living in ancient egypt (living in the ancient world)

L I V I N G I N …

ANCIENTEGYPT

L I V I N G I N …

ANCIENTEGYPT

Series consultant editor: Norman Bancroft Hunt

LIVING IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Text and design © 2009 Thalamus Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bancroft-Hunt, Norman.Living in ancient Egypt / Norman Bancroft Hun. — 1st ed.

p. cm. — (Living in the ancient world)Includes index.ISBN 978-0-8160-6338-3

1. Egypt—Civilization—To 332 B.C. 2. Egypt—Social life and customs—To 332 B.C. I.Title. II.Series.

DT61.B3217 2008932—dc22 2008009498

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For Thalamus PublishingSeries consultant editor: Norman Bancroft HuntContributors: Norman Bancroft Hunt, Nick Constable, Roger Kean,Warren LapworthProject editor:Warren LapworthMaps and design: Roger Kean

Printed and bound in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1This book is printed on acid-free paper

Picture acknowledgmentsAll illustrations by Oliver Frey except for – Jean-Claude Golvin: 64, 80–81, 82–83; John James/Temple Rogers: 24–25, 28–29, 40;Roger Kean: 12–13 (all), 18 (top), 20–21 (top and center), 21 (panel), 31, 56 (left), 57 (panel), 58 (bottom). 59 (bottom, all 4), 63 (panel),66 (inset), 74–75 (all), 76–77 (all), 85 (top, all 4), 90 (left and bottom), 91 (bottom right), 93 (bottom); Martin Teviotdale: 89 (bottom);Mike White/Temple Rogers: 20–21 (bottom), 25 (panel), 30, 55, 58 (top), 62, 84–85.

Photographs – Paul Almasy/Corbis: 14;Archivo Iconografica/Corbis: 68; Bojan Brecelj/Corbis: 20; Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis: 17, 18, 24 (right),26, 27, 33, 36, 42 (bottom), 51 (top and bottom), 53 (center), 54, 55 (inset), 55, 60 (center), 61 (bottom), 75, 77 (bottom), 84, 85 (panel), 86, 92,93 (top right); Roger Kean/Thalamus Publishing: 2, 43, 46 (both), 50 (top), 82 (inset), 88 (top); Charles Lennars/Corbis: 23, 24 (left), 28, 42 (top),47, 50 (bottom), 60 (top), 88 (bottom right), 93 (top left); Carmen Redondo/ Corbis: 90;Thalamus Publishing: 16, 60 (left), 88 (left);Sandro Vannini/Corbis: 44 (left), 77 (top); Ron Watts/Corbis: 86–87;Wild Country/Corbis: 91; Roger Wood/Corbis: 44 (right), 53 (top), 63, 72.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Place in History 6

More than Pyramids and Sphinxes 7

Landscape and Climate 8

A Brief History of Egypt, 3800–30 BCE 10

Table of Major Dates 12

Chapter 1: Nile—Giver of Life

Hapi and the Waters of Life 14

The Farming Year—Akhet, the Inundation 16

The Farming Year—Peret, the Growing Season 18

The Farming Year—Shemu, the Harvest Season 20

The Farming Year—the Hot Season 22

What the Egyptians Eat 24

What the Egyptians Drink 26

From Mud to Bricks 28

Transport and Travel 31

Chapter 2: Government and Society

The Pharaoh’s Role 32

Egyptian Administration 34

Taxation in Egypt 36

The Law 38

A Rich House in the Country and Townhouses 41

The Egyptian Family 42

Marriage and Divorce 44

Birth and Children 46

Education and Learning 48

Fashion and Style 50

Entertainment and Games 52

Chapter 3: A Working Life

Scribes—the Machinery of Government 54

Writing—Tool of the Scribe 56

Architects, Surveyors, and Engineers 58

The Main Crafts 60

Quarries, Mines, and Metalworkers 62

Town of the Royal Tomb Builders 64

Trade and Economy 67

Doctors and Medicine 68

An Egyptian Soldier’s Life 70

The Egyptian Army and Navy 72

Chapter 4: A Land Ruled by Gods

The Major Egyptian Gods 74

Gods for Everything 76

Temples and the People 79

Karnak and Luxor—Monumental Temples 80

Death and the Next World 84

Embalming and Mummification 86

The Pyramids of Giza 88

Valley of Tombs 90

Everyday Life in the Next World 92

Glossary 94

Index 96

Place in History

6000 BCE

4000 BCE

3500 BCE

2340 BCE

1900 BCE

1600

BCE

1100

BCE

539

BC

E

3100 BCE

2686 BCE

2200BCE

2040BCE

1782

BCE

1570

BCE10

70BC

E

747

BCE

332

BC

E 30B

CE

2600 BCE

1100

BCE

800

BC

E

500

BC

E 146B

CE

753

BC

E

509

BC

E 27B

CE

7

The great temples, pyramids,

and sphinxes are only the

most obvious creations of a

civilization that lasted for more

than 3000 years—longer than any

other.While it is difficult to

separate ancient Egypt from the

grandeur of its monuments and the

god-king pharaohs, it was the

ordinary people of Egypt—

constant and almost unchanging—

who were the lifeblood of this

great culture. By their efforts,

Egypt became a land of plenty,

justly and wisely governed. It was a

society that allowed even the

lowliest peasant to achieve status if

he or she were smart enough.

Perhaps most importantly, of all the

ancient cultures, Egyptians were

the most fun, as their numerous

wall paintings show.

INTRODUCTION

More Than Pyramidsand Sphinxes

476C

E

800CE

1200 CE

1350 CE

1450 CE

Ancient Egyptians are members of theAfrican or “Hamitic” branch of the

Mediterranean race.The national characterof the Egyptian has been dominated by thewide, placid Nile. Egypt is one of thestrangest countries in the world. It’s almost800 miles long from the last of the greatcataracts, or waterfalls, of the Nubian frontierin the south to the Mediterranean, and yetnowhere is the fertile land more than fivemiles wide, except at the Delta.The lengthand narrowness of this strip should make iteasy to attack and vulnerable to enemies, butEgypt is well protected by the awesomedeserts on either side, which deter mostinvaders.

The essential NileThe country’s dimensions should also makeit hard for the people to farm and raise cropsto survive, but again the Egyptians knowthey are a special people, favorites of thegods. Every year the waters of the Nile floodthe land between the hills on either side ofthe valley, leaving behind a rich silt thatmakes a paradise of the desert fringes.

In a land where rain almost never falls, theNile is Egypt’s most important resource. Itprovides fish, waterfowl, mud for makingbricks, reeds for building and makingpapyrus paper, and a central highway for thetransport of goods and people from one endof the land to the other.

All this the gods provide, but they havemade even the apparently barren desert asource of wealth. Stone for great buildings,precious stones for jewelry, gold, andcopper—all come from the desert. In onlyone respect is Egypt lacking: there are fewtrees to provide good quality timber, so theEgyptians use reeds, stone, and brick.

An ancient oracle of the god Amundeclares,“Egypt is the land watered by theNile in its course; and those who dwellbelow the city of Elephantine and drink thatriver’s water are Egyptians.”

8


Landscape and ClimateFourteen thousand years ago, the rains which had made the tableland of northeast Africa lush failed.Animals became scarce, forcing the prehistoric Egyptians to leave the plains and descend into the lowerNile river valley. They abandoned the nomadic life of the hunter and settled down to farming.

13

14

15

16

1

9

INTRODUCTION

strip of vegetation as itflows from the south(right) to the north.Modern Lake Nassercan be seen at the farright of the picture.

This photograph takenfrom space showsUpper Egypt, the SinaiPeninsula, and the RedSea. The River Nile ismarked by the dark

In the picture’s centerthe Nile makes a tighthalf-loop, where liesThebes, once capital ofthe kingdom and site ofthe Valley of the Kings.

12

17

18

19

20

56

7

11

Key to photograph onthe following page.

4

32 98

10

The period between 5000 and 3100 BCE

is known as the Predynastic Period ofEgypt. In this time three cultures evolved,one after the other, known by the names ofthe sites where they were first discovered:Badarian,Amratian (or Naqada I), andGerzean (or Naqada II).

Creation of the kingdomBy 3800 BCE decorated pottery wasproduced and the art of spinning andweaving linen cloth mastered. In the next600 years metal tools and weapons of copperand then bronze came into widespread use.The 40 independent districts (nomes,governed by nomarchs) united into two

distinct states—the Kingdom of UpperEgypt (the Nile Valley) and the Kingdom ofLower Egypt (the Delta region).

Between 3200 and about 3100 the twokingdoms fought for control of the wholecountry. Ultimate victory went to UpperEgypt and led to unification of the twokingdoms under Menes, the first trueEgyptian king, or pharaoh.

Dynastic EgyptFrom this point on Egypt’s history is largelymeasured by the 31 dynasties of pharaohswho followed Menes, which are groupedinto nine periods.Thanks to the Egyptianpictographic writing system known as

10


A Brief History of Egypt, 3800–30 BCEAncient Egyptians are characterized by the virtues of gentleness and devotion tofamily, friends, king, and gods. Men born peasants could raise themselves to thehighest offices in the land by their own efforts. And with an absolute belief thatdeath was a better form of life, they were a cheerful people.

The Egyptian pharaohsThanks to hieroglyphic inscriptions,

archaeologists have managed to

date most reigns. Some pharaohs

ruled at the same time, some are

known by the names the Greeks

gave them, shown in brackets. The

symbol † means a queen reigning

as a king. All dates are BCE and

follow those of Dr. William J.

Murnane (1983). Even so, they are

only approximate until 1570.

Archaic Period (3100–2686)DYNASTY 1

7 or 8 kings starting with Menes(or Narmer, or “Scorpion King”)

DYNASTY 2

6 kings ending with Khasekhemwy

Old Kingdom (2686–2184)DYNASTY 3

Sanakhte 2686–2668

Djoser 2668–2649

Sekhemkhet 2649–2643

Khaba 2643–2637

Huni 2637–2613

DYNASTY 4

Snefru 2613–2589

Khufu (Cheops) 2589–2566

Djedefre 2566–2558

Khafre (Chephren) 2558–2532

Menkaure (Mycerinus) 2532–2504

Shepseskaf 2504–2500

DYNASTY 5

Userkaf 2498–2491

Sahure 2491–2477

Neferirkare 2477–2467

Shepseskare 2467–2460

Neferefre 2460–2453

Neuserre 2453–2422

Menkauhor 2422–2414

Djedkare 2414–2375

Unas 2375–2345

DYNASTY 6

Teti 2345–2333

Pepi I 2332–2283

Merenre 2283–2278

Pepi II 2278–2184

Nitocris † 2184–2182

First Intermediate Period(2181–2040)DYNASTIES 7 AND 8 (2181–2160)

Many kings who ruled only for

short periods

DYNASTIES 9 AND 10 (2160–2040)

Herakleopolitan kings

Middle Kingdom(2040–1782)An independent line of kings

reigning at Thebes at the same

time as the Herakleopolitan kings;

later became rulers of all Egypt.

