The exhibition “Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs” has been showing at The Australian Museum in Sydney since 17 November 2023, and runs till May 2024. Showcasing 182 unique, distinctive artefacts from the collections of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and other Egyptian museums, also from among discoveries in the Bubastian necropolis in Saqqara, the exhibition highlights the ancient Egyptian civilisation from the Middle Kingdom (2030 – 1650 BC) up to the Late Period (664 – 332BC). The exhibits include sarcophagi, statues, gold and silverware, the restored funerary mask of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenemope, exceptional jewellery and furniture from the untouched tombs of the city of Tanis.
Tickets for the exhibition sold out. Many Australian schools arranged for their history students to visit the exhibition. Among them was the Good Samaritan Catholic College, a school established in 1999 as a co-educational college, and which today boasts the St Joseph Trades Skills Centre which was built in 2015, and an extensive range of vocational education courses offered to students. Its facilities include a fully working automotive workshop, hospitality and childcare training centres, and a large industrial kitchen and function room. Today, 1300 students are enrolled in the school.
Watani decided to sound the sentiments of teachers and students of the Good Samaritan Catholic College on their visit to the Ramses exhibition.
Insightful and inspiring
The teachers were asked about how they saw the effect of the visit on their students, and whether the visit would influence their teaching of ancient history in the future.
Jesica Khawaja, Leader of Learning and General Coordinator at the school said that the exhibition “gave our students great insight into the wealth, power and prosperity of the Egyptian people during the New Kingdom, especially the 19th Dynasty under the reign of Ramses II [whose 67 years of reign in 1279 – 1213BC saw Egypt at its most glorious and powerful]. It allowed them to understand religion, death and burial, also significant events such as the Battle of Kadesh and the Egypto Hittite peace treaty, [one of the earliest peace treaties in the world].
Monika Ilic, Acting Assistant HSIE Coordinator at the school, agreed that the exhibition provided the Ancient History students with wonderful insight. By viewing 182 priceless artefacts, including richly adorned jewellery and the sarcophagus of Ramses II, students learned about the superb workmanship of Egyptian artisans and gained a vision of the wealth and prosperity of the Egyptian people during the New Kingdom. “Overall,” she said, it was an excellent experience for our students.
As for the students themselves, who are mainly around the 16 – 18-year-old age bracket, they gave remarks that were especially perceptive. They were clearly impressed that the exhibits not only focused on the Great Ramses, but also displaying how ancient Egyptians lived their lives.
All agreed that the exhibition was “insightful and inspiring”, with one remarking: “it was an unforgettable and enjoyable experience that gave us the opportunity to explore life in Ancient Egypt.”
Another elaborated: “A lot of items fascinated me, mainly because I was able to see things that were rare and unique in their own way.”
Surprise
In reply to what especially surprised them, one drew attention to the context videos which provided details of the time of Ramses II, and were entertaining. As to the exhibits, several students remarked on the abundance and variety of artefacts on display, including jewellery, statues, ores and mummified animals. “The mummification of the animals surprised me, seeing that the Egyptians found them to be important”, one commented. Another noted surprise at the use of materials such as granite for the statues, composites for jewellery, and that silver was more of a rarity than gold.
One special remark said: “I was surprised by how detailed the creations of the Egyptians were; I had been under the impression their designs would be more crude since they had a lot less technology at the time.”
Really great, or.. ?
Watani asked the students if they thought Ramses II fitted the name given to him “The Great”? Or was he just someone with an outsize ego, as an American tourist once remarked?
The replies were nothing short of impressive.
“Yes, I think the pharaoh fits the name ‘the Great’ as he was loved by his people and lived to 93 years old.”
“He honestly did deserve the title because he not only fulfilled his duties as Pharaoh of Egypt, but was also responsible for his country winning that war against the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh, and also showed more compassion than many other kings; he commissioned statues of his mother and wife.”
Others, however, begged to differ. “Though he accomplished a lot in his lifespan, he can also be linked to many negative perceptions. Many people believe he took his achievements all to himself.”
