinal studies such as the Official for National Statistics, Longitudinal Study of the Census and the British Household Panel Survey to just name a few. It could be argued that these studies provide an understanding of social change, of the trajectories of individual life histories and the dynamic processes that underlie social and economic life. Furthermore many claim that their important role in social science and policy research is the core for the continued investment in longitudinal studies in the U.K. This can be seen as one of the main reasons why longitudinal studies are desirable to undertake. Many argue that longitudinal studies are desirable to undertake as they can address issues and support methods in ways that are not possible with traditional cross-sectional approaches. In addition its particularly important and valuable in research areas where the emphasis is directly on change and the occurrence are themselves intrinsically longitudinal such as poverty, employment instability and social attitudes. Also longitudinal studies may be desirable when investigating causal process as determining whether or not certain factors affect a variable for example the effects of unemployment on mental health. Furthermore, supports of the longitudinal design argue that longitudinal studies are desirable in the area when controlling for the effects of unmeasured fixed differences between subjects and also is valuable when studying social change and needing to separate out age, period and cohort effects. Lastly favourites of the longitudinal design claim that longitudinal studies are desirable in a number of research areas where establishing the effect of treatment by following an experimental design or quasi-experimental design or for example comparing periods before and after the introduction of public policy. Evidence illustrates that these advantages have been used for a wide range for important research findings. The first can be in finding the effects on children of school and family background in order to understand social mobility and the effectiveness of educational interventions as well as to identify the key points for intervention. Secondly the longitudinal studies have been able to examine the effects of changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation and childbirth on the time children are likely to spend in lone parent families and furthermore the effects on their later lives. Moreover the features of longitudinal studies have been able to illustrate the defining characteristics of people who experience repeated spells of unemployment and poverty. And also highlight their effects which many argue make it difficult for people to find work and or maybe escape poverty in the future. As it has been argued, longitudinal studies collect data about different times in individuals lives, and across generations, linking evidence from different points in the lives of parents and children. Furthermore this capacity to follow individuals through time and observe how experiences and behaviour is influenced by the wider social and economical contexts in which they find themselves. (Hakim: 1987) (Miles et al: 1994) (Phillips: 1966) (Vaus: 2001)

Financial intermediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial intermediation - Essay Example It is noted that the systemic stability contributes to the risk reduction. This is achieved through geographic diversification and this is analysed by the two/three of the cross-province merger and acquisitions. The empirical findings have been derived by applying a probabilistic theoretical model. This has supported the efficiency hypothesis rather than the imminent failure hypothesis. Thus journal contributes value to the readers as it not only shed light on the debate in the literature but also has policy implications for the merger and acquisitions today. These policy implications hold great importance as the economists and policymakers need to have a good look at them and follow them in all the policies that design. Economists and policymakers’ grave concerns about megabank failures and their consequences on financial markets and the economy are reinforced by empirical evidence on the concentration-fragility hypothesis. It is noted that the consolidation and systemic risk are positively related, although other factors also contributed to the increased risk. Moreover, it is stated that banking crises are less likely in more concentrated banking systems among 70 countries over 1980-97. However, this is not a hard and fast rule and there is a probability of concentration- fragility hypothesis which need to be analysed as well. ... New megabanks like the Citibank are also emerging. Thus, there is more concentration of banks thereby increasing the systemic banking risk. The importance of competitiveness is well known throughout the land but the Minister of Finance of the Canadian Government proposed bank mergers in 1998. However, there is a mixed result found after the mergers and acquisitions of the financial institutions have taken place. Moreover, the public policy implications are also very essential to be noted because they influence the allocation of the total amount of money available from the merged banks. This may involve conflicts of interests and the of objectives of the many stakeholders could be at stake. These regulations could be very different from commercial bankers’. They emphasize more on post-merger systemic risk than bankers. This is because of the costly banking crises; for example the financial tsunami of 2007. Thus these policies are given great importance by the economists and pol icymakers. There is a need to closely study the megabank failures, their consequences on financial markets and the economy and they must be supported by empirical evidence on the concentration. The scope of mergers and acquisitions has been manageable. The focus of this paper is on the relationship between banking consolidation and stability by examining the stability. The financial institutions under study are of the Canadian banking system. The time period under study is 1867-1935; from Confederation to the formation of the Bank of Canada. Hypothesis one says that these mergers and acquisitions are driven by market forces. They later become more efficient and stable banking system. The other hypothesis says that mergers and acquisitions have been

Can Crime be Considered Moral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Can Crime be Considered Moral - Essay Example However, there are more than a few citizens who have committed crimes, acting out of concern for others or in protecting loved ones. To determine whether a crime is necessarily immoral, assumptions must be made. The first assumption is that all laws determine what consists of a crime based on harm or damage to others. The second is that all crimes hurt or bring harm to others, whether individuals, groups, corporations or other living things. The third assumption is that each citizen views harm in the same manner. Various cultural beliefs, ethical theories and value systems make it impossible for all citizens to each and every crime as moral or immoral. One who believes that murder is wrong, regardless of circumstances, may view an individual who has hurt or killed an intruder as wrong. Another may view self defense as allowable and justifiable. A serial murderer may be seen as evil or completely lacking in morals. Many in our society wonder how such an individual â€Å"can remain st eadfastly convinced of his own moral superiority and show not even the slightest glimmer of remorse.† (Silber). Most of society does not understand how the serial murderer can feel that way. Yet, the members of society will accept that â€Å"the five-year-old Iraqi girl who was killed by the same bombs that killed al-Zarqawi† was necessary to accomplish a goal. Murder is considered immoral, especially when victims are young and innocent. â€Å"Surely it is better for the world that men should be right from wrong motives than that they would do wrong with the best intentions.