DYNASTY 11

Intef I, II, and III 2134–2060

Mentuhotep I 2060–2010

Mentuhotep II 2010–1998

Mentuhotep III 1998–1991

DYNASTY 12

Amenemhet I 1991–1962

Senusret I 1971–1926

Amenemhet II 1929–1895

Senusret II 1897–1878

Senusret III 1878–1841

Amenemhet III 1842–1797

Amenemhet IV 1798–1786

Sobeknefru † 1785–1782

Second Intermediate Period(1782–1570)DYNASTY 13 (1782–1650)

Some 70 “governors,” short reigns

DYNASTY 14

Breakaway kings ruling the Delta

at the same time as Dynasty 13

DYNASTY 15 (1663–1555)

Hyksos kings including Apophis(Apepi I, 1585–1542)

DYNASTY 16 (1663–1555)

Minor Hyksos kings ruling at the

same time as Dynasty 15

DYNASTY 17 (1663–1570)

15 Theban kings including Tao I,

Tao II and Kamose (1573–1570)

New Kingdom (1570–1070)DYNASTY 18

Ahmose 1570–1546

Amenhotep I 1551–1524

Tuthmosis I 1524–1518

Tuthmosis II 1518–1504

Tuthmosis III 1504–1450

Hatshepsut† 1498–1483

Amenhotep II 1453–1419

Tuthmosis IV 1419–1386

Photograph key #11. Asyut2. Dendera3. Coptos (Qift)4. Thebes (Luxor)5. West Thebes

(Necropolis andValley of the Kings)

6. Esna7. Edfu8. Kom Ombo9. Aswan and Philae10. Abu Simbel11. Medina

hieroglyphic, we know the reigns of mostpharaohs (though there is considerabledisagreement between authorities). However,the Egyptians did not use vowels, whichmakes the modern spelling of names veryvariable (see page 56,“How hieroglyphs work”).

The HyksosFor over 100 years, between 1663–1555 BCE,Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos. Little isknown about the origins of these mysteriouspeople, who made their capital at Avaris(Tell-el-Dab’a, in the northeast of the Delta).They were an Indo-European Semitic racewho might even have been Hurrians.Eventually the Theban pharaohs drove themout, but after their expulsion Egypt was a farstronger country than it had been. Previously,isolation had discouraged cultural andtechnological development. Hyksoscontributions included advanced bronze-working—especially in weaponry—newfruits and vegetables, and improvements in

pottery and linen arising from theintroduction of the potter’s wheel and thevertical loom.

The coming of the horseAbove all, the Hyksos introduced Egypt tothe horse and the horse-drawn chariot, anadvance that allowed the army to range farand wide, eventually conquering much ofCanaan, Israel, and Phoenicia in the periodof the New Kingdom.At the battle ofKadesh (1275 BCE), this expansion was haltedby the Hittites.

Egypt suffered further invasions by theAssyrians (680–27 BCE) and the Persians(525–404 and 343–323 BCE). Persian-ruledEgypt fell to Alexander the Great in 332.After his death his generals fought eachother, and in 305 BCE his half-brotherPtolemy Lagus seized Egypt and founded hisown dynasty.The Ptolemies ruled Egyptfrom their capital of Alexandria until theRomans annexed the country in 30 BCE.

11

INTRODUCTION

Amenhotep III 1386–1349

Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)

1350–1334

Smenkhkare 1336–1334

Tutankhamun 1334–1325

Ay 1325–1321

Horemheb 1321–1293

DYNASTY 19

Ramesses I 1293–1291

Seti I 1291–1278

Ramesses II 1279–1212

Merenptah 1212–1202

Amenmesses 1202–1199

Seti II 1199–1193

Siptah 1193–1187

Twosret † 1187–1185

DYNASTY 20

Setnakhte 1185–1182

Ramesses III 1182–1151

Ramesses IV 1151–1145

Ramesses V 1145–1141

Ramesses VI 1141–1133

Ramesses VII 1133–1126

Ramesses VIII 1133–1126

Ramesses IX 1126–1108

Ramesses X 1108–1098

Ramesses XI 1098–1070

Third Intermediate Period(1069–525)DYNASTY 21 (RULING AT TANIS)

Smendes I 1069–1043

Amenemnisu 1043–1039

Psusennes I 1039–991

Amenemope 993–984

Osorkon (the Elder) 984–978

Siamun 978–959

Psusennes II 959–945

DYNASTY 22 (LIBYANS RULING AT TANIS)

Shoshenq I (Shishak I) 945–924

Osorkon I 924–889

Shoshenq II c.890

Takelot I 889–874

Osorkon II 874–850

Takelot II 850–825

Shoshenq III 825–773

Orsokon III 777–749

Pami 773–767

Shoshenq IV 767–730

Osorkon IV 730–715

DYNASTY 23 (RULING WITH 22)

DYNASTY 24 (RULING AT SAIS)

(RULING AT SAME TIME AS 22 AND 23)

Tefnakht I 727–720

Bakenrenef (Bocchoris) 720–715

DYNASTY 25 (NUBIAN KINGS)Piankhi (Piyi) 747–716

Shabaka 716–702

Shebitku 702–690

Taharqa 690–664

Tanut-Amun (Tantamani) 664–656

DYNASTY 26 (SAITE KINGS)Psamtik I 664–610

Nekau (Necho) 610–595

Psamtik II 595–589

Wahibre (Apries) 589–570

Ahmose II (Amasis) 570–526

Psamtik III 526–525

Late Period (525–332)DYNASTY 27 (525–404)

Persian kings including Cambyses(525–522), Darius I (521–486),

and Xerxes (485–465)

DYNASTY 28

Amyrtaeus 404–399

DYNASTY 29

Nepherites I 399–393

Hakor (Achoris) 393–380

Psammuthis* 380–379

Nepherites II* c.379

* (Ruling with dynasty 30)

DYNASTY 30

Nakhtnebef (Nectanebo I) 380–362

Djedhor (Teos) 362–360

Nakhthoreb (Nectanebo II) 360–343

DYNASTY 31 (SECOND PERSIAN PERIOD)Artaxerxes 343–338

Arses 343–336

Darius III 336–332

Greek kings (332–30)Alexander the Great 332–323

Philip Arrhidaeus 323–316

Alexander IV 316–305

Ptolemy I 305–284

Ptolemy II 284–246

Ptolemy III 246–222

Ptolemy IV 222–205

Ptolemy V 205–180

Ptolemy VI 180–164; 163–145

Ptolemy VII 145

Ptolemy VIII 170–163; 145–116

Cleopatra III & Ptolemy IX 116–107

Cleopatra III & Ptolemy X 107–88

Ptolemy XI 80

Ptolemy XII 80–58; 55–51

Berenice IV 58–55

Cleopatra VII 51–30

Photograph key #212. Hijaz coast of Arabia13. Gulf of Aqaba14. Sinai peninsula15. Gulf of Suez16. Eastern Desert17. Fertile Nile valley(the river has beenenhanced to make itscourse clearer).18. Western Desert(Sahara Desert)19. Lake Nasser20. Red Sea

12

PEOPLEANDCULTURE

PERIODSANDDYNASTIES

MILITARYANDPOLITICS

• Three culturesdominate UpperEgypt—Badarianbegan c.5000;Amratian (Naquada I)began c.4000;Gerzean (Naqda II)began c.3500• Decorated potteryand crude figurinesbegin to appear,along with copperthen bronze weaponsand tools

PREDYNASTIC

• Earliest knownhieroglyphic writing

• Unification of Upperand Lower Egyptunder King Menes orKing Narmer (possiblythe same person),3100

• Foundation ofMemphis in LowerEgypt as capital byfirst pharaoh of the1st Dynasty, Hor-Aha,c.3050• First pyramid isbuilt, the StepPyramid of Djoser atSaqqara, c.2660

• Via the Nile Deltaregion, culturalcontact with Palestineis established

• A series of poorNile floods leadsto widespreadfamine that addsto the generalchaos of thisperiod

• Egypt is dividedinto two smallerstates ruled fromMemphis inLower Egypt andThebes in UpperEgypt•The 4th pharaohof the 11thDynasty,Mentuhotep Ireunites the twohalves of Egypt,c.2040

Table of Major DatesAll dates BCE 5000 3100 3050 2575 2150

Naqda decorated

pottery jug, c.3450

Carved ivory cult

figurine, Late Naqda,

c.3750.

• Great pyramids arebuilt at Meydum(c.2630) and Dashur(c.2600), culminatingin those at Giza(c.2580–2500)• Tombs of the eliteinclude the firstextensive inscriptions

• Decentralization ofpower puts power inhands of localgovernors during the6th to 8th Dynasties,leading to anarchyand dissolution

The “Narmer Palette”

shows the king smiting

his enemies, flanked

above by two heads of

the cow-goddess Hathor.

On this face of the

palette he wears the

hedjet, or White Crown of

Upper Egypt; on the

other side he is shown

wearing the deshret, or

Red Crown of Lower

Egypt, indicating that he

is king of both countries.

Ka-aper, a highpriest of Saqqara,c.2475.

A mummifiedcrocodile.

EARLY DYNASTICDynasties 1–2

OLD KINGDOMDynasties 3–6

1st INTERMEDIATEPERIOD

Dynasties 7–10

13

INTRODUCTION

• Mentuhotep Ibuilds his greatfunerary templecomplex on thewest bank of theNile at Thebes,c.2030 (laterdwarfed by that ofHatshepsut)• Amenemhet Ifounds a newpalace 20 milessouth of Memphis• Classical Periodof art and writing

• Egypt conquersLower Nubia underSenusret I and III,c.1950 and 1890• Senusret III leadsan expeditionagainst Syria forplunder rather thanconquest,c.1860–50

• Hyksos introducethe horse andchariot to Egypt, aswell as advancedbronze working anda range of newfruits andvegetables

• Middle Kingdombreaks up as aSemitic peoplecalled the Hyksosinvades LowerEgypt (15th and16th Dynasties). The17th Dynasty rulesfrom Thebes inUpper Egypt, withall dynastiesoverlapping• Kamose ofThebes marchessouth to attack theHyksos, 1572; hisson Ahmose Isucceeds in drivingthe invaders fromEgypt and reunitingthe entire country

• Thebes becomescapital of Egypt, 1570• Elaborate tombsare constructed in theValley of the Kingsthroughout the period• Akhenaten foundsnew capital ofAkhetaten, destroyedafter his death, 1334• Ramesses II buildsmore temples andmonuments than anyother pharaoh

• Egyptian empire inthe Middle East, asThutmosis IIIconquers Palestine,Lebanon, and muchof Syria, battlingagainst Canaanitesand Mitanni,1504–1450• Akhenatenintroducesmonotheistic religion,1350–34• Ramesses II warsagainst the Hittites atthe battle of Kadesh,1275. Both sidesclaim victory• Ramesses IIIdestroys the invadingSea People, c.1160s

• Homer extolswealth of the priestsof Amun at Thebes inhis Iliad

• High priests ofThebes evict theRamessides andforge a ruling elite,1080• Dynasty 21 rules inthe north from Tanis,dividing Egypt again,1069• Libyans takecontrol of LowerEgypt under first ofthe 22nd Dynasty,Shoshenq I, 945• Shoshenq conquerskingdoms of Israeland Judah, 925• Nubians conquerUpper Egypt (Dynasty25), 747–656• Assyria conquersEgypt, 671–64

• Persian kings claimthe Egyptianthrone—Cambyses II,the would-beconquerors of Greece,Darius I and Xerxes,Artaxerxes I, Darius II,and Artaxerxes II• Darius I builds newtemples and repairsolder ones, c.490

• AchaemenidPersians conquerEgypt underCambyses II, 525• Egypt regainsindependence, 359,but loses again to thePersians underArtaxerxes III, 343• Alexander the Greatof Macedon attacksthe Persian Empireand “liberates” Egypt,claiming thepharaoh’s throne forhimself and hissuccessors, 332

• The new city ofAlexandria is foundedby Alexander theGreat to be thecapital of Egypt, 332• Ptolemy III beginsconstruction of theTemple of Horus atEdfu, 237• Rosetta Stone isinscribed in threescripts (hieroglyphs,demotic, Greek), 196• Temple at Edfu iscompleted byPtolemy XII, 58

• Alexander’s generalPtolemy raiseshimself to theEgyptian throne asPtolemy I Soter, 305• Dynastic strugglesresult in Ptolemy XIIfleeing to Rome forprotection, 58• Rome’s Pompey theGreat restoresPtolemy XII, 55• His daughterCleopatra comes tothe throne, 51• After an affair withJulius Caesar,Cleopatra sides withMarc Antony; theylose the battle ofActium (31) toOctavian (Augustus)and Egypt becomes aRoman province, 30

2040 1690 1570 1070 525 332 30

Hyksos1663–1555

Persians I & 2525–404, 343–332

Cartouche ofAkhenaten(Amenhotep IV).

