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

4.8
stars
1,009 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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301 - 325 of 335 Reviews for Wonders of Ancient Egypt

By Celeste H

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Jun 27, 2018

This was a great course to do! Quick and easy! Sometimes I found the lectures weren't quite linear and became a bit confusing, but it was really fun to learn!

By Miguel P

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Feb 19, 2021

Highly interesting and well exposed. It really open the appetite for further knowledge of such amazing subject.

Congratulations to everyone involved!!!!

By ANA M S L

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Jul 22, 2024

Muy bueno, pero se ha centrado casi en exclusiva a Akenatón y Tutankamón habiendo muchas otras maravillas que estudiar y ver en Egipto. Es muy corto

By Myvanwy E

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Dec 12, 2019

i enjoyed this more than the last ancient Egypt course, I think the delivery was better. Overall well organised and easy to follow

By Elizabeth L

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Jan 22, 2018

Loved the amount of information in this course. I have always been fascinated by Egypt and it ancient dynasties. Thanks :)

By Krzysztof B

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Oct 6, 2020

The Professor speaks a bit slowly but the problem can be easily solved by going onto 1.25 or even 1.50 speed.

By Imanuel d

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Mar 3, 2019

Despite feeling like a bit of a basic entry-level course, I learned a lot of new things. Great quality MOOC.

By Lorenzo G

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Jul 12, 2020

It was really great to get a close insight into Ancient Egyptian history, culture and rituals

By rishad m

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Jul 21, 2021

A great course on Egypt and a must for every student of Egyptian history and civilisation.

By Reggie W

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Jun 9, 2021

Too many videos. Quizzes often had some obscure questions. Need some interactive lessons.

By Simone H

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Mar 29, 2020

interesting information, but I had to play the videos in 2x speed bc he talked so slow

By David O C

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May 16, 2020

Excellent course in Egyptian culture, language, artifacts, and archeology research.

By Miss L

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Apr 3, 2019

Unenthusiastic and talks a little slow. 2x speed fixes it tho lol

By Varun N

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May 26, 2020

The course was concise and is highly recommended for beginners

By Clotilde A

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Feb 2, 2019

Great course, interesting topics and explanations, thanks !

By Jennifer A

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Jan 25, 2021

Great information dispersed in small segments.

By Susan A

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Mar 14, 2018

Fascinating! Glad I took this one.

By John T R

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Jul 18, 2022

Interesting and well organized

By bishwaksen b

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Mar 11, 2018

Nice course,really enjoyed it

By Tara D

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Jul 20, 2022

I really like this course.

By Sandra M

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Mar 11, 2023

Many interesting sections

By Nicholas M B

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May 2, 2020

I liked it a lot

By Gabriela R H

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Oct 1, 2022

great

By Rodolfo T M

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Jul 6, 2018

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By Alan G

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Dec 21, 2020

What should be an interesting subject was spoiled by the rather dry delivery of the 'lecturer'.

Additionally it appears that these courses are also a good way of them gaining royalties from the recommendation of their own book for the course, this seems to be a regular occurence with any of the courses I've done on this platform!

Lastly, did we really need the huge list of credits after every lecture? Sometimes they lasted longer than the lecture did!