Around 3100 B.C., settlements cropped up along the banks of the river Nile. Each village had its own animal deities but they were otherwise similar. Sensing an opportunity for expanded government, King Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt. The ebb and flow of the Nile was predictable, with floods in the summer months and low tides in the winter. Its downstream current made trade, communication, and travel simple, which encouraged unified systems of measurement and hieroglyphs. The predictability of the river bred a religious, rule-abiding population. It was the beginning of a great civilization that would endure for 3,000 years. In Montreal, works on loan from Turin’s Egyptian Museum—sarcophagi, stelae, mummies, statues, jewelry—embody life in Ancient Egypt from its founding until the Roman invasion. —Elena Clavarino