Magicalproperties—theEye of Horus,also known asthe Eye of Osiris.

MIDDLE KINGDOMDynasties 11–12

2nd INTERMEDIATEPERIOD

Dynasties 13–17

NEW KINGDOMDynasties 18–20

3rd INTERMEDIATEPERIOD

Dynasties 21–26

LATE PERIODDynasties 27–31 GREEK PTOLEMAIC

DYNASTY

Hapi, also written Hep, or Hapr, lives in acavern under the First Cataract (great

waterfall) close to modern Aswan.This is thepoint at which the Nile rises out of theground after flowing through the land of thedead and the heavens. It emerges betweentwo mountains that lie between the islandsof Abu (Elephantine) and Iat-Rek (Philae).

Hapi is a god of fertility—he provideswater and the yearly inundation of the Nile.He is also Lord of the Fishes and Birds ofthe Marshes, which he provides to theEgyptians along with the Nile itself.Theinundation is first seen at Elephantine by theend of June and it reaches its fullest swellingat Memphis and Heliopolis (now a suburb ofCairo) by September.

The Egyptians call the season of theinundation akhet, which is signified by theappearance above the night horizon of thestar Syrius, representing the goddess Sopdet(or Sothis).When the priests see her theyknow that the gods Khnemu,Anqet, andSatet—guardians of the Nile’s source—aremeasuring out the correct amount of life-bringing silt into the water, ready forKhnum, the ram-headed god of inundation,to release the flood into Hapi’s care.

During the inundation, Egyptians throwofferings into the Nile at those places sacredto Hapi, who appears with his retinue ofcrocodile gods and frog goddesses.Thepeople make their sacrifices in the hope thatthe inundation will not be too high nor toolow.Too high and homes will be destroyed;too low and there will not be enough waterfor the fields, and famine will surely follow.

Measuring the inundationSo important is this annual flood that priestsof the temples along the river havedeveloped a means of measuring the gradualrise to predict what kind of a year it will be,and the Nile’s maximum height.There arethree types of Nileometer—a series of steps(or sloping ramp of stone), a pillar, or a well.Nileometers are built on the side of templesfacing the river, and are calibrated in cubits(see “Fact box”).

The Nileometer that is held in supremeimportance is sited on Elephantine Islandnear the First Cataract, which is also thehome of Khnum.This is the place where theflood is first visible, and so its priests are thefirst to know the extent of the flood, and thefirst to know when it is slowing.

And so the Nile is the giver of life to Egyptand its people, and its annual inundation isthe start of the new farming year.

14

Hapi and the Waters of LifeDepending on where you live along the Nile, between June and September the riverrises and floods the land—the inundation. This is a sign of the gods’ favor,especially of Hapi who causes the annual flood. Without Hapi Egypt would die.

Nile—Giver of Life

Two figures of Hapi atElephantine, seensymbolically joiningUpper and Lower Egyptand giving both theinundation. As theprimary god of fertilitybecause of the annualflood, Hapi is alwaysdepicted as havingfemale breasts.

CHAPTER 1

The margin of disasterTo the ancient Egyptians, Hapi gives themthe inundation, but the annual event isreally due to the melting snow and heavyrains in the Ethiopian highlands, far to thesouth of Egypt. Huge quantities of waterare sent down the river until it spills overits natural banks.

The water at Aswan usually rises 16.6cubits (25 feet).A rise of only 2 cubits lessbrings hardship, and 3.3 cubits less (a totalrise of 20 feet) means famine.A rise of17.3 cubits (26 feet) will damage theirrigation canals, while one of 19.3 cubits(29 feet) can drown villages.

Nileometers, some of them covered, areessential at every temple and theirindicator lines are regularly checked as theriver rises, cubit by cubit.

15

Fact boxThe Egyptian cubit isthe length of a man’sforearm, measuredfrom the tip of thelongest finger to thebent elbow, which isstandardized atabout 18 inches. Aroyal cubit is longerat 20.6 inches.

The Nile valley nearThebes, seen in thesummer months (top)and during theinundation (bottom).

CHAPTER 1: NILE—GIVER OF LIFE

The ancient Egyptian calendar is slightlyout of step with the solar and lunar

year, and so over time the Nile’s floodingmay not actually take place during theseason of akhet.This is why Sopdet, the starSyrius, is so important—her appearanceheralds the flood more accurately than theofficial Egyptian seasons.

The time between mid-July and late-September when the Nile floods the land isthe inundation season. It is followed by peret,the growing season, which lasts from mid-November to mid-March when the watersretreat and leave rich soil to allow farming.March and April are the two months ofshemu, the harvesting season, and lead to thesummer that brings extreme, dry heat.

These and the following six pages showwhat a farming family’s life is like in thesedifferent times of the year.

The inundation seasonIn July the waters of the Nile rise until allthe land beside the river is covered, so thefarmers are unable to work in the fields.Wealthier landowners can afford to relaxnow, but for most Egyptians, the inundationis the time to do other tasks. Some mustmend their agricultural tools or make newones to replace those that have worn out.

Others go out to catch wildfowl in themarshes enlarged by the flood or go fishingto feed their families. If they catch morethan they can eat, they sell the surplus in alocal market.

But most have been called up to work ona royal building project or to help withmining or stone quarrying (see pages 62–63).These workers are not treated as slaves, butreceive a fair wage for their labor in theform of clothing and food.

16


The Farming Year—Akhet, the InundationSince the majority of Egyptians work on the land as farmers, the Nile is the mostimportant feature in ordinary people’s lives. And because everyone in the country,from low- to high-born, depends on the food the farmers grow, every Egyptianrelies on the annual inundation of the Nile.

When the Aswan HighDam went intooperation in 1971, itstopped the annualinundation of the Nileand transformed thecharacter of Egyptforever. This photographwas taken in 1950, andshows what it musthave been like for theancient Egyptians whenthe Nile waters coveredthe land of the valley.

No stealing landThe farmland bordering the Nile is neatlyparceled out, with boundaries marked byspecial, tall stones. During the inundation,when the land is hidden beneath the waters,these marker stones stick up above the floodlevel and help to identify the borders of eachfarmer’s field.A dishonest farmer might tryto cheat by sneaking out to move the stonesand steal some land from his neighbor. Butthis is considered one of the worst sins anEgyptian can commit, and should he becaught his punishment will be very severe;he might even be executed.

Maintaining the dikesAt the height of the floods, usually aboutmid-August, each farmer paddles a rowboataround his land and closes the vents in thesurrounding dikes.This prevents thefloodwater from receding too fast andsweeping away the precious, fertile silt thathas been deposited. During late October, thevents are opened again to let the remainingwater—which by now has turned brackishthrough evaporation—escape into the river.

The farmer’s first task on the sodden landis to repair any flood damage to the dikesand irrigation canals. Soon, the land will beready for the growing season.

17


A farmer opens thevents around his field tolet out the brackishwater. The stonesmarking the edge of hisfield are behind him.

Left: Fowlers operate a“clap-net” in themarshes. Two halves ofthe net are spread outon either side of a smallpool, which has beenbaited. Their bases arehinged by staplespushed into the ground.Five men hold the drawrope and squat downout of sight. A look-outwearing a cap shapedlike a duck warns whenthe birds land. The menpull on the rope andsnap the wings of thenet shut over thetrapped birds.

Below: A relief shows aman fishing with a netas a boat passes by.Behind him, anotherfisherman’s line hasseveral hooks.

Once the river water has completelydrained away and the ground is firm

enough to walk over, the farmers startplowing the fields. First, peasants armed withdigging sticks break up the larger clods ofearth, then oxen or long-horned Africancows are used to pull the plow.

Plowing and sowingThanks to the inundation, the ground isusually soft and easily plowed, but the farmerdoes the job twice to make sure all thevaluable flood-silt is well mixed into the

previous year’s soil.Theheavy hooves of thedraft animals are asimportant in this

operation as the plows themselves.Sowers scattering seed by hand from reed

baskets follow the plow. Lured on from infront by a handful of grain and urged onfrom behind by the twisted rope whips ofthe herdsman, sheep or goats are made tofollow the sowers and tread the seeds intothe soil with their hooves.

In the warmth of akhet season and thewell watered earth, the green shoots springup quickly. But with the sowing over, thereis no rest for the farmers. During thegrowing season the fields need constantweeding with hoes.They must also protectthe crops first from birds and then the largerplants from wandering cattle and even theoccasional hungry hippopotamus.

Watering the fieldsThe farmer’s most important task, however,is to ensure a constant supply of waterthrough irrigation.This is done using smallcanals set at right-angles to the Nile and fedby its waters. In turn these canals link to

18


The Farming Year—Peret, the Growing SeasonThe conservatism and lack of inventiveness of the ancient Egyptian is well illustrated in his continued use of the crude agricultural and irrigation implements of his remote ancestors.

Planting is a communaleffort along the banksof the Nile, involving allages. Note how thevegetation quickly diesaway from the riveredges.

A model created atsome point between2500 and 1786 BCE

shows a man plowingwith his two oxen.

smaller channels from which the water runsonto the fields through small vents, or sluicegates.When the land is much higher thanthe water level, the farmers use aMesopotamian invention, the shaduf or well-sweep, to lift the water onto the field.

Fields used to raise vegetable crops ratherthan cereal grain are often split into smallerrectangular compartments, or basins, dividedby low dikes.The basins and dikes help tocontrol the flow of water taken from anirrigation canal.Water is allowed to flow

19

The shaduf is a longwooden polebalanced on acrossbeam, with arope and leatherbucket at one end,and a heavycounterweight at theother. The farmerpulls down on therope, lowering thebucket into the wateruntil it fills, and thenthe counterweightraises the full bucketuntil the water can beemptied into a gullyat the edge of thefield.

from one basin to another by making abreach in the dike, and then filling it in againwhen sufficient water has passed through tothe next basin. In this way, various crops canbe differently watered according to need.

As soon as the crops have ripened, inabout mid-March, the harvest seasonbegins.

Irrigating the fields

Tomb wall paintingsshow laborers workingin a field. Two men usesharpened diggingsticks to loosen the soil,while a third follows,scattering seed from hisbasket.


Although Egyptian farmers grow a varietyof vegetables in small plots—onions,

leeks, garlic, lettuce, radishes, cabbages,asparagus, cucumbers, lentils, peas, andbeans—the main crop is grain.They raisethree kinds of wheat, barley, and flax, asource of textile fiber and linseed oil.Because farmers pay part of their taxes ingrain, they have to face the dreaded visit ofthe taxmen before they can begin harvestingtheir crops.

These officials calculate the probable yieldof the crops and set the amount that has tobe handed over. Government officials calledscribes will have made copious notes at thetime of planting, so the taxmen already knowexactly what each farmer has grown, andwhat the yield from every field ought to be.

The plentiful bountyWhen the assessment is completed, theharvest begins. Some peasants cut the grainstalks just below the ear, using sickles withflint blades, while others gather the cut graininto reed baskets and carry them to speciallyprepared pans of hardened mud.

Here, cattle are driven over the ears ofcorn to separate the grain from the stalks, aprocess known as threshing.Women thenwinnow the corn, using wooden paddles totoss the grain into the air so that the husks(also called chaff) blow away.

Women and children bring food anddrink out to the harvesters, and then pick upany ears of grain that have been missed bythe men.

