Pharaoh

A long time ago, Ancient Egypt was a civilization ruled by pharaohs. Egyptians did not call their ruler a pharaoh, though, before 1554 BC during the 18th dynasty. Before that, pharaoh meant "Great House" in Egyptian and referred to the palace of the king. It was later added to the pharaoh's name as part of his title.

The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'.

The pharaoh was the high priest of all temples, the head of law and administration, and the commander of the army. The Egyptians believed pharaohs were great people that were half-man and half-god. Since only the pharaoh and priests were allowed to enter temples, Ancient Egyptians had to ask the pharaoh to speak to the gods for them. This made the pharaoh very powerful in the minds of regular Egyptians!

 

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh's spirit could live for an eternity, which means forever. They believed that the pharaoh would become a god after he died, so pharaohs were buried in a tomb with many treasures which could be enjoyed in their Afterlife.

Many of the statues of pharaohs have cobra heads on them. Pharaohs wore a cobra figure to protect them from evil.

There were many different pharaohs, some woman and some men. They ruled Ancient Egypt for thousands of years.