Psychological research studies

Psychological research studies It was first believed, according to the empiricists view (e.g. Locke, 1939) that a newborn infants ability to perceive, developed solely through a process of learning via experience. These pinnacle underestimates could have existed due to the extremely difficult nature of assessing what one could consider inaccessible to direct measurements. Contemporary knowledge in this domain has proliferated markedly due to the development of inventive techniques used to measure infants perceptual abilities. These perceptual abilities are considered to form the basis for rapid learning and development (Mehler Dupoux, 1994) and therefore are considered not only fascinating, but of pronounced importance to the study of developmental psychology. This interest is reflected in the numerous methods (e.g. behavioural, psychophsiological, and methods that assess brain responses) applied to infer the abilities of infants to perceive. In the present paper, focus will be dedicated to exploring the various research methods and reference to psychological research studies will be made in order to place the various approaches into a relatable context. The preference method devised by Robert Frantz (1958) is a straightforward technique which involves presenting an infant with two or more stimuli simultaneously, and as the name implies, assessing which was attentionally or perceptually preferred (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Early research generally relied on an observer watching the infants face and measuring how long one of the stimuli was looked at; however, present-day research relies on objectively scoring video film of the infants face or recording eye fixation, thereby strengthening accuracy of results (Smith, Cowie Blades, 2007). A variation of this technique was used to evaluate infants responsiveness to pictorial depth cues, in which two objects were placed at equal distances away from the infant. A strong reaching preference was demonstrated under monocular viewing conditions for the object that seemed closer due to pictorial depth cues. As this effect ceased during binocular conditions it was deduced that infants percei ve distance from pictorial cues (Kavsek et al., 2009). Along with this illuminating realization, the preference method has enabled many other intriguing deductions regarding infants perceptual abilities. For example, infants prefer to fixate on emotionally significant (i.e. familiar) stimuli (Burnham Dodd, 1999) as well as visual stimuli that match auditory stimuli (Golinkoff et al., 1987). This matching effect was also investigated and verified by Jeffrey Pickens (1994) through the use of visual preference to one of two television monitors. This method therefore leads to two types of inference; whether discrimination occurred and the salience of the preferred stimuli to infants (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). The most popular method for measuring infants perceptual abilities is the habituation method, which capitalizes on the simplest form of learning. This technique involves a system in which a repeated stimulus becomes so familiar that initially associated responses cease to occur (habituation). If a new stimulus is presented and can be distinguished from the previous, attention can be renewed (dishabituated) (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). This method is also referred to as the familiarization-novelty procedure as the infants terminated response indicates recognition of a previously experienced stimulus, whereas regained attention indicates a novel stimulus (Bertenthal Longo, 2002). As this method can be applied to a myriad of research questions, it has elicited numerous substantial discoveries. For example, evidence for perceptual colour categories in pre-linguistic infants was obtained through the classical experiment conducted by Bornstein, Kessen and Weisskopf (1976). After habituation to one stimuli (e.g. red1), more attention was focused onto a colour from what an adult would consider a different colour category (i.e. preferred yellow instead of red2), even though the wavelength of the two novel stimuli where equal (Franklin Davies, 2004). Mayo, Nawrot and Nawrot (2009) proved that dihabituation results (obtained through use of the initial stimulus with manipulated depth) can indicate that infants as young as 16 weeks of age may be sensitive to indisputable depth from motion parallax. Conditioning focuses on the postulation that infants will learn to carry out behaviours if they are reinforced, which allows infants control over their environment and reflects understanding of relationships within the world (Smith et al., 2007). For example, Bower (1965) conditioned infants to turn their heads to one side by rewarding them with an adult engaging them in a peek-a-boo game. Once this response was established, the infant only received the reward if the infant turned his/her head when a certain stimulus was present. Discrimination can thereby be detected and in this case, size constancy was observed, as conditioned responses were three times more probable to the same stimuli (i.e. a 30cm cube) regardless of fluctuating retinal image size than to different stimuli (i.e. a 90cm cube) . Kuhl (1983) found that infants are capable of categorizing speech sounds by adopting the conditioning method and using a battery operated toy as a visual reinforcer. High amplitude