Well, the 49ers made a valiant effort. What a great game! It was so close and so intense! During the 2nd half, ten minutes didn't go by (after the whole power outage debacle, anyway) where someone wasn't screaming at the T.V. Well played, big sweaty men. Well played. ;D
Did you know that the mystery of the boy pharaoh, commonly known as King Tut, has (at least in part) been solved?
Okay, so I don't have references for this, but I watched it on a Discovery documentary a year or two ago.
First let's hit the finer points of King Tut. His full name is Tutankhamen. His tomb, brimming with gold and treasure that would have made Aladdin's pet monkey drool with lust, was let un-raided much longer than the tombs of most other pharaohs. That's because his tomb was buried beneath another one. It was hidden away and no one knew it was there.
It was a juicy mystery because it seemed like someone had tried to hide the tomb--to erase the boy king from existence. Yet, his tomb was richer than most of the great kings of Egypt that did make it into the history books. Who loved this boy--who died when little more than a child--so much as to fit him like a god for the afterlife, but then tried to cover up all trace of his existence?
It's a mystery that's haunted every Egyptologist since the discovery of the tomb in the 1920s. Finally, with the advent of new technology, a dedicated Egyptologist decided to raise money to do DNA analysis on several mummies and try to determine King Tut's heritage. (Can I just say how awesome I think it is that we can now do DNA analysis on mummified remains?)
Long story short, Tut was shown to be the son of the infamous Akhenaten. Suddenly, the state of the tomb made a lot of sense. Akhenaten was the notorious heretic king. He rebelled against popular Egyptian religion, changing it from polytheism to monotheism and insisting that Aten, the Sun God, was the only one. The Egyptian people of the time believed this to be blasphemy. He also relocated the capital to Cairo from Thebes (possibly to protect himself and his family because he was so hated by the people). By later dynasties, he was completely discredited, erased from important records and documents, and referred to only as "the enemy." He was often depicted pictorially as an undesirable king.
It would make sense, then, that Akhenaten loved his son, and when Tut died young, as king of the pharaoh, he was buried with unimaginable wealth. Yet, when the dynasty died, and the faults of Akhenaten were "corrected" as the people of the time period saw it, they wanted to erase his shameful heresy from the histories. So they built a tomb over top of Tut's, to hide all traces of him from the world.
Since these studies, much has been learned about King Tut's life, brief though it was, including what he most likely looked like. Amazing how a little bit of truth can so illumine a life and indeed, an entire ancient dynasty.
Remember, knowledge of our past is our inheritance. What we do with that knowledge will shape our destinies.
Persistence of Vision Blog Tour
Today's Blog Tour Stop is an excerpt at Doodle's Book Blog. Emily's blog is really colorful and fun, so hop on over and check it out! :D
Historical Tidbit
Did you know that the mystery of the boy pharaoh, commonly known as King Tut, has (at least in part) been solved?
Okay, so I don't have references for this, but I watched it on a Discovery documentary a year or two ago.
| witola.com |
It was a juicy mystery because it seemed like someone had tried to hide the tomb--to erase the boy king from existence. Yet, his tomb was richer than most of the great kings of Egypt that did make it into the history books. Who loved this boy--who died when little more than a child--so much as to fit him like a god for the afterlife, but then tried to cover up all trace of his existence?
It's a mystery that's haunted every Egyptologist since the discovery of the tomb in the 1920s. Finally, with the advent of new technology, a dedicated Egyptologist decided to raise money to do DNA analysis on several mummies and try to determine King Tut's heritage. (Can I just say how awesome I think it is that we can now do DNA analysis on mummified remains?)
| timstouse.com |
It would make sense, then, that Akhenaten loved his son, and when Tut died young, as king of the pharaoh, he was buried with unimaginable wealth. Yet, when the dynasty died, and the faults of Akhenaten were "corrected" as the people of the time period saw it, they wanted to erase his shameful heresy from the histories. So they built a tomb over top of Tut's, to hide all traces of him from the world.
Since these studies, much has been learned about King Tut's life, brief though it was, including what he most likely looked like. Amazing how a little bit of truth can so illumine a life and indeed, an entire ancient dynasty.
Remember, knowledge of our past is our inheritance. What we do with that knowledge will shape our destinies.
Wow, that's fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSure thing! Thanks for stopping by, Meredith! :D
DeleteGreat game, but what was that with the lights??? LOL
ReplyDeleteOoh, I love all this Egyptian stuff! I'm a major History Channel buff. :)
I know that game was intense! Weird about the lights. Since the 49ers kinda sucked the first half, my brothers were joking that they must have had an understanding with the power company. "If we're losing by x amount or more by the half time, shut the lights off!" LOL. Glad you liked the tidbit. I don't watch History channel much these days, mostly for lack of time. But I miss it! :D
DeleteCan I just say, I love you for this bit of nerdiness. I went through an Egypt phase a few years back, but I can't say I remember learning the origin of King Tut (maybe they hadn't figured it out yet). Absolutely fascinating!
ReplyDeleteVery excited to have found this blog from your other one. Following this one too!
ReplyDelete