20


The Farming Year—Shemu, the Harvest SeasonThe harvest season is a short period of only two months from about March to theend of April. It is also the time for scribes to calculate the farmers’ tax payments.The functions of a scribe are described on pages 54–55.

Giving thanks for the harvestThe harvest is a communal effort, both inthe fields and at the threshing floor, andsome landowners even hire musicians to playflutes in the fields while the peasants work.When all the grain has been brought in, thetaxmen return to collect their due.Whatthey leave is then carefully stored in beehive-shaped silos or smaller granaries.

A granary can store different varieties ofgrain in separate containers, each of whichhas a sliding hatch at the bottom.With silos,there are separate ones for each of thedifferent types of grain.

At last, all the hard work in the hot sun isdone, and even the lowliest peasant is allowedto relax for a few days while all of Egyptcelebrates a festival in honor of Renenutet,the goddess of the harvest. Renenutet appearsas a cobra, and her gaze can wither herenemies, but she also grants abundance tocrops and livestock.And so the best yields ofthe harvest are dedicated to her.

21


Tomb paintings oflaborers in the fieldshow cattle being usedto thresh the grain and(middle) winnowing ofthe grain to remove theunwanted chaff. Thestalks left in the fieldsand from the threshingfloor will not be wasted.What is not used foranimal feed goes to themud fields, where it isused as a strengtheningagent in making bricks(see page 28).

Below: A granary canstore different varietiesof grain in separatecontainers, or silos. Thehatch at the bottom isslid up to give access tothe grain. Scribesrecord the amount ofgrain harvested fortaxation purposes. Food for the dead

One important form of tax on the harvestis the annual funerary banquet for adeceased master, a member of thegoverning elite (see pages 34–35).A procession of the dead man’s servantstake the “raw materials” to his tomb inthe cemetery, where a scribe notes downthe items brought to the tomb chapel.These might include fresh beef, game,water fowls, vegetables, fruit, bread, beer,and flowers.

The mortuary priest accepts theservants’ offerings and disposes of them.Asmall part is left in the tomb, the rest goesto the local temple, where priests consumesome of the offerings and give out theremainder to the poor and needy.

The first task is to look after the vitalirrigation channels.Any damage is

repaired and new ones are dug.The maincanals leading off the Nile will have becomechoked with weeds, and these need cleaningout to prevent the canals from clogging up.

Everyone has to pay a “labor tax” to thepharaoh, and for peasants the hot seasonwork in the fields is considered to be a partof the tax.Wealthy Egyptians—like richpeople in all societies—can hire peasants todo the labor for them.

Repairs and relaxationThe nomarch, or governor of the district,sends out his official surveyors to check thecorrect position of the marker stones andfield boundaries that may have beendamaged or moved out of position. In thegrowing heat, tempers can fray and disputesover boundaries are common. If the surveyoris unable to satisfy both parties, he refers the

22


The Farming Year—the Hot SeasonToward the end of April, the desert heat becomes tooextreme for work. So at the end of the harvest there is muchto do in the fields before the soil grows too hard to dig.

Raising livestockAs the Nile reaches the Mediterranean Sea,it branches into numerous smaller channels,where various streams have cut their waythrough the deposit of silt that makes upthe Delta region.The broad expanse of theNile Delta in Lower Egypt makes excellentgrazing land for cows.

Egyptians keep cattle to pull plows andsleds and for their meat, milk, and hides,which are prepared as leather.There areseveral different breeds—short horns,African long horns, hornless, and thehumped-back zebu, which the Hyksosbrought with them from Syria.

In Upper Egypt grazing is scarce, as allthe fertile land is required for growingcrops, and so cattle are raised and fed inpens.This fattens them up for the table andsacrificial offerings. Some are fattened up somuch that they can hardly walk and have to

be transported on wheeled platforms to thetemple precinct for ritual sacrifice.

Sheep and goats graze in Upper Egypt onthe stubble of harvested fields and along thescrub of the desert fringes.They providewool and hair for stuffing furnishing,as well as meat, milk, and hides.The sheep have curly horns, thisimported variety has replaced thenative straight-horned sheep.

Pork is considered to be anunclean meat, and it is forbiddento eat its flesh—a law thepriests keep, but Egyptiansenjoy the taste and manypigs are reared, especially inthe Delta where there ismore room for them toroot about (see “The porktaboo” on page 25).

Every year herdsmenbring in the cattle topens, where their lord’sscribes record howmuch his stock is worth.

pig-rearing

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matter to the law court (see pages 38–39).When the temperature grows too hot for

work in the open, the farmers enjoy a briefrest before the inundation season begins.Animal herders are an exception and theyhave to work all the time.

The hot season is also when peasants andfarmers can make repairs to their homes.As soon as the inundation starts, they willalmost certainly be called up for royal serviceto work on the pharaoh’s tomb or templesand be away from their homes until the nextgrowing season.

Preparing for the inundationAs the end of June comes, the priests atElephantine begin scanning the night skiesfor the first sighting of Sopdet, herald of therising waters.As the inundation starts thepriests take daily readings to determine howhigh the Nile will rise. Messengers are sentdownriver with the prediction.

The pharaoh must now decide either torelease grain or ration it, depending on theprediction. If it looks as though the Nile isgoing to rise too high, the people must bewarned and given time to makearrangements to protect or flee from theirhomes.As soon as the priests in the religiousprecincts nearest to the river bank notice theNile’s water level rising against theirNileometers, everyone knows that the newEgyptian year has begun.

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During the hot weeks ofhigh summer, thelaborers have time tothemselves. Some needto repair their houses,for others it is a time tosit back and relax.

Wheat grown in high quantities makesbread the main food in the Egyptian

diet—even the wealthiest families consider ameal incomplete without it.There are morethan 40 varieties of bread and pastriesavailable, depending on the type of flourused and other ingredients added. Grindingthe corn is hard work, usually done bywomen using two stones called saddlequerns.

Since the grinding is done outside, gritand other foreign bodies find their way intothe bread.These impurities can cause severeabrasion of the teeth—even the pharaohsuffers from this problem.

Baking breadDough is usually cooked in the shape of apancake, but long or round rolls are alsopopular, and bread in the shape of a figure isoften baked for ceremonial purposes.Sometimes thick loaves are made with ahollow center that is then filled with beansor vegetables, and a flat bread might haveraised edges in order to hold eggs or otherfillings.

Many ingredients are employed to flavorthe bread, such as butter, oil, and eggs, orcoriander seeds, honey, various herbs, andfruits such as dates. Grape yeast is added tosome recipes to make the dough rise (leaven),but unleavened bread is more common.

After the dough has been kneaded it isplaced in a baking mold and cooked over anopen fire. More sophisticated homes use

preheated molds, wiped with fat, which are placed in a tall, tapered bread oven with a firebox at the bottom, as picturedabove—or flat loaves are placed on theoutside of the oven wall and then drop offwhen they are cooked.

Vegetables and fruitThe rich Egyptian soil provides manyvegetables for poor and rich alike. Meals caninclude legumes—beans, chickpeas, lentils,peas—onions, garlic, celery, leeks, lettuce,radishes, and cucumbers. Grapes and datesare eaten fresh or dried.Then there are figs,pomegranates, watermelons, and thegingery-flavored fruit of the dôm palm.

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What the Egyptians EatThe fertile bounty that the Nile brings to the soil means thatEgyptians have a rich and varied diet. In fact, from peasant tolord, the Egyptians eat better than any other ancient society.

Right: Tomb painting ofa flock of geese beingherded into pens.

Far right: Loaves ofmummified bread foundat Deir el Medina in thetomb of royal architectKha from the 18thDynasty.

Meat, fish, and poultryThe Nile teems with fish, which theEgyptians enjoy fresh, dried, or salted, andthey are cheap enough for all to eatregularly.The poor can also sometimes affordwildfowl—geese, ducks, quails, and cranesbeing most popular, as well as domesticatedpoultry. However, because of its cost, meatappears mostly on the tables of the rich.Common people usually only have meatduring a festival, when a sheep or goat mightbe slaughtered.

For those who can afford it, beef is themost popular meat, followed by wild gamesuch as antelope, ibex, gazelle, and deer.

Dairy products, fats, and oilsMilk, cheese, and butter are not everydayproducts, but all are sometimes used to makesoups and sauces.There are a number ofdifferent oils and fats used in cooking—beefand goat fats, and oils obtained from horse-radish, safflower, and caster-oil plants, andsesame, flax, and radish seeds. Oil and fat ismostly used for frying meat and vegetables,though food is also cooked in milk or butter.

Seasonings and sweetenersEgyptians do not use sea salt, because of itsconnection to the evil god Seth (see “Thepork taboo”), but salt from the Siwa Oasis isavailable to add to cooking or for salting fishand some meats. Spices used include aniseed,cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel,fenugreek, marjoram, mustard, thyme, andparsley. Olives, introduced by the Hyksos, arerarely used in cooking.

Honey is used to sweeten food—at leastby the rich, since it is too expensive for thepoor, who rely on various fruits assweeteners, the most popular being dates.

25


The pork tabooThe pig was a beast of the god Seth, theevil brother of Osiris (see page 75), andtherefore considered unclean in UpperEgypt.Written evidence suggests that porkwas popular in Lower Egypt, but whenthe two kingdoms were united by thekings of Upper Egypt, the ban on eatingpork was enforced throughout the land,and was only relaxed much later.

A similar taboo was enforced on eatingbottom-feeding fish, which havesomething in common with pigs—bothcreatures fed on muck and human waste,either in the farmyard or on the river-bed,the Nile being Egypt’s main sewer.Perhaps this led to a natural revulsion forthe meat, but if so, it was not an aversionheld by everyone all the time.

It has been a long-held belief thatuncured pork meat spoils more quicklythan any other in hot conditions. In pre-refrigeration times, most cultures avoidedeating fresh pork during the summer,since it was thought to cause stomachupsets. So the ancient Egyptian’s avoidanceof pork probably had a practical purpose.

Images of pigs are rare in Egyptian art,but they were sacrificed to the moon andthe burnt flesh eaten by the priests.Despite the modern Islamic prohibitionon pork, pigs are still raised in the NileDelta for consumption.

The “kitchen” in operationFood is prepared by baking, boiling, stewing, frying,grilling, or roasting. Most cooking is done inearthenware pots or pans, which stand on a tripodover a brazier, fueled by wood. The fire is lit using afire-drill that creates heat through friction.

Egyptians cook in the open air to avoid smokeand cooking smells inside the house and the risk ofstarting a fire. Some cook on the roof of their house.

Much of the barley grown in Egypt isused to make beer, since its flour is

not an acceptable ingredient in bread foreating. Beer is drunk by every class ofsociety, by adults and children alike.Workmenon sacred and royal building programs aregiven beer three times a day as part of theirpay, while a jar of beer and some bread is acustomary homecoming for a schoolboy.

A woman’s jobWomen brew the beer because it is seen asan offshoot of bread making—the basis ofbeer are loaves of specially made barley

bread.To make it, barley is first moistenedwith water and left to stand.“Beer

loaves,” made from a richly yeasteddough and lightly baked, are thencrumbled into the moist grain

mixture in a large jar, more wateradded, and the mixture left to ferment.

When fermentation is complete, theliquid is poured off into smaller jars,

which are sealed for storage or transport.The alcohol content is about 8percent, and the beer is nutritious,sweet, without froth, but so thickthat it is sipped through a wooden

straw.Worshippers of the goddessesBast, Sekhmet, and Hathor get drunk

on beer as part of their worship—but noone needs an excuse to enjoy this

favorite Egyptian brew.

A fine vintageBy contrast to beer, Egyptian wine isexpensive and a rich person’s drink.Wine isalso offered to the gods and the deceased.The resurrected pharaoh is sometimesreferred to as “one of the four gods…wholive on figs and who drink wine.”