sucking takes advantage of the fact that infants have good motor control of their sucking behaviour and this fact can be used to determine discrimination as well as likes and dislikes of the infant in question (Werker, Shi, Desjardins, Pegg, Polka Patterson, 1998). The infant is given an adapted pacifier containing electrical circuitry, and once the infants baseline sucking rate is recorded, variations (i.e. harder or faster sucking) trip the circuit thereby activating the reward (e.g. tape recorder)(Shaffer Kipp, 2007). Siqueland and De Lucia (1969) used a projected light as a visual stimulus to condition infants sucking, with strength of sucking directly proportional to the brightness of the visual stimuli. They concluded that at 4 months this relationship could be learned. A habituation version of the high amplitude sucking procedure was used to determine that infants perceive speech in a categorized manner. This was evident by familiarization (habituation) to the first stimuli (e.g. /ba/), followed by an increased sucking rate (dishabituation) in response to a second, novel stimuli (e.g. /pa/), thereby indicating discrimination between the categories had occurred (Eimas et al., 1971). Unobservable responses can also be accessed through measuring evoked potentials and changes in heart rate. With regards to changes in heart rate, it is expected that if an infant is surprised or upset their heart rate will increase, decreasing when focusing or attending. These effects can thus be manipulated through the habituation method to determine discrimination (Smith et al., 2007). Evoked potentials are measured by use of electrodes placed in positions on the scalp that process the presented stimuli. If a stimuli is perceived, it is reflected by a pattern of brain waves (i.e. evoked potentials), with different stimuli producing different patterns of electrical activity (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). Discrimination can therefore be deduced. A study using evoked potentials proved that visual acuity and contrast sensitivity are poor in the neonate, but improve during the first year of life (Atkinson et al., 1974). There is no question regarding the tremendous impact of these experimental methods; however they are not without their limitations. The preference method is praised as it is easy to employ, has a wide scope of application and response demands are minimal, although results can be confounded by familiarization effects prior to the preference procedure (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Another issue appears if an infant fails to show preference between the stimuli, as it is unclear whether the infant failed to discriminate or if the stimuli where found equally interesting (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). These effects can to some extent be controlled for by the use of the habituation method, which exploits the familiarization effect. This is a well understood, versatile procedure which is suited to investigations across many age groups (Werker et al., 1998), although data of an individual infant cannot easily be examined and discrimination behaviour is therefore only described with reference to a gro up (Werker Lalonde, 1988). Another probable inadequacy of this method concerns the lack of motivation of infants to show discrimination from a familiar stimulus, due to novelty being the only reward (Werker et al., 1998). Conditioning methods can rectify these problems as they provide reward and are able to provide data on individual subjects and hence able to identify individual differences. This paradigm is also useful in studying developmental changes through implementing experiments at different ages (Werker et al., 1998). The high amplitude sucking method is advantageous as it can measure a newborns (only a few hours old) perceptual ability due to sucking being easily conditioned (Werker et al., 1998). Williams and Golenski (1979) identified the major limitation with this study being that there is often a high drop-out rate due to infants who are fussy or sleepy, which may result in skewed data. Neurological and autonomic understanding has undoubtedly developed from studies involving evoked potentials and heart rate fluctuations; although these studies do little in accessing what differences are significant to the individual infant. All the above discussed paradigms are beneficial in assessing infants perceptual abilities, each having both strengths and weaknesses. As the habituation-dishabituation method is the most popular method of assessing infants perceptual abilities, along with the fact that many methods may be considered a variation of this paradigm, one might be lead to the inference of its superiority. However, over the years the differences between the methods have diminished due to modern research methods encapsulating on positive aspects from the various paradigms (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Therefore, with regards to methods in assessing infants perceptual abilities, what seems of most importance is the link between the research question of interest and the appropriate method to answer that question. References: Atkinson, J., Braddick, O., Braddick, F. (1974). Acuity and contrast sensitivity of invant vision. Nature, 247, 403-404. Bornstein, M. H., Kessen, W., Weisskopf, S. (1976). Colour vision and hue categorization in young infants. Journal of experimental psychology: Human perception and performance, 1, 115-129. Bower, T.G.R. (1965). Stimulus variables determining space perception in infants. Science, 149, 88-9. Burnham, D., Dodd, B. (1999). Familiarity and novelty preferences in infants auditory-visual speech perception: problems, factors, and a solution. In C. Rovee-Collier, L. Lipsitt, H. Hayne (Ed.), Advances in Infancy Research, 12, (pp. 170-187). Ablex: Stamford. Eimas, P.D., Siqueland, E.R., Jusczyk, P., Vigorito, J. (1971). Speech perception in infants. Science, 171 (3968), 303-306. Franklin, A., Davies, I. R. L. (2004). New evidence for infant colour categories. