Show notes
Far in the distance, three colossal shapes tower over the desert horizon…In this episode, we travel to the Nile Valley, and tell the story of one of the most iconic cultures ever produced by humankind – the civilizations of ancient Egypt. I want to show how this series of related cultures grew up in the floodplains of their great river, and built some of the most enduring and recognizable structures in the world.
Highlighted moments
As Egypt embarked on pyramid building, the pyramids were building Egypt.
“In this final statue, we get a sense for the mental toll it took on a man to sit at the top of this paranoid system. The pharaoh's weary, sunken eyes, his haggard face contorted in an expression of eternal worry.”
“Through a centuries-long game of acquisition, the Amun priests now controlled two thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90% of all Egypt's ships, along with mountains of gold.”
“The last hieroglyphic inscription records the mournful wish of one scribe named Nesmet Er-Achem, wishing that his inscription would endure forever, just like the carvings of his long-dead ancestors.”
Transcript
Transcript not available for this episode yet.