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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Wonders of Ancient Egypt by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
stars
977 ratings

About the Course

Colossal pyramids, imposing temples, golden treasures, enigmatic hieroglyphs, powerful pharaohs, strange gods, and mysterious mummies are features of Ancient Egyptian culture that have fascinated people over the millennia. The Bible refers to its gods, rulers, and pyramids. Neighboring cultures in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean wrote about its god-like kings and its seemingly endless supply of gold. The Greeks and Romans describe aspects of Egypt's culture and history. As the 19th century began, the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt highlighted the wonders of this ancient land, and public interest soared. Not long after, Champollion deciphered Egypt's hieroglyphs and paved the way for other scholars to reveal that Egyptian texts dealt with medicine, dentistry, veterinary practices, mathematics, literature, and accounting, and many other topics. Then, early in the 20th century, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun and its fabulous contents. Exhibitions of this treasure a few decades later resulted in the world's first blockbuster, and its revival in the 21st century has kept interest alive. Join Dr. David Silverman, Professor of Egyptology at Penn, Curator in Charge of the Egyptian Section of the Penn Museum, and curator of the Tutankhamun exhibitions on a guided tour of the mysteries and wonders of this ancient land. He has developed this online course and set it in the galleries of the world famous Penn Museum. He uses many original Egyptian artifacts to illustrate his lectures as he guides students as they make their own discovery of this fascinating culture. This course focused on five key areas in the study of Ancient Egypt: 1) Principles of Egyptian Art, 2) The Basics of the Language of Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphs, 3) Egyptian Magic, 4) Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and the Religion of the Aten, and 5) The Burial of Tutankhamun and the Search for his Tomb. This course is intended to accompany, and ideally to follow, Introduction to Ancient Egypt (also available on Coursera)....

Top reviews

VE

Jul 10, 2020

This was an incredibly detailed course that provided an in-depth and interesting view of ancient Egypt. I would highly recommend this as an essential course for those interested in Egypt's history.

NP

Feb 18, 2024

I really enjoyed this course and really appreciate the effort of Dr. Silverman and the team to be able to allow us a comprehensive glimpse into this fascinating ancient civilization. Thank you!!!

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51 - 75 of 325 Reviews for Wonders of Ancient Egypt

By Connie L

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Apr 30, 2021

This is a very good follow up course to the first one on the History and Chronology of Ancient Egypt which I completed. I took it because of the interesting topics in this course relating to the different aspects of Egyptian culture.

By Yash M

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Jul 27, 2020

Thoroughly enjoyed the learning imparted to me and came to know about a lot of uncanny but fascinating facts about the history of Egypt. The whole experience quenched my desire to know about the wonders did in ancient Egypt.

By Michael F T

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Jul 27, 2020

A good introduction and overview of many aspects of Egyptian civilization. Very much enjoyed the concise, yet wide-ranging, discussions in topics such as art and religion, magic, the Amarna period and burial practices.

By Dana C

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Apr 24, 2020

This is my second course with this professor. The course was very interesting and held my attention throughout. The subject matter was clearly communicated and I learned a great deal about Egyptian history and culture.

By Genevieve M

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Oct 30, 2020

i loved this class! thanks so much to penn for making it available & to dr silverman for sharing his time and knowledge with us. i learned so much. if they offered more classes i would take them. i highly recommend it!

By Melanie D M

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Aug 31, 2020

Absolutely loved this course! Much respect to Professor Silverman and his team for putting out such a fantastic curriculum. I have learned so much and wish to continue to do more such courses with University of Penn!

By Chelsea B

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Sep 25, 2020

Dr. Silverman is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Ancient Egypt and I could probably listen to him talk about the subject forever. Lots of fun learning about Ancient Egyptian art, hieroglyphs, and more.

By robert l

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Mar 20, 2018

This was an excellent course; containing in a few hours of lectures a great amount of learning and information. I learned how to write my name in hieroglyphics! I wish there were more courses on this subject.

By laura k

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Jul 5, 2020

It was an outstanding course! A great follow-up to the Introduction class. I learned a great many new things about Egypt and found two other books that I cant wait to read. Thank you for such a good class.

By Jacob B

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Jan 4, 2021

Extremely fascinating subject taught by an expert who truly knows his craft. It was a pleasure to take this course and I would recommend it to anyone looking to further their knowledge about ancient Egypt.

By Justine B

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Apr 4, 2021

A fantastic course packed with detailed and interesting information regarding Ancient Egypt. I thoroughly enjoyed it -- particularly the week dedicated to Hieroglyphs -- and would absolutely recommend it.

By Sue E M

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Jan 26, 2018

It gave me such a thrill!!!!! Looking forward to vising the Pyramids, the Valley of Kings and the museum. They you very much Professor for the insightful and thrilling adventure that this course was to me.

By Matheus A A

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Dec 29, 2020

Wonderful, amazing course! Thanks a lot, University of Pensilvania, for making knowledge accessible in all parts of the world! Thanks, Dr. Silverman, for sharing in a simple way little of your expertise!

By Lovely L

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Mar 31, 2018

Thank you very much for this course! Let me get more accurate and in-depth knowledge of Egyptian religion, writing, art and magic. I hope can get more details about the priest in the future. Thanks a lot.

By Sirma S B

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Jan 31, 2020

Captivating lectures and the material was presented with a focus on the most important historic moments.Absolutely recommend it to those who want to become part of this amazing civilization and culture.

By Victoria E

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Jul 11, 2020

This was an incredibly detailed course that provided an in-depth and interesting view of ancient Egypt. I would highly recommend this as an essential course for those interested in Egypt's history.

By Nataša P

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Feb 19, 2024

I really enjoyed this course and really appreciate the effort of Dr. Silverman and the team to be able to allow us a comprehensive glimpse into this fascinating ancient civilization. Thank you!!!

By Doina M

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Jul 17, 2023

A wonderfully presented course, an amazing professor who feels the beauty of Ancient Egypt with every breath and who manages to attract students with the depth and vastity of his knowledge.

By Dominic B

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Jun 26, 2022

Detailed introduction to Egyptian art; not too time-consuming; not overly focused on ruins or chronology but on artifacts with symbolic purposed or that conveyed meaning to ancient Egyptians.

By M C

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Sep 25, 2020

I really enjoyed the history of Ancient Egypt. I have viewed the treasures of Tutankhamun twice. This class gave me a more in depth view of the culture and the art of Ancient Egypt. Thank you.

By Ramon v O

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Feb 2, 2022

Absolutely great course, by an expert in his field, dr. David Silverman.

Only minor downside of this great course was the fact, that the credits at the end of each clip was taking very long.

By Anna M

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Jun 21, 2020

I enjoyed very much this course! The explanations are very clear and detailed , it is a fascinating subject. I enjoyed above all imagines, pictures and photos! I recommend the enrollment !

By Madison R

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Mar 2, 2020

Love this course! I've been obsessed with Egyptology my whole life and after taking both of Dr. Silverman's courses I feel I have a much greater understanding of the mystic civilization!

By Esther C W

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Jan 20, 2022

This was an excellent followup course on Egypt for me. I found it very indepth and the professor was very cleaer in his presentations and the audiovisuals were awesome! Thank u so much!