“He is not great like Alexander the Great, who really was a good enough ruler to warrant the belief in him being a god, and he did not do much domain expansion. It seems obvious that the majority of Ramses the Great’s efforts were exaggerated and misattributed if not fabricated. He seems not to be known much for his reforms and social changes, and for the most part seems nothing more than a competent warlord, like Agamemnon.” [Worth noting is that ancient Egypt was never an expansionist culture; it fought only to secure its borders from neighbours who coveted them.]
“Gaze upon my works and despair”
The question about Ramses the Great’s ego brought in some interesting remarks.
“I agree that Ramses had a high ego; he had many statues made in his image and most likely enjoyed the thought of his achievements being a reminder of his greatness. But he was not solely egocentric; his achievements are still great achievements.”
Someone disagreed: “I think Ramses really did have a big ego. The quotes from the videos shown are mainly about him being the sole victor, disregarding those that fought for him. He attributed to his name works that oftentimes weren’t his, and he mentions a total defeat of the Hittites, whereas the Hittites say the battle resulted for the most part in a draw. The exhibition mentions that the withered statue of Ramses was the basis for Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias, and it is not surprising that it was, with the subject of the poem being a boastful king’s decrepit statue. I think Ramses could mainly be thought of in the context of the poem, seeing himself as something like the ‘king of kings’, telling others to ‘gaze upon my works and despair’.”
But in another opinion: “The Egyptians would not have honoured him as ‘the Great’ had he been a bad pharaoh, in which case he would have gotten the same treatment as Akhenaten, the pharaoh who annoyed the entire country by trying to turn their religion monotheistic, leading the Egyptians to almost entirely erase him from history. While Ramses did have a great ego, especially in the way he phrased his victory against the other nation (“I alone”), discarding him solely as just someone with a very big ego is ridiculous.”
So much more to see
To conclude, Watani asked the students: Did this exhibition whet your appetite to visit Egypt to see for yourself so many other monuments or relics that could not have been packed and moved in an exhibition collection? And do you think ancient civilisations can live on in the descendants of the people who created them — in the form of principles, life priorities etc… If so, would you like to visit the Egypt of today?
There was unanimity in the replies on desires to visit Egypt. “Yes, I feel as though I have seen only a portion of Egypt’s history. I had thought that the majority of what remained of Egypt were things contained in tombs and the tombs themselves, but now I know that there is much more to see and learn.”
“Yes. I have so far seen ancient Egyptians as unrelated to the course of history, given their locational insularity. But now I see that they were more advanced than I had thought, and they had more influence on lots of other nations, such as the Hittites.”
“Yes. I did not know, for example, that so much information could be contained in an archaeological site. I thought of the pyramids, and the Valley of the Kings, as being nothing more than tombs, with not much to glean from either, but now I am sure that more information about ancient Egypt is contained in each. I would like to know more about the lives of the populace under the pharaohs.”
Enduring legacy
“I believe that ancient civilisations can still endure in the descendants of those who made them. The humans of the past lived and had morals, values and lifestyles that we can follow or look up to. Looking back, I can be absolutely positive that I would love to visit Egypt, both modern and ancient.”
“Visiting would offer an insight into this legacy and long history of Egypt, depicting the lasting influence of ancient civilisations on modern society.”
“It is obvious that modern civilisations still owe a lot of the culture to predecessors, such as in case of Samurai in popular culture for Japan and Spartan soldiers for Greece. I would like to visit Egypt to see more closely how it is that the pharaohs influence the lives of modern-day Egyptians, and if there is more of the culture that has carried on.”
“The beliefs and lifestyles of those civilisations can and do live on, even if some of the beliefs haven’t been carried to modern day. Many of the core foundations and beliefs can still be practised, either by the individual or community. This makes me want to visit Egypt and see the lifestyles for myself.”
“After this museum visit, I can definitely say that I am yearning to see many other relics and monuments, and the life that Ancient Egypt has offered.”
One conclusive statement: “I will absolutely be visiting Egypt once I graduate.”
For full details on the exhibition:
Watani International
27 March 2024
I love the in-depth feedback given by the students on the visit!