Ancient Egypt Online

Welcome to Ancient Egypt Online; a site dedicated to the culture, language, religion and history of ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians did not call their home "Egypt" (that name is based on the Greek pronunciation of the name of Ptah's temple in Memphis - "Hwt-ka-Ptah"), instead they referred to it as Kemet (or Kem - the black land) or Ta Mery (the beautiful land).

Upper and Lower Egypt

Ancient Egypt was divided into Ta Shemau (Upper Egypt) and Ta Mehu (Lower Egypt). Click on the hieroglyphs to view the map of Upper Egypt or the map of Lower Egypt

The division between upper and lower Egypt was retained after the unification of the kingdom in the Pre-dynastic Period and the pharaoh was often known as the King of Upper and Lower Egypt. This concept of duality is a constantly reoccuring feature of the Egyptian civilisation and was echoed in the pairing of different gods and goddesses to represent upper and lower Egypt.

Hieroglyphs

The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic language is both fascinating and beautiful. For many hundreds of years their meaning was lost, but thanks to the hard work of egyptologists hieroglyphs can again be read and enjoyed.

Ancient Egypt Online features a full hieroglyphic sign list along with detailed tutorials to teach yourself hieroglyphs, and fun quizzes.

Kemet Design

You can also visit our sister site, Kemet Design, to buy jewellery and incense inspired by Ancient Egypt or to order the translation of text from English into hieroglyphs.

About us

Ancient Egypt Online is written and maintained by Jenny Hill. If you have any comments or queries, please email Jenny at Ancient Egypt Online.