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 347-377. Frantz, R. (1958). Pattern vision in young infants. The Psychological Record, 8, 43-47. Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Cauley, K., Gordon, L. (1987). The eyes have it: lexical and syntactic comprehension in a new paradigm. Journal of Child Language, 14, 23-45. Houstin-Price, C., Nakai, S. (2004). Theory and Method in Developmental Research: Distinguishing novelty and familiarity effects in infant preference procedures. Infant and Child Development, 13, 341-348. Kavsek, M., Granrud, C. E., Yonas, A. (2009). Infants responsiveness to pictoral depth cues in preferential reaching studies: A meta-analysis. Infant behavior and development, 32, 245 -253. Kuhl, P.K. (1983). Perception of auditory equivalence classes for speech in early infancy. Infant behaviour and Development, 6 (2-3), 263-285. Locke, J. (1939). An essay concerning human understanding. In E. A. Burtt (Ed.), The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill. New York: Modern Library Longo, M. R., Bertenthal, B.I. (2006). Common coding of observation and execution of action in 9-month-old infants. Infancy, 10 (1), 43-59. Mehler, J., Dupoux, E. (1994). What infants know. The New Cognitive Science of Early Development. Oxford:Blackwell. Nawrot, E., Mayo, S. L., Nawrot, M. (2009). The development of depth perception from motion parallax in infancy. Attention, Perception and Psychophysics, 71 (1), 194-199. Pickens, J. (1994). Perception of Auditory-Visual Distance Relations by 5-month-old infants.Developmental Psychology, 30 (4), 537-544. Shaffer, D. R., Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental Psychology: Childhood Adolescence (8th ed.). Belmont, USA: Nelson Education Ltd. Siqueland, E. R., De Lucia, C. A. (1969). Visual reinforcement of non-nutritive sucking in human infants. Science, 165, 1144-1146. Smith, P. K., Cowie, H., Blades, M. (2003). Understanding Childrens Development (4th ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. Werker, J. F., Lalonde, C. E. (1988). Cross language perception: initial capabilities and developmental change. Developmental psychology. 24 (5): 672 683. Werker, J.F., Shi, R., Desjardins, R., Pegg, J. E., Polka, L., Patterson, M. (1998). Three Methods for testing infant speech perception. In A. Slater (Ed.), Perceptual Development: Visual, Auditory and Speech perception in infancy (pp. 389-418). Hove, UK: Psychology Press Ltd. Williams, L., Golenski, J. (1979). Infant Behavioural State and Speech Sound Discrimination. Child Development, 50, 1243-1246.

venus :: essays research papers

THE NATURE OF VENUS AND THE VENUS SIGN We're going to find out why some people cannot stand you yet others feel so powerfully attracted to you that they simply cannot resist your charm. And, as Venus rules art and music as much as she rules romance, we're going to explore your instinctive aesthetic preferences. We're going to look at both the shapes and colors that strike your fancy, plus the figures and faces that fill your fantasies. Venus is a planet for romantics. Her very name conjures up an image of mystery and sensuality, but she was a seductive symbol long before the Romans coined this name for her. The Babylonians called her Ishtar, Goddess of Fertility. The Sumerians knew her as Inanna, Queen of Thunder. To the Egyptians she was Isis the Enchantress, and to the Greeks Aphrodite, ultimate icon of feminine charm and the mother of Cupid. If you are a typical male, your Venus sign represents your ideal woman. Aphrodite wears many disguises. Today, you will see which she dons when she wants to capture your heart. If you are a woman, your Venus sign governs the kind of person you turn into when you exploit your feminine charm. I have to confess, though, that when reading romantic preference in a horoscope, all astrologers find female psychology more complicated. Aphrodite was the ultimate free woman. She belonged to no man yet she awakened a deep and profound spirit of desire in the heart of every man she encountered. She had passionate and fruitful romantic involvements with gods as diverse as the witty, intellectual Hermes, the silent, muscular Adonis and the pompous, powerful Zeus. Throughout all this she also had a tolerant husband: aloof and irritable Hephaestus, the wounded craftsman. Forget for a moment any judgement you might feel inclined to make about her character. We are dealing here with a symbolic goddess, not a real human being and we must view her in her proper context: as an icon of femininity. One day, I hope to write an entire book about her. For our purposes here, though, all we need to understand is that we are dealing with the image of a woman who is attractive to every type of man. A man's Venus sign tells us whether he is more likely to try and appeal to Aphrodite by acting like a Hermes, an Adonis, a Zeus or a Hephae stus.