The best vineyards are in the Delta regionand the wine of Mareotis (the lake behindthe site of modern Alexandria) is consideredto be the best. Egyptians make a variety ofwines, sweet and dry, and both red andwhite.The first pressing, by foot, producesthe best wine.The second pressing is madeby wrapping the remaining grapes, pits, andstems inside cloths attached to poles andtwisting to extract a lower quality juice.

The Egyptians overindulgeThe juices of the various pressings arecaptured in open jars and allowed to ferment.The jars are closed with a wad of leavesplastered over with mud, with a small holeleft in the stopper to release the gasses ofsecondary fermentation, then that too issealed.The jars are labeled with details of theyear, the name of the vineyard and person incharge, and the wine’s type and quality.

The wine is aged in these earthenwarejars, which have to be broken at the neckwhen it is time to decant the contents intosmaller pottery jars for pouring.Wine isserved in shallow vessels with a short stem.

Those who can afford to buy wine relishit greatly and drink it undiluted.A lot ofwine is consumed at banquets and theincapable guests frequently end up beingcarried home by their servants.

Other varieties of wineWine is also made from dates, palm sap, andpomegranates, especially further south inUpper Egypt, where grapes do not flourishas well as in the Delta.Although it is evenmore expensive, many enjoy wine importedfrom Asia.

26


What the Egyptians DrinkThe Egyptians like beer and wine and, being the cheerful people they are, oftendrink it to excess, especially during religious festivals, for both forms of alcohol areacceptable offerings to the gods.

Brewing beer is awoman’s job. Thismodel made in about2300 BCE shows a girlmixing “beer loaves”with water in afermentation jar.

Time to relax and enjoythe thick beer, drunkthrough straws.

27

Grapes brought fromthe vines to the press inbaskets are trodden bya group of men andboys. Clinging to ropessuspended from aframework to preventthemselves fromslipping over in the juicymash, they sing as theywork. The new wine is“bottled” in amphorae.Each amphora iscapped with wet claywith vents to preventthe fermenting wine ç

ç from blowing off thestopper. While it is stillwet, the clay cap isinscribed with thenames of the estate andowner. The date is alsowritten on the side.

Below: A tomb paintingfrom the Valley of theKings depicts theprocess of wine-making.

Egyptian houses are built from thesimplest materials. Stone is reserved for

temples and tombs—buildings intended tolast for eternity—but mud bricks are usedfor every other type of construction: peasanthuts, homes of the wealthy, temple and citywalls, forts, storehouses, even royal palaces.

Making bricksThe dark gray mud of the Nile has alwaysbeen used for making bricks, mixed withsand or chopped barley straw, and kneadedwith water into a thick paste.The straw is auseful binding and drying agent, especially ifthe clay content of the mud is low, but it isnot essential. Many excellent bricks are madewith only sand as a binder or, if the clay

content of the mud is high enough, with nobinder at all.

The prepared mud paste is pushed into astandard-sized wooden form, or mold, andleft for a short time to let the edges dry.Then it is “struck,” turned out on theground to bake under the hot sun.Whenbricks have hardened, they are stacked readyto be taken to a building site.

The dimensions of the molds are strictlycontrolled to ensure uniformity of bricksthroughout the kingdom.They are quitelarge—14 by 7 by 4.5 inches.

Bricks are made by Egyptian workmen,either for pay or as part of their labor tax tothe pharaoh. Slaves are also used whenavailable to speed up production.

28


From Mud to BricksThe mud brought down by the Nile not only fertilizes the fields during theinundation, it also provides the Egyptians with their basic building material. Bricks are made by a method that remains unaltered since the dawn of time.

Housing for ordinary peopleThe simplest form of Egyptian house ismade from papyrus reeds—an inexpensivestyle that has remained unchanged forhundreds ofcenturies. Morepermanent homes arebuilt of mud brick,and for the better offthe exterior walls areplastered and paintedwith a pale color toreflect the harshsunlight. For thesame reason, onlysmall windows,usually at ceilingheight, are let intothe walls, keeping the interior cool.

Houses in country areas are usually of oneor two stories, but in towns they sometimesrise to three or even four (see pages 40–41).Since good quality timber is scarce in Egypt,those who can afford it use cedar importedfrom Phoenicia for pillars and doors, andstone for steps and door jambs. Other peoplemust use local palm timber, an inferiorbuilding material, and make pillars frombundles of reeds plastered with mud.

Stairs lead up to a vent in the flat roofand, like the Sumerians, Egyptians oftensleep up there. However, a peasant’s housemay not even have a roof—it hardly everrains in Upper Egypt—or in wetter LowerEgypt only a simple reed thatch covering.

In the poorest homes, the floor is simplystamped earth, while a wealthier man mighthave this smoothed out with mud plaster.The richest people usually have the plasteredwalls painted, or even covered with glazedtiles. Lighting also reflects the home-owner’sstatus, from simple, shallow pottery bowlswith wicks floating in oil to beautifulalabaster vessels.

The average worker’s house measuresapproximately 14 by 40 feet, with two tofour rooms, an enclosed yard, a kitchen areaat the back, and an underground cellar forstorage. Niches in the walls hold religiousobjects.Apart from simple beds and smallchests for clothes, there is little furniture.There is no running water—sometimes asingle well serves an entire village.

29


Left: This tomb painting shows dark-skinnedNubians—a people from the region south of Egypt—making bricks. At the left, cut grain stalks from thethreshing floor are mixed with mud which is thenpressed into the wooden forms (top center) while ascribe records how many are being made. After ashort drying period, the form is removed and thebrick allowed to bake hard in the hot sun. At theright of the picture, the sun-baked bricks are carriedoff to be used. In the lower center, a surveyor marksout the next site to be built on.

A simple farmhouse1. Courtyard andcooking area withstamped earth floor.

2. Grain silo.

3. Pillars of reeds andmud plaster covering.

4. Open veranda andbalcony, with smallrooms behind.

5. Sleeping area on theroof for the family in thehot summer months.

Right: Simple Egyptianhouses are made ofthatched papyrus reedfrom the river bank, asthey have been forthousands of years.

1

2

3

4

5

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Egypt is blessed by the Nile, which flowsfrom the south to the north, and by a

prevailing wind, which blows from the northto the south. Boats, therefore, can driftdownriver with the current and sail againstthe slow but steady current up the river. Infact the hieroglyph for traveling south is of aboat with a raised sail and that for travelingnorth is of a boat with a furled sail.

Reed boatsFrom the earliest times, Egyptians made boatsfrom papyrus reeds bound together. Reedboats are still widely used because they arequick to build and cheap to replace. But theyare not suitable for long-distance travel andrarely have a sail. Reed boats are mostly usedfor fishing and for ferrying people from onebank of the Nile to the other.

Wooden boatsWooden boats are expensive because somuch of the timber used in their constructionis cedar imported from Phoenicia. Localpalm wood is only suitable for some internaluse, such as planking, rails, superstructures, oreasily replaced rudder paddles.

The Egyptians use a variety of boats fordifferent purposes—fishing, trading andcargo carrying, pleasure boats for the rich,and barques for funerary purposes.These, themost elegant of all the Nile boats, take a long

time to build.They are used to transport thebodies of royal or wealthy people to theirtombs, and are usually buried with them foruse in the afterlife.The most celebratedbarque is that of Khufu. Made from 1200pieces of cedar, it is 141 feet long and lies ina special chamber next to his great pyramidat Giza (see page 88).

Land travelAlthough boats are the best way to travel inEgypt, sometimes it is necessary to traveloverland. However, this is not easy, becausethere are no roads, for three good reasons.First, the farming land is too precious towaste on roads. Second, roads get washedaway too easily during the annual flood.Also, Egypt is so long that traveling anydistance overland is too tiring.

Land journeys, then, are usually only forshort distances between nearby villages,generally to carry goods, or whenever it isnecessary to cross the Eastern Desert to theRed Sea, where many mines are situated.

Nobles who don’t like to walk insteadtravel in chairs slung between donkeys orcarried by slaves. Sometimes they use horse-drawn chariots. Because of the lack of properroads, wheeled traffic is almost non-existent,and heavy goods are carried by mules ordonkeys whatever the distance.

Transport and TravelNearly everyone in Egypt lives close to the great Nile, and since it connects thefurthest parts of the very long kingdom, boats are the quickest and most efficientmeans of transport.

The sailing sunThe most senior of Egyptian gods, Re (or Ra) appearsin several different forms. One of the most importantis Re-Harakhty, depicted with the sun-disk on hishead, sailing on his solar boat. The Egyptians believethat he travels across the sky in the boat each day,giving light, and sails through the Underworld atnight. The path of the sun, of course, crosses that ofthe Nile as it flows south. The symbolism of the sunriding a Nile boat on its daily course ties together thetwo most important aspects of Egyptian reality—thelife source of light and the life-giving waters of thegreat river.

The river highwayIn the foreground, anoble alights from acarrying chair slungbetween donkeys as heprepares to cross theNile to Memphis on asmall wooden ferryboat, while men fishfrom reed boats.Beyond, sailing shipstake advantage of arare downriver wind tospeed past a bargebearing two graniteobelisks from theAswan quarries. Thebarge is towed by up to20 smaller boats, eachmanned by 30oarsmen. The Nile’scurrent helps them onthe downriver journey,but life is much tougherrowing back to UpperEgypt against thecurrent.

The pharaoh is no ordinary human.Egypt’s first kings are believed to be the

sun god Re (or Ra) and his descendantsShu, Geb, Osiris, and Horus (see pages74–75). In time, the gods passed kingship tohumans, but the king is still considered to beunique, and at least semi-divine.

Egyptians believe that when the king sitson his throne arrayed in all his ceremonialgarments, crowns, and scepters, the spirit ofHorus enters his soul and he becomes a godon Earth. His pronouncements have all theforce of divine law.

Many wives and childrenHis immediate family shares in some of thisdivine power, for instance the queen has asimilar relationship with the goddess Hathor,the wife of Horus. It is important to keepthe king’s divine blood pure, so he prefers tomarry within the royal family.

The king has many wives and concubines(see “Ramesses the Great”), but usually onlyone queen. Known as the Royal Heiress, sheis the eldest daughter of the previous kingand queen.The king may nominate any ofhis sons to be his successor, but traditionsuggests he should choose one of his queen’ssons, rather than the son of a concubine.

In order to become the next pharaoh,the chosen boy must marry the next RoyalHeiress, who is the queen’s eldest daughter—and therefore either his sister or half-sister.

The royal taskAlong with such power come manyresponsibilities.The king’s first task is to rulejustly and maintain ma’at, the harmony ofthe universe.This is done through highceremonies at the major temples—especiallyat Karnak (see pages 80–83)—to mediatewith the gods on behalf of the people.

One of the most important of the king’sacts is to perform a ritual to ensure that thegods will look favorably on the NewYearand make the inundation a proper one forthe fields.Through this ceremony the peoplebelieve he can influence the weather andkeep plants and animals fertile.

Command of the army, administration ofthe law, the government, trade, and foreignpolicy (see “Royal letters”) are tasks the kingmust undertake when he is not mediatingbetween Heaven and Earth, although eventhese jobs require continual consultationwith the gods.

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CHAPTER 2

The Pharaoh’s RoleThe pharaoh has absolute power. He owns the whole land, commands the army, andheads the administration and the religious cults of all the gods. He stands betweenHeaven and Earth.

Government and Society

The Nemes Crown This head-dress isfamously depicted onthe gold mask ofTutankhamun. A stripedcloth, pulled tight overthe forehead and tiedbehind, leaves two flapsto hang over theshoulders. The brow isdecorated with theuraeus snake Wadjetand the vulture Nekhbet.

33

CHAPTER 2: GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY

Left: Ramesses III,wearing the BlueCrown, makes anoffering to Re.

