During the Late Period, the ritual marriage of the Gods Hathor and Horus became one of the most important Egyptian festivals. A depiction of Hathor was taken from her temple to the temple of Horus (a journey of dozens of miles). They were then “married” in a ritual celebration.

Animal cults became popular during the Late Period, because many Egyptian deities were zoomorphic (that is, represented as animals). As such, the worship of certain animals, as conduits to the divine, may be understood as a sort of inevitable process.

One of the four varieties of Egyptian writing scripts, Coptic initially emerged during the first century CE. It quickly rose in popularity due to its inclusion of Greek letters and its display of vowels, both of which made Coptic much more user-friendly than past scripts. Although it eventually fell out of use sometime between 1100 and 1500 CE, it is still used today in Christian churches throughout Egypt (this particular faith is otherwise known as Coptic Christianity).

The two earlier varieties of Egyptian script, Hieroglyphics and Hieratic, were each somewhat difficult to reproduce and casually recognize. Accordingly, the third style, known as Demotic, came into use during the eighth century CE. Unlike its two predecessors, Demotic was not pictorial in nature; instead, it was a simple, abbreviated version of Hieratic script that was very easily and swiftly produced and read. It quickly became the favored script for nearly all of Egypt’s literate classes, including scribes, merchants, priests, and other individuals whose professions necessitated their use of written language.

The Books of Breathing became popular in Egypt during the Late Period (probably during the so-called Saite Revival). They are prominent examples of Late Period funerary texts and may be understood as a continuation of the tradition of the earlier Egyptian Book of the Dead and other such funerary texts.

During the Late Period, and other times in Egyptian history (such as the New Kingdom and possibly the Middle Kingdom), formal education was available for a small number of people within Egyptian society. Primarily, formal education was extended to male elites and the sons of government officials. This ensured that only a tiny fraction of the population was literate, never more than one or two percent.

Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic (Greek) Kingdom in Egypt. She ruled Egypt in the first century BCE, and was defeated by the Roman Empire. Her defeat brought to an end the rule of the Pharaohs in Egypt and began the prolonged period of Roman occupation.

The Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt from 305 BCE until 30 BCE, during the rule of Hellenistic culture in Egypt. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was founded by one of Alexander the Great’s most successful generals, Ptolemy I Soter. The Ptolemaic Kingdom assimilated well into Egyptian society, but still had to contend with several rebellions.

The 31st Dynasty was established by the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes III in 343 BCE. It began when Artaxerxes III led the Persian reconquest of Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh. It came to an end less than two decades later with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

The chief civil administrator of Ancient Egypt was the vizier, an administrative lieutenant appointed by and reporting directly to the Pharoh. The high priest was an extremely high and privileged position in Ancient Egypt it was not position in the civic administration, it was strictly religious and cultural in nature.