Egyptians.

[manythings]

Best thing about Egypt was when the Romans kicked their ass. BOO YA! ROMANS!

I kid I kid, we wouldn't have the pyramids lining up with the stars.

They don't they are in a similar arrangement but they are off by like 10-15 degrees, the layout was due to ground stability.

China invented paper dude.
Egypt realized all of their magical artifacts would doom humanity so they buried all of them and hoped adventurers wouldn't retrieve them.

The word paper is derived from papyrus but you are right about the inventing.

Um... their gods look pretty rockin'...

... Um... they hated the Jewish people before it was cool? (I'm so going to hell...)

The Egyptians didn't jew anything to the Hebrews, actually. All that stuff about them keeping slaves just wasn't kosher.
The pyramids were actually built by farmers who were working there because the Nile would flood from around June to September every year. If a pyramid was being constructed at this time, the workers would go to build it. (While you might not thing this is exactly swell I could tell you that they were quite Hapi about it, because this cycle was the reason they were able to thrive.) When the pyramid was completed, all of the workers would be dubbed "Friends of the Pharaoh", or something of the like and when they died, they would be buried in the pyramid they helped to build, a grace that would not be given to any slave.

You the truth-a-majigs.

Also Thoth/Djehuty (The Man from Djehut) is my favourite deity as he was the earliest proponent of science and advancement. If they had advanced far enough I like to think his temples would've been staffed wholly by lip service paying atheists with somewhat stained Lab-robes.

More topically pointed they also invented the oldest known steam driven device. It was basically a rigged up boiling chamber leading to a fountain in the entry hall of Ra's (I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that is right) temple. The gist of it was you went to the font and prayed, if you were in favour with the god's water would pour out into a cup, if not no water. The part the preists glossed over was they would keep the person busy long enough for the water to start boiling and then tell them to address the font. I have always loved a fiendish con but I detest politics.

 

[Beliyal]

I'll totally bump this thread, as I found it accidentally and being an Egypt lover and an archaeology student, I felt obliged to participate.

First domesticated cat, sadly, cannot be attributed to Egypt. The oldest known domesticated cat is actually from Cyprus (site called Shillourokambos [yeah, unpronounceable]). Still, Egyptians were avid cat lovers as we all know and that makes them pretty awesome.

But the oldest known true alphabet is egyptian.

Actually, not it is not. Egyptian form of writing wasn't an alphabet at all. First known alphabet was Phoenician and Greek alphabet was later formed after Phoenician one. Egyptian form of writing was hierogliphic and despite that, wasn't the first form of writing after all. Sumerians had their own writing before Egyptians. However, Egyptian hieroglyphs lasted longer and are now completely comprehensive, while Sumerian writings are almost unreadable because their grammar and syntax wasn't so developed.

More topically pointed they also invented the oldest known steam driven device. ...

The steam driven device was invented by Hero of Alexandria who was a Greek, in 1st century AD. Look him up, he had a lot of other great inventions.

But considering the fact that nobody yet knows how Egyptians built the pyramids and why (yeah, official theories say they are tombs, but it actually has little to do with a tomb), and that they were one of the first great civilizations, they are pretty awesome. All later civilizations relied on Egyptian wisdom and their ancient knowledge about astronomy, medicine, math, art and building things that are so complicated and huge that it should be impossible. Their mythology is also pretty badass and could be rated R most of the times.

Thread bumpage complete.

 

[El Poncho]

The Spartans had orgies also.

I don't know much about them, but from what I do know they were awesome

 

[Sneaky-Pie]

egypt invented writing, didnt they?... Ok we dont know if they did, apparently its still disputed between China, Mesopotamia, Egypt and a civilization standing where now is turcmenistan. But the oldest known true alphabet is egyptian.

I could've sworn that was the Sumerians with their cuneiform writing.