Ramesses the GreatRamesses II (also spelled Ramses orRameses) came to the throne in 1279 BCE

when he was 20 and ruled for 67 years. Inthat time he had eight queens or principalwives.The names of 79 of his sons and 31of his daughters survives, but the ancientinscriptions give no clue as to how manyother wives and children he had—almostcertainly many, many more. Ramesseshimself boasted that there were over ahundred of his lesser offspring.

Royal lettersA great deal of correspondence betweenthe pharaohs of Egypt and the kings ofAsia Minor and Mesopotamia exists.Sometimes the tone is annoyed—theKassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I(c.1400–1375 BCE), complains toAmenhotep III that the pharaoh hasrefused his daughter in marriage:“Why areyou telling me such things? You are theking.You may do as you wish. If youwanted to give me your daughter inmarriage who could say you nay?”

A little later King Burnaburiash ofBabylonia (c.1375–37 BCE) writes toAkhenaten complaining of how hismerchants have been robbed while inEgyptian territory:“Canaan is yourcountry and…in your country I wasrobbed. Bind them and return the moneythey robbed.And the men who murderedmy slaves, kill them…because if you donot kill these men, they will again murdermy caravans and even my ambassadors.”

But many of the letters are happier, suchas the opening of this one (shown above)sent to Akhenaten by Tushratta, king of theMitanni, whose daughter Tadukhipa wasmarried to the pharaoh:“To my brother,my son-in-law, who loves me and whom Ilove…may you be well.Your houses, yourmother, my daughter, your other wives,your sons, your noblemen, your chariots,your horses, your soldiers, your countryand everything belonging to you, may theyall enjoy excellent health.”

The king is moderatorbetween his people and the gods, and head of all the religious cults.

The king—responsible forthe harvest’ssuccess—makes the firstceremonial diginto the newly

watered earth.

The White CrownThe crown of Upper Egyptis a tall, white conicalheadpiece, called theHedjet.

The Red CrownThe crown of Lower Egyptis chair-shaped, with a lowfront and tall back, fromwhich protrudes a coil. It iscalled the Deshret.

The Double CrownThe crown of unifiedUpper and Lower Egyptcombines the Red andWhite crowns, known asPschent, the Two MightyOnes.

The Blue CrownThis is the War Crown,called Khepresh. The tallflanged helmet, adornedwith golden discs, has theuraeus and vulture on thebrow.

Every senior or middle-ranking officialuses the title of imy-ra, or overseer.The

two most senior of the king’s officials arecalled the tjaty, or viziers. One at Thebes isin charge of Upper Egypt, the other, incharge of Lower Egypt, is based either atMemphis or Lisht.The viziers are usually thepharaoh’s sons, or related to him bymarriage, and the same is true of the mostimportant state officials and local governors.

The busy viziersWhile they manage the affairs of the seniorofficials, the viziers are also responsible forthe recording of all the people and theirproperty for tax purposes.They superviseand record various transactions, especiallythose involving land, and as “seal-bearers ofthe king” they have the authority to certifythe deals.The viziers also supervise thecensus of raw materials, cattle, and producethat takes place every other year, which iscalled the “following of Horus.”

In his own region, the vizier is responsiblefor civil order, the assessment and collectionof taxes, the maintenance of archives and theorganization of their retrieval forconsultation. He also organizes the

mobilization of troops, appointment andsupervision of officials, inspection andoverseeing of provincial governments,monitoring of the inundation and othernatural events, and the exercise of the lawover civil cases.

Overseers for all departmentsEgypt is divided into rural districts, or nomes,controlled by governors, or nomarchs, andtowns, controlled by mayors. Each vizier,governor, and mayor has a staff of officials,scribes (see pages 54–57), and couriers.Thereare 22 nomes in Upper Egypt and 20 inLower Egypt.

The key areas of administration are theTreasury, the Department of Agriculture, theMinistry of Royal Works, the Judiciary, andthe army.The man in charge of the Treasuryis known as the Overseer of the House ofDouble Silver, while the Ministry of Works islead by the Overseer of the King’s House,since all public works and buildings belongto the pharaoh.

The Department of Agriculture is furtherdivided between overseers of granaries andcattle.The archives are the most importantfeature of Egyptian government. Everything

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Egyptian AdministrationThe pharaoh is head of the government and he decides on all policy. However, in practice he delegates the daily management of affairs to departments of state which are controlled by his officials.

The pharaoh, seated onhis throne at Thebes,hands down hiscommands to the vizierof Upper Egypt. Most ofthe court dignitaries aremembers of his family.

is recorded—wills, title deeds, census lists,conscription lists, orders, memos, tax lists,letters, journals, inventories, regulations, andtrial transcripts.

A chance for every deserving personThe elite ruling class is called paat, while therest of the people are called rekhyt.Theofficials of every administrative departmentare very proud of their position.They displaytheir high social standing by prefixing theirnames with strings of titles that indicate theirfunctions and achievements.

But the greatest privilege enjoyed by thepaat is that the pharaoh grants them the rightto build their tombs in one of the royalcemeteries.This ensures that the deceasedwill enjoy all the privileges in the afterlife

that he enjoyed while living, and that afterevery harvest his household servants willhonor him with offerings of food for abanquet in Heaven (see illustration, page 21).

Compared with most other cultures of theperiod, Egypt’s society is more liberal, andnot all high-ranking officials come from thenoble class. Even a man of low birth can riseto a great position. One inscription warnsthose who hold office not to look down onone who has risen through the ranks on hisown merit:

“Do not recall if he too once was poor,do not be arrogant toward him for knowinghis former state; respect him for what he hasachieved by his own efforts, for wealth doesnot come by itself.”

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The classesEgyptian society isdivided into eightclasses of people,with the pharaoh—more of a god than aperson—at the topand slaves—notreally considered tobe people—at thebottom.

Pharaohl

Viziersl

High Priests, Noblesl

Priests, Engineers,Doctors

l

Scribesl

Craftsmenl

Soldiers, Farmers,Tomb-builders

l

Slaves

Treasury(House of Double Silver)

Royal Works Agriculture

Local Governors Scribes Officials Messengers

Granaries Cattle

Judiciary Army / ForeignAffairs

The organization of Egyptian government

Vizier ofLower Egypt

The Pharaoh

Both viziershave anidentical

administrationunder their

control

Vizier ofUpper Egypt

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Taxation in EgyptIn a barter economy, the simplest way toexact taxes is by claiming part of a person’sproduce, merchandise, or property. In Egyptpeasants are the highest and mostconsistently taxed section of the population.


Afarmer is the easiestto tax—he cannot

hide his field, and it canbe measured, its harvest yield assessed, andthe produce is difficult to hide because of itslarge bulk.

Taxing the farmerThe vizier controls the taxation systemthrough the departments of state.Thedepartments report to him daily on theamount of stock available, and how much toexpect in the future.The task of calculatingthe amount of produce due is the duty ofscribes.They keep written records of title deeds, field sizes, and are capable ofcalculating field areas.They also assess afarmer’s wealth by counting his cattle in thecensus called the “following of Horus.”

Among the itemstaxed, the most important

are grain, oil, livestock, and beer.A farmerwho owes unpaid taxes is forced to handover his arrears immediately or he will behauled off to court.

Taxing traders and officialsThe rest of the population is less easy toassess for tax.Although there are manyscribes monitoring people’s jobs and wealth,it is hard to supervise everyone.And sohunters, fishers, and craftsmen are obliged todeclare their income every year to the rulerof their district.Anyone failing tomake a declaration or

Below: Peasantconscripts perform theirlabor tax for thepharaoh during theannual Nile flood. Someare so proud to servetheir god-king that theycarve their names intothe massive stoneblocks.

making a false statement is punishable bydeath.

These personal taxes, called beku, arecollected by the chief treasurer. Localofficials—mayors, district officials, districtrecorders, their scribes, and their field-scribes—are taxed on the income theyreceive through their office.This tax, calledapu, is paid to the vizier.

The labor taxAt least one person for every household hasto pay the labor tax by doing public servicefor a few weeks every year, usuallyduring the period of inundation whenpeasants can be spared from farmwork. Repairing the canals andirrigation systems or mining are themost vital of these tasks. Qualifiedscribes are exempted from the labortax, as are laborers who workpermanently at temples and in themines. A rich man can hire a poorerman to do his labor tax for him, andthis custom extends to the dead bymeans of a ushabti (shown on the right).


Left: Following HorusThis model from about 2000 BCE shows a localnomarch, or governor counting cattle. He sits in theshade of his porch watching the animals pass by ashis scribes take notes and argue with the farmersover the number of cows to be taken in tax.

Tributes and customs dutyThere are two other important sources oftaxation for the king. Conquered foreignstates pay the king tribute, and tribute-bearersform a constant procession to the palacetreasury with valuable goods, precious gems,gold, and silver sent by subject kings.

Then there is the customs duty payable bytraders when they import or export goods.The amount of duty varies from time totime, but is usually set at one-tenth part ofthe goods’ value. Duty is even levied on somegoods between Upper and Lower Egypt.

In all these ways, Egyptians swell theroyal treasury so that the pharaoh mayglorify his reign by building greatmonuments, extending the size of thegods’ temples, and building his greattomb, ready to rule in the afterlife.

Everlasting workEven in the afterworld a person is expectedto perform labor tax, but by placing ushabti,or shawabti—little figurines like this,representing the deceased—into his tomband using the correct spells, they can do allhis work for him.

Ma’at is the goddess of truth, order,balance, and justice. She is often

shown in paintings and carvings standingbehind the pharaoh, who is head of the legalsystem on earth. Judges often make up herretinue of priests.

The legal system is very fair to all people.Whether rich or poor, people have equalrights, and women can go to court on thesame terms as men—only slaves are excludedfrom equality under the law. Favoritism andbribery are condemned, so that every personhas a fair chance to present his or her case.

Going to courtEach village and town of any size has itsown court, called a kenbet.There are noattorneys or counsellors, so people have tospeak for themselves.The plaintiff must makehis case clearly and the defendant mustanswer it with evidence as solid as thatpresented against him.

The accused is presumed to be innocentuntil proven guilty.Witnesses take an oath inthe name of the god Amun-Re and thepharaoh, and anyone thought to be lying orconcealing information is liable to be beaten.

A panel of judges, chosen from amongimportant local men, try the cases.Theycross-examine the witnesses and read anydocuments entered into evidence. If a personis unhappy with the outcome of a case, thereis a higher court—the Court of Listeners,presided over by the district governor—towhich he can appeal.Above this, the twoGreat Courts are under the supervision ofthe two viziers, but to reach such busy menis not easy.

The final appealThe most important matters are reported tothe king, who then decides the case and theproper justice. Sometimes the judges find ithard to make a final decision, in which case

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The LawOrdinary Egyptians are fond of litigation, and the enthusiasm with which they go tocourt to argue over the least infringement of their rights shows the faith they havein the legal system.

An Egyptian court insession. Judges hear awitness’s oath beforehe is cross-examined.The accused (center)looks on with a worriedfrown. Bribery is illegal,but it does not stoppeople from slippingsome gold or silver toan officiating scribe(left). The case beingheard is obviously not asimple one, because outin the courtyard anoracle is beingconsulted for guidanceover the decision.

the judgment is made by divine oraclesrather than by human officials. For instance,when the two petitions are put on eitherside of a street near the chosen god’s image,if a bird should land on the statue and thendrop to the ground to peck around one ofthe documents, its author is declared thewinner.

Crime and punishmentPunishments handed out to those foundguilty of a crime include reprimands,returning stolen property plus several timesits original value, floggings, and hard labor.For more serious offenses, judges can orderexile to Nubia or the Western Oasis, ormutilation—cutting off a hand, tongue, nose,ears or blinding the criminal.