Ancient Egyptian Art & Architecture Essay

Due to the scarcity of wood the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud bricks and stone, mainly limestone but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities. From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes. The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area already while the limestone, now eroded away, that was used to face the pyramids came from the other side of the Nile River and had to be quarried, ferried across, and cut during the dry season before they could be pulled into place on the pyramid. Ancient Egyptian houses were made out of mud collected from the Nile river. It was placed in molds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden for use in construction. Many Egyptian towns have disappeared because they were situated near the cultivated area of the Nile Valley and were flooded as the river bed slowly rose during the millennia, or the mud bricks of which they were built were used by peasants as fertilizer. Others are inaccessible (unapproachable), new buildings having been erected on ancient ones. Fortunately, the dry, hot climate of Egypt preserved some mud brick structures. Examples include the village Deir al-Madinah, the Middle Kingdom town at Kahun, and the fortresses at Buhen and Mirgissa. Also, many temples and tombs have survived because they were built on high ground unaffected by the Nile flood and were constructed of stone. Thus, our understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based mainly on religious monuments, massive structures characterized by thick, sloping walls with few openings, possibly echoing a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud walls. In a similar manner, the incised and flatly modeled surface adornment (decoration) of the stone buildings may have derived from mud wall ornamentation. Although the use of the arch was developed during the fourth dynasty, all monumental buildings are post and lintel constructions, with flat roofs constructed of huge stone blocks supported by the external walls and the closely spaced columns. Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers (landing place) were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial (symbolic) frescoes and carvings painted in brilliant colors. Many motifs (design) of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab or sacred beetle, the solar disk and the vulture. Other common motifs include palm leaves, the papyrus plant, and the buds and flowers of the lotus. Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells. In addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that were fought and their beliefs. This was especially true when exploring the tombs of Ancient Egyptian officials in recent years. Ancient Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events, such as solstices and equinoxes, requiring precise (accurate) measurements at the moment of the particular event. Measurements at the most significant temples may have been ceremonially undertaken by the Pharaoh himself. Art Forms: Ancient Egyptian art forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of gods, human beings, heroic battles, and nature, and were intended to provide solace to the deceased in the afterlife. Egyptian art in all forms obeyed one law: the mode of representing Pharaohs, gods, man, nature and the environment. Ancient Egyptian art displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the Ancient Egyptian’s socioeconomic status and belief systems. Architecture: Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks, fine sandstone, limestone and granite. Hieroglyphic and pictorial carvings in brilliant colors were abundantly used to decorate Egyptian structures. Papyrus: Papyrus is a plant. Papyrus was used by ancient Egyptians for writing and painting. Papyrus texts illustrate all dimensions of ancient Egyptian life and include literary, religious, historical and administrative documents. Pottery: Ancient Egyptians used steatite (some varieties were called soapstone). Different types of pottery items were deposited in tombs of the dead. Some such pottery items represented interior parts of the body, like the lungs, the liver and smaller intestines, which were removed before embalming (the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains). Sculpture: The ancient art of Egyptian sculpture evolved to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, Pharaohs, and the kings and queens, in physical form. Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues: male statues were darker than the female ones; in seated statues, hands were required to be placed on knees and specific rules governed appearance of every Egyptian god. Egyptian Art Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. The quality of observation and execution started at a high level and remained near that level throughout the 2nd and 3rd dynasty. Paintings: Egyptian painting is said to be one of the most unique and mysterious attributes of Egypt. Egyptian painting is not oil-based or fresco-based, it is tempura-based. All Egyptian reliefs were painted on a flat surface. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand strong sunlight without fading. The binding medium used in painting remains unclear. After painting, a varnish or resin was usually applied as a protective coating. The paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. Some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity. Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a profile view and a side view of the animal or person. Periods in Art: The Ancient Egyptian art style is known as Amarna art. It was characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images. Also, the human body is portrayed differently in Amarna style artwork than Egyptian art on the whole. Faces are still shown exclusively in profile.