Tales of the Pharaoh Trivia Quiz

Answer: Great House

Some sources also translate pharaoh as meaning "Royal House". The Egyptian word, "pr-῾o" became "par῾ôh" in Hebrew, and eventually "Pharaô" in Greek. Originally it was used to describe the luxurious palace, or "Great House" of the ancient ruler of Egypt.

Inscriptions have been found that state, "Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health". Historians believe that the reference was to the buildings of the court, or perhaps the kingdom, but not to pharaoh himself. Today, however, each of the kings is considered to be a pharaoh. and the timeline of ancient Egypt is set around each dynasty, or family that ruled.

Answer: Thutmose III

Actually all of the choices listed are members of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty that ruled during the New Kingdom; the great military leader, however, was Thutmose III. A stepson and nephew of Hatshepsut, he became pharaoh in name when he was ten years old.

She had other ideas and for the next thirty years it appears that she was the dominant ruler, and Thutmose III spent his time training in the army. He did not become pharaoh in his own right until after her death. During his reign, 17 military campaigns were conducted; conquered nobles were brought to Egypt to be educated and trained, returning to their homes as loyal vassals. Thutmose is known for never losing a battle, treating the conquered people in a humane fashion, and bringing a period of great peace and prosperity to the land.

It is believed that "pharaoh" became the form of address for the ancient Egyptian king during his reign, sometime around 1450 BC, while the earliest letter addressed to a "pharaoh" was sent to Akhenaten, "Pharaoh, all life, prosperity, and health".

Answer: Your Majesty

Even before the New Kingdom it apparently was proper for foreign dignitaries and members of the court to address pharaoh as "Your Majesty"; some sources say that he was also addressed as "His Majesty". Foreign leaders would address him as "Brother". An inscription has been found in Upper Egypt that was written by an official named Sia-Khufu.

He wrote that he was "custodian of the king's property who does what His Majesty loves". It was recorded that Thutmose III gave a speech to rally his men before fighting the Battle at Megiddo.

After the victory, a description was recorded on columns at the Temple of Amen at Karnak. It begins with, "His majesty gave a command, causing to be recorded the victories his father Amen had given him..."

Answer: Pschent

Early in Egyptian history, the groups living along the Nile River began to unite into small political districts called nomes. The leader of each nome was called a nomarch, who was in charge of collecting taxes, supervising the irrigation system, and leading the military. Over time, the nomes were organized into two kingdoms - Upper and Lower Egypt.

The first king to unify Egypt took the white crown, or Hedjet crown, of Upper Egypt and the red crown, or Deshret crown, of Lower Egypt and joined them to create the Pschent crown.

Answer: Uraeus

The symbol of the goddess Wadjet, viewed in early times as the protector of Lower Egypt, is the uraeus, which is described as an upright or rearing cobra. When the pharaoh wore the uraeus, it symbolized that not only was he under the protection of the goddess, but also that he was the supreme authority over the entire land.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the cobra would protect the pharaoh by spitting fire at his enemies. Nekhbet, represented by the white vulture, was the patron of Upper Egypt.

When the kingdoms were united, both the cobra and vulture became part of the king's crown.

Answer: Absolute Monarchy

The pharaoh had total and complete power to rule Egypt as he saw fit; in fact, he was not only the leader of the government, but he was the religious leader as well. These two responsibilities must have weighed heavy on pharaoh, because it was his main task to keep "ma'at", or order, throughout the land.

The way to do that was to make offerings to the gods so that they would bless the Egyptians with a bountiful harvest. As "Lord of the Two Lands", he not only owned all of the land, but also collected taxes, was responsible for keeping enemies out of Egypt, and made and enforced the law.

Answer: Vizier

The pharaoh had to be willing to delegate power in ancient Egypt and trust his main assistant, the vizier, to carry out orders and perform tasks well. The job description of the vizier included being chief justice, head of the treasury, and overseer of all records. By decree it was stated that the vizier was to act according to law, judge fairly, and not act willfully or in a headstrong way. One of the best-known viziers was Imhotep, who served Zoser during the Old Kingdom.

He is believed to have been the main architect of the step pyramid at Sakkara, and was so respected by the ancients that he eventually was worshiped as a minor deity.

Answer: False

To answer this question, let's look at one of the most famous female rulers of ancient Egypt - Hatshepsut. She ruled before the title "Pharaoh" had been officially adopted to designate the title of the leader of ancient Egypt. Many sources agree that her title was the same as a male ruler - she was King of Egypt, as the ancient Egyptians do not appear to have had a word in their language for "Queen".

The term appears in the history books because of its modern designation of female royalty; in this way, the consorts of Pharaoh, as well as female rulers, are often called "Queens" today, but they were not addressed by that title in ancient times.

Answer: True

The pharaoh was considered to be a god on earth, as well as the intermediary between the gods and the people. While he was ruling, pharaoh was associated with Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis. When he died, however, it was believed that he became Osiris, the god of the dead.

As a god on earth, the pharaoh was expected to build temples and monuments to honor the many other gods, and serve as high priest at religious ceremonies. Part of maintaining the "ma'at", or universal harmony, in the country was his interpretation of what the gods wanted and then his ability to act on it in a manner that was fitting.

The job of being pharaoh carried with it a high responsibility; the fate of everyone and everything was controlled by his actions.

Answer: Narmer and Cleopatra VII

The timeline of ancient Egypt is set around each dynasty, or family that ruled. According to modern historians, in over 3,000 years of history, Egypt was ruled by 31 dynasties. Narmer (Menes), credited with being the first pharaoh, united Upper and Lower Egypt in approximately 3100 BC. To symbolize the unification, Narmer joined the two crowns of the kingdoms and built a new capital where the they met. Centuries later, the Ptolemaic dynasty was the last dynasty to rule.

Although most sources claim that the death of Cleopatra VII marked the end of dynastic rule (and that is probably what you learned in history class), it must be remembered that her young son with Caesar, Caesarion, or Ptolemy XV, ruled for a very brief time after her death.

His death marks truly the end of the last dynasty to rule Egypt, which then became part of the Roman Empire.