In extreme cases—grave-robbing, treason,or tax evasion—the guilty may becondemned to death by being impaled on astake, burned alive, drowned, or beheaded.Because a guilty person has violated thebalance of Ma’at, it is assumed that theindividual will suffer—poverty, blindness, ordeafness—with the final settlement awaitinghim in the Court of Osiris once he is dead.

Keeping the peacePolice work is carried out by the medjay.The Medjay wasoriginally a Nubian tribe that came to Egypt as mercenarysoldiers. Over time it turned into a peace-keeping force, and nativeEgyptians joined it. Now there are groups of medjay stationed allover Egypt.These men guard the frontiers and the cemeteries, andhunt down criminals with the help of tracker dogs.When theycatch a suspect, he is held under guard, awaiting trial in a suitablegranary or storeroom, for there are no prisons in Egypt.

39


40

grain silos

grain silos

stables

workshop

stores

kitchenwinepress cattle pens

main bedroom lavatories

lavatories

stairs

bedrooms

bedrooms

loggia

loggia

harem

harem

guestrooms

familyshrine

familyshrine

pool

pool

formal gardens

mainentrance

mainentrance

gatekeeper’s lodge

gatekeeper’slodge

well

servants’

quarters

mainhall

mainhall

entrance

hall

Plan and reconstruction of anestate house at Akhetaten (ElAmarna)

41

Wealthier Egyptians may be luckyenough to have their own well, but

most people get their water directly from theriver. In either case, personal hygiene isimportant, and while the poor bathe daily inthe river, the rich have basins for washing athome.Those who can afford it even havestone baths, with a pipe to carry the wastewater out through the wall. Being a preciouscommodity in Egypt, this water is collectedin a jar to be used for watering the garden.

The rich also have latrines—a wooden seaton brick supports, under which a potteryvessel is placed that a slave empties after use.In lesser homes people use a portablelavatory—a wooden stool with part of theseat cut away and a pottery vessel underneath.

Luxury and comfortThese two reconstructions show a richnobleman’s country house and middle classtownhouses.The villa is divided into threemain areas.There is a reception at the frontwhere the master of the house conducts hisbusiness, a hall in the center for entertainingvisitors, and private quarters at the backwhere the family lives.

Townhouses, which often reach three orfour stories, are packed together along thenarrow, dusty, and busy streets.Water issupplied from public or private wells, butthere is no sewage system. Each householdhas to dispose of its own waste—in pits, inthe river, or sometimes even in the streets forscavenging dogs or pigs to eat.


A Rich House in the Country and TownhousesThe Egyptians lack good timber and stone is expensive, so the homes of rich and poor alike are built of mud bricks, but this does not mean luxury is absent.

mainbedroom

well

servants’quarters

The people of Egypt—from the poorestto the wealthiest—value family life

highly.They love their children and regardthem as a great blessing.The family is thecore of Egyptian society—even the gods arearranged into family groupings. Egyptianshave tremendous pride in their families andtheir forebears, and trace their ancestry backthrough both the mother and father’s lines.

Respect for eldersChildren’s respect for their parents is acornerstone of society, and the mostimportant duty of the eldest son is to carefor his parents in their last days and to ensurethat they receive a proper burial.This duty ofcare can lead to extended families of morethan two generations living in the samehome.

However, it is usually preferred that whena son marries he sets up his own homenearby—many texts warn of the problems ofliving with parents and in-laws. On the

death of their father and mother, sons inheritthe family land, while daughters receive thehousehold goods, such as furniture andjewelry. If a family has no sons, there isnothing to prevent a daughter frominheriting land.

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The Egyptian FamilyThe backbone of the nation is the large and, for the most part, well-to-do middleclass citizens. Their home and family is everything they treasure most and formsthe center of their lives.

Simple householdgoodsA wooden footstool witha woven seat, a strawwhisk, and a wovenbasket lid, from the18th Dynasty tomb ofthe royal architecturalforeman Kha and hiswife Meryt, at Deir al-Medina (see page 64).

In this charming scene,proud grandparentsInherka and his wifeshow off theirgrandchildren to guests.The children, boys andgirls, wear no clothesand sport the shavedhead and side-lock ofchildhood.

The wife’s roleIn contrast to Mesopotamian society,Egyptian women are equal to men in manyways.A wife, who is known as nebet per (“ladyof the house”), may own land, have businessdealings, and represent herself in court cases.Her right to start divorce proceedings is oneof the ways in which a wife’s legal rights aremost obvious (see following pages).Women canalso serve on juries, testify in trials, anddisinherit ungrateful children. If a woman isfound guilty of a crime, she even faces thesame penalties as a man.

Peasant women commonly work alongsidetheir husbands in the fields, but among thebetter off the wife will be found at homewhile her husband goes off to work and he isresponsible for the family’s fortunes.

Upper-class men can become scribes orpriests, middle-class men are often civilservants, small landowners, or craftsmen inhigh-priced trades, such as armor or jewelry.General craftsmen, potters, hunters, andpeasant farmers make up the lower class.

The career womanThe wife supervises the household, includingservants, and is expected to care for herchildren’s upbringing. Despite this importantfamily task, there are other jobs available towomen, especially if the family is wealthyenough to hire a nanny to help withhousehold chores and raising the children.

Women run farms and businesses in theabsence of their husbands or sons. Many

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Above: Seated ladiesdressed by a servant,with perfume cones ontheir heads. Below: awall relief showingacrobatic ladies dancingto the music of a harp.

women work as perfume-makers, and theyare also employed in courts and temples asacrobats, dancers, singers, and musicians—allhonorable jobs. Noblewomen can join thepriesthood of a god or goddess, and womenof any class can work as professionalmourners or musicians.

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Marriage and DivorceFertility in crops, animals, and humans is a major theme ofthe Egyptian religion, so it is not surprising that Egyptianswant to get married and start having children as soon aspossible.

Man and wifeA lifesize portrait statueof Ka-aper (2475 BCE),a chief priest, and abust of his wife; fromthe pyramid of Userkaf,Saqara.

Girls from peasant families marry as earlyas 12, while those from richer families

are a few years older when they wed. Boysare usually older still when they marry,perhaps 16 to 20 years of age, because theyhave to become established and be able tosupport a family. It is normal for thechildren’s parents to arrange a marriage forthem, although it is not unknown for youngpeople to choose their own spouses.

A deal for propertyThe terms meni,“to moor” (a boat), and grgpr,“to found a house” are both used todescribe a marriage and suggest that thearrangement is about property.There are noreligious or state ceremonies involved in awedding and—strangely for a societyobsessed with recording every detail of life—marriages are not registered by scribes.

The wife’s rightsEven though marriages are not officiallyregistered, it is normal for the fathers of thebride and groom to arrange a pre-nuptialcontract between them.This lays down whatallowance the wife is to receive from herhusband and what presents he will give hiswife and future in-laws.

In other societies it is customary for thebride’s father to give her future husband a“bride price,” or dowry, which is thehusband’s to keep. But it is different inEgypt.The contract also states that anyproperty or goods the wife brings with herwill be hers to keep if the marriage shouldend for any reason. If this includes any land,it is kept separate from her husband’s, but shewill usually let him administer it along withhis own property.

The role of the concubineWhile the king can have several wives, foreveryone else marriage is monogamous,which means the husband has only one wifeat a time. However, it is considered legal, andeven respectable, for a man to keep anofficial lover, or concubine, if he can affordone.This is another aspect of the Egyptian’sdesire for many children to improve thefamily’s fortunes.Although the man’s wifeand children must come first, he is expectedto look after the concubine and her children.

Getting divorcedMarriage is taken seriously, but if a wife istreated badly, she usually goes to her relativesfor help. If they cannot persuade the husbandto improve his behavior, the marriage mayend in divorce. Getting divorced is arelatively simple matter, amounting to asimple statement in front of witnesses.

Either partner can start a divorce for fault(adultery, infertility, or abuse) or no fault (thetwo discover they aren’t compatible). Divorcemay be a disappointment but it is certainlynot a matter of disgrace, and it’s common fordivorced people to remarry.

When a woman chooses to divorce, andher husband does not disagree, she can leavewith what she brought into the marriage,plus a share of the joint property. But thecircumstances are taken into account.Whenone woman abandoned her sick husband, alater judgment forced her to renounce all thejoint property. If the husband leaves themarriage he is liable to make payment tosupport his ex-wife, and he may be forced togive up his share of the joint property.Generally, the wife is given custody of thechildren and is free to remarry.

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The wedding of awealthy bride andgroom begins with aprocession, followed byan exchange of vows, abanquet, and the givingof presents. For thosewho cannot afford alavish ceremony, it isenough—after parentalapproval—that the twoyoung people startliving together for themto be consideredmarried.

Watched by theirchildren, a husband andwife enjoy a relaxinggame of Senet (seepage 53 ) at home.

As important as looking after their agingparents, children must give them a

proper burial and make regular offerings attheir tombs, ensuring a smooth passage intothe afterlife and a contented eternity.

A couple without children can try avariety of remedies.They can pray to godsand goddesses, or place letters in the tombsof dead relatives, asking them to use theirinfluence with the gods.Then there arefertility charms and magic spells, which aresaid to work sometimes. If these fail, theycan adopt a child from a relative or from ayoung couple with more mouths to feedthan they can afford.

A dangerous early lifeOnce a child arrives, whether by naturalmeans or adoption, the parents must guard itwith magic amulets, prayers, and spells.Thebirth of a child is a time of great joy, but alsoof concern.The rate of infant death is highand there is the stress of childbirth on themother. It is usual to hire a midwife to helpwith the birth.

The first four years of life are the mostdangerous, but Egyptian mothers know thatto keep a baby healthy in the unsanitaryconditions it is best to breast-feed. Babiesare fed on their mother’s milk for asmuch as three to four years, andfamilies who can afford them hire a

“wet nurse” to take over fromthe mother.The wet nurse is a

woman who has just given birth,and so has milk to give, but whoseown child has died.

Unfortunately, when childrenreach the age of four and start eating solidfood, the death rate soars because many areunable to resist the bacteria in thenew meals they are given to eat.Those who get past this stageand finish their fifth year cangenerally look forward to a fulllife (see “Life expectancy”).

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Birth and ChildrenEgyptians long for children, not only for the happiness they bring but also becausethey are a form of insurance—they work for their parents and care for them in theinfirmity of their old age.

A mother tenderlysuckles herbaby. Themother’s milkcontains antibodiesthat help toincrease the baby’sresistance tocommon diseases

and offersprotection fromfood-borneillnesses.

Children having funYoung girls play a gamethat involves throwingand catching a ball,and boys join in a livelygame of swinging in agroup.

The goddess Taweret isthe guardian ofpregnant women. She isusually depicted in apregnant state, with thehead of a hippo, legsand paws of a lion, anda crocodile tail head-dress—the fiercestelements of Nile life.

Growing upYoung boys and girls are given plenty oftime for play, but once they are five theystart training for adulthood.A boy is taughthis father’s trade and a girl helps her motherwith household tasks or works with her inthe fields.

Some boys are sent to school at the age ofseven, if the family can afford it and if thereare younger sons to take up the father’s trade.An educated boy has a chance to get a betterpaid profession than his father’s, which willraise the family to a higher social status later.

Both parents share the children’seducation about their world, reverence forthe gods, morals and ethics, and correct

behavior toward others.When a girl reaches puberty at about the

age of 12, her father looks for a suitablehusband for her—if one has not been foundalready and an arrangement with his fathermade. Boys enter manhood with a ceremonyof ritual circumcision. He does not choosehis career since he is expected to follow hisfather’s trade and assist him in performingthe elder’s duties.

However, for the ambitious family, thereare only two real routes forward for a boy tobetter his position—to join the army as anofficer or, better still, to become a scribe.And that depends on what education he hasreceived as a child and a youth.

