Although the culture of every civilization is determined by its geographical location, this is especially true for the example of Ancient Egypt, where the extreme geographical circumstances, such as the desert and the Nile River, were some of the most important factors influencing art.
The Nile River made a very full contribution to the development of Egyptian art. Namely, the topic of dry and flooding seasons of the Nile can be observed in Ancient Egyptian artworks. A big part of Ancient Egyptian art is funerary art (Bochi, 2003). Ancient Egyptians saw the alternating states of the Nile River as the symbols of death and life and this symbolism was relentlessly translated into art. An example of this is the Book of the Dead, created around 1250 BC. In the book, there is a set of magical or religious texts on the topic of death that often relate and compare death of the cycles of the Nile River. From this point of view, it is logical to assume that the river seriously influences the main themes that Ancient Egyptian art tried to address.
Perhaps one of the areas of art that Ancient Egypt is most known for is its architecture, which to a big extent was also influenced by Egypt’s unique geographical location. Namely, the types of buildings that Ancient Egyptians built was determined by the available materials. The availability of solid stones on the banks of the Nile River to a big extent influences the constructions of some of the most famous Ancient Egypt architecture works such as pyramids (Chakraborty & Stone, 2008).
As seen from above, the culture of Ancient Egypt was to a big extent determined by the availability of natural resources and the geographical position of the country.
- Bochi, P. A. (2003). Time in the Art of Ancient Egypt: From Ideological Concept to Visual Construct. Kronoscope, 3(1), 51-82.
- Chakraborty, B., & Stone, S. J. (2008). The Great Pyramid Builders: An Integrated Theme on Ancient Egypt. Childhood Education, 85(1), 32P.
