The ancient Egyptians believed that the bodies of the Gods were made of gold, and their bones made from silver. Gold is found in relative abundance in Egypt and was highly valued even early in Egyptian history. Silver, on the other hand, was extremely rare in ancient Egypt and generally had to be imported.

The ancient Egyptian God Bes was associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Many Egyptians wore amulets, dedicated to certain Gods, to provide protection and good fortune. As Bes is associated with pregnancy and childbirth, it is reasonable to conclude that a pregnant woman would be most likely to wear an amulet dedicated to him.

During the Old Kingdom, it was generally understood that only kings and other powerful rulers could attain immortality or access the afterlife. This changed during the First Intermediate Period, however, as more and more Egyptians were offered access to the afterlife through earthly religious devotion. This is reflected in Coffin Texts, which were much more widely used in Egyptian society than the earlier Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom.

The First Intermediate Period of Egyptian history began with the decline of the Old Kingdom in the 22nd century BCE. During this period, authority was divided between two competing Egyptian states - one dynasty based out of Heracleopolis and another based out of Thebes. The First Intermediate Period begins with the Seventh Dynasty and lasts until part way through the rule of the Eleventh Dynasty.

During the First Intermediate Period, which lasts from 2181 to 2155 BCE, Egypt was divided into two competing kingdoms - Lower Egypt, led by the ruling dynasties of Heracleopolis, and Upper Egypt, led by the ruling dynasties of Thebes.

The Old Kingdom during its last years suffered from a variety of instances of dysfunctional governance and infrastructure that resulted in the dissolution of the Old Kingdom and the resulting fragmentation of power. These include discord as a result of Pepi II's lengthy reign, in addition to the monarchs' consolidation of more power and strife between Memphis, Thebes and Heracleopolis. Environmental problems resulting from less rainfall and flooding of the Nile only exacerbated this situation. In contrast, during the entire early period of Egyptian history, Egypt and Nubia engaged in periodic war, but neither side was able to overcome the other. Egypt finally conquered the northern Nubian Kingdom of Kerma around 1500 BCE (during the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom). On the other hand, during the later period of Egyptian decline in the Third Intermediate Period, the Kingdom of Kush finally conquered Egypt around 760 BCE, resulting in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

Thebes was one of the most important cities in ancient Egypt. Along with Memphis it was the most populous city in Egypt for much of the history of ancient Egyptian civilization. It was first established as a capital during the Middle Kingdom, but this was a turbulent time in Egyptian history, and Thebes would not become the permanent capital of ancient Egyptian civilization until the Hyksos were expelled and the New Kingdom began.

The city of Lahun is an important archaeological site dating from the Middle Kingdom period. It is one of many cities that was most likely built to house workers who were building the great pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdom rulers. Most historians believe that the city of Lahun was founded to house workers who were building a pyramid for the permanent repose of Senusret II.

Buhen was one of many fortresses built during the Middle Kingdom period to defend against Nubian invasion. Most of these fortresses were built during the noteworthy reigns of Senusret I - III.

The concept of a “divine middleman” was unique to Memphian cosmology. Ptah was the God of creation in the theology of Memphis. According to Memphian tradition, the Gods give commands and Ptah puts their wishes into reality. The theologians of Memphis understood Ptah to be a sort of “divine middleman” who would carry out the actions of the Gods.