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Below: On the left ayoung boy undergoesritual circumcision,while a helper graspshim tightly. On the righta priest appliessoothing ointment toanother boy to relievehis pain.

Life expectancyPeasant men can expect to live for about33 years, and 29 years for women. Upper-class males, who are generally better fedand do less hard labor, can expect to livewell into their 60s and 70s—sometimeslonger. Upper-class women also lookforward to a longer life than women fromthe lower classes, but the task of bearingmany children results in a lower lifeexpectancy compared to their men.

Both boys and girlshave their headsshaved clean except fora long lock of hair lefton the side of the head,the side-lock of youth.

In Egypt, education is the key.Althoughpeasant sons are unlikely to receive any

formal teaching, poor families make everyeffort to send their sons to school.Theyhope that it will make the boy’s fortune, andin turn benefit the family.A peasant’s sonwho is lucky enough to be sent to school isunlikely to reach the highest ranks ofgovernment—but his grandson might.

Types of schoolIn a village the school is usually organized bythe local priest, or by a scribe who adds tohis income by teaching basic skills. Largerschools are most often a part of a statedepartment’s offices, or attached to a temple,and—at the highest level—part of the palace.

The school of Amun at Karnak offersteaching in very advanced subjects, and itsgraduates can expect to attain the highestposts in the government. In addition topublic schooling, some nobles also hireprivate tutors to teach their children.

The main duty of the schoolteacher is toensure the supply of future scribes. For thisreason, teachers are drawn from the ranks ofexperienced scribes who have a gift forspeaking and passing on knowledge to theyoung. Lessons take place in a formalschoolroom and, later, the teacher takes onapprentices in his office.

A schoolboy’s lessonsSchool, for boys only, starts at about sevenyears of age, and the discipline is harsh.Theteachers must be stern, for the task oflearning hundreds of hieroglyphs and theirshorthand forms is boring. Lessons consist ofendless copying and recitation of texts, inorder to perfect spelling.

The boys write out their exercises onpieces of stone, broken pottery, or onwooden boards covered in wax that can besmoothed over and re-used.Advanced pupilsmay paint onto specially prepared boardscovered with smooth plaster.

Once they have mastered reading andwriting, pupils learn other skills, such ascomposing letters in the approved form,making up accounts, and drawing up legaldocuments.Able students whose parents canafford it continue to more advanced studiesin preparation for the highest paid jobs, inthe fields of mathematics, history, surveying,engineering, astronomy, medicine, geography,and foreign languages.

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Education and LearningEvery Egyptian family, from the poorest to the richest, wants their son to attend aschool with the aim of the boy becoming a scribe. But schooling is a hard task forthe pupils, who suffer constant punishment for inattentiveness.

In the country, boysattend a small school inthe open air run by thelocal priest. Their citycounterparts are taughtin the House of Life, acomplex of templebuildings that housesreligious texts.

A moral educationAn important part of the learningprocess involves memorizing proverbsand myths.These are intended toeducate the pupils in correct religiousand social behavior. Many texts stress thenobility of scribes and the advantagesof the profession—“Be a scribe forhe is in control of everything; hewho works in writing is nottaxed, nor does he have topay any dues.”

Some are simplewords of wisdom:“You should only talkwhen you are sureyou know yoursubject. Speaking isharder than any othertask and only doescredit to the manwith perfect mastery.”

Others insist on theeducated person beinghumble with lesserpeople—“Do not boastof your knowledge, butseek the advice of theuntutored as much asthe well-educated.Wisewords are rarer thanprecious stones and maycome even from slave-girlsgrinding the corn.”

One proverb points specifically to theobligations of the landowner—“Do notmove the boundary-stone in the field norshift the surveyor’s rope; do not covet a cubitof your neighbor’s land nor tamper with thewidow’s land-bounds.”

A scribe’s advantagesThe length of a boy’s schooling depends onhis abilities and how hard he is prepared towork, as well as his parents’ wealth.The highpriest Bekenkhonsu started school at five andattended four years, followed by 11 years’apprenticeship in the stables of King Seti I.At about 20 he was appointed as a wab (alow level of priest).

With some education, a youth mightdecide to opt for the military, but manyscribes consider this a poor decision.Thescribe Khety paints a terrible picture of armylife, of its brutal training, constant quarrels incamp, of the horrors of campaigning. Bycontrast, a scribe has a good, secure job, andone that offers opportunities for him toreach the top of the administration.

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“The ear of a boy is inhis back; he listenswhen he is beaten,” is awarning to schoolboysin a papyrus document.

Pupils learn to write onwooden tablets like thisone, inscribed with anexercise in black inkwith hieroglyphics.

Older pupils becomeapprenticed to agovernment office toassist scribes andbureaucrats, and learnthe skills of a scribe.

In Egypt’s long history, clothing styles havechanged very little. Nearly all clothes are

made from flax linen, which comes in arange of qualities from an almost sack-likecoarse material to a very fine, almosttransparent fabric.Wool is not much usedsince it is too hot and considered impure.

Clothing stylesFor everyday use, men wear loincloths andkilts of various lengths, and women wearstraight dresses, which are suspended by twostraps and fall to just above the ankles.

For more formal occasions men wear afull pleated tunic over their kilt.The tunic ismade from a folded length of cloth withopenings for the head and arms, held inplace by a broad sash tied around the waist.

Women wear flowing pleated dresses,fastened by brightly colored ribbons, or ashawl.The shawl is a single piece of clothfolded around the body and knotted underthe breasts. Noblewomen sometimes wearbeaded dresses.

In the cooler winter months, especially in the Delta region, wraps and cloaks areworn. Most people go barefoot, but wearsandals made of reeds or leather with a strapbetween the toes on special occasions.The king is usually seen with elaboratelydecorated sandals, and sometimes withdecorative gloves on his hands.

JewelryFrom head to foot, Egyptians of both sexesare adorned with jewelry. For the rich thereare fine pieces made of gold, silver, copper, orelectrum (gold mixed with silver).Anklets,bracelets, and rings might be of plain metalor inlaid with semiprecious stones and richlycolored enamels.The less well-off can find agreat deal of cheaper jewelry made of copperor bands of pebbles, shells, and ivory.Faience—made by heating powdered quartzand applying it to metal or stone—is popularfor decorating smaller items of jewelry.

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Fashion and StyleEgyptians are particular about their appearance. Clothes, makeup, hairstyles, andjewelry are important, but in Egypt’s hot, dry climate, clothing styles are designedfor comfort more than style.

Below: A young girlserves guests seated ata banquet. They wearpleated, sheer kilts withintricate, jeweled topsand perfume cones ontheir heads to help keepthem fresh and sweetsmelling.

Nefertiti, the chief wifeof Amenhotep IV (alsoknown as Akhenaten),adorned in a jewelednecklace and tallheaddress, is fabled inEgyptian history for herbeauty.

Both men and women paint around theireyes with kohl applied using little sticks.Kohl is made from malachite (copper ore) orgalena (lead ore) ground to a fine powder,mixed with oil, and stored in small jars.Eye paint has a dual purpose—it makes theeyes look beautiful and it helps to ward offflies. Red ochre clay is ground and mixedwith a little fat and water to make a rougefor the cheeks and lips.

HairstylesEgyptian men typically wear their hair short,leaving their ears visible. However, at times itis common for both men and women toshave their heads and wear a wig whengoing out.The shaved head is cooler whenthe weather is particularly hot.Wigs arepopular for use on formal occasions.Women’s wigs are longer than those formen, but both have elaborate arrangementsof plaits and curls.

Popular styles include gold tubes threadedon each tress, or inlaid gold rosettes strungbetween vertical ribs of small beads to formfull head coverings. Natural hair as well aswigs are often dyed with henna leaves, whichwomen also use to dye their palms and thesoles of their feet.

Combs are used to keep both natural hairand wigs in good condition.These are eithersingle- or double-sided combs made fromwood or bone. Some are very finely madewith a long grip. Poor Egyptians shave witha sharpened copper razor, while those whocan afford them use better bronze razors.

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CosmeticsEgyptians have no soap, but they clean theirbodies with a combination of oil, lime juice,and perfume, which helps prevent the hotsun from drying and cracking the skin.Thereare tweezers for removing unwanted bodyhair and special preparations for curing spotsand covering up unacceptable body odors.

Perfumes are made from flowers andaromatic woods soaked in oils.A good hostensures his guests’ comfort at banquets bygiving them cones of perfumed animal fat,which they place on their heads.As theymelt, the mixture runs down the face andneck, providing a pleasant cooling effect andgiving off a nice smell.


Merit, wife of the Deirel-Medina overseer,Kha, owned thisbeautifully decoratedcosmetics box, with itsalabaster and glass jarsof face paint.

Right: Men sit and waittheir turn on a barber’sstool.

In between education, official duties, andfarm work, Egyptians fill their spare time

with numerous pleasurable activities.Children have a number of dolls and toys.There are brightly colored balls for playingalone or in team games, model boats, slings,whips, and spinning tops. Some toys havemoving parts, such as a row of figures madeof ivory that dance when a handle is turned,or a wooden lion with snapping jaws.

A day splashing aboutFor adults and children alike, the Nile is avast playground, although some activities arevery dangerous and not suitable for thewhole family. Hunting crocodiles andhippopotamuses from reed boats is one

example.A team of men armed with spears,throwing harpoons, and nets hunt themarshy banks and try to capture the wildanimals.

More relaxing water sports include afamily outing on the river, fishing, or simplyswimming to cool off in waters cleared ofcrocodiles.There are boating contests inwhich teams of men, armed with long poles,stand in boats that are rowed at high speedtoward each other. Each team tries to knockthe opposition into the water.

Hunting in the desert for gazelle, fox,hare, and hyena is another great pastime fornobles who can afford horses and chariots.Men of lower rank enjoy wrestling matchesand fencing with wooden swords.

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Entertainment and GamesThe daily preoccupation with death and the afterlife might imply that Egyptians area sad and solemn people, but nothing could be further from the truth. They enjoythis life so much that they spend time preparing to enjoy eternity to the full.

A leather-covered balland a wooden horse onwheels are just two ofthe toys children playwith.

Above: Many varietiesof watery fun—a familyboating trip, huntingcrocodiles, fishing,boating contests andtrapping water fowl.

Indoor board gamesOf course, people with gardens enjoyrelaxing in them, and it is here or indoorsthat Egyptians enjoy the most popularentertainment of all—board games. InHounds and Jackals, named after its stickcounters topped with the heads of thoseanimals, the game is played by moving thepieces about the board determined by thethrow of marked sticks.

Then there are Twenty Squares,Tshau(“Robbers”), and the favorite game, Senet(see “Playing Senet”). Everyone has a Senetboard—made of mud and reed for the poor,wood and faience for the better off, and ofebony, ivory, and gold for the rich.

Parties and quiet relaxationWealthy Egyptians often entertain byholding extravagant parties with plenty offood to eat and beer and wine to drink,while singers, musicians, dancers, acrobats,and jugglers entertain the guests.TheEgyptians love music, and play instrumentssuch as the lute, harp, lyre, and several typesof flute and pipes.

Those who can read are catered for byseveral books, papyrus scrolls with stories oftravel, adventure, and mayhem. In the handsof the professional storytellers, tales entertainthose who are unable to read. Other quietmoments might be spent enjoying householdpets, which include geese, monkeys, cats, anddogs.When a pet dies, its collar is buriedalong with it, ready for reunion with itsowner one day in the afterlife.

Public entertainmentThere are no games or public theaters inEgypt, but the musical splendor of publicholidays in honor of various gods makes upfor this.At large temples, priests andpriestesses often perform sacred dramasabout the lives of the gods, which not onlymake for a religious experience, but also afun day out for the family.

Festivals held in ancient Egypt are usuallyholidays in honor of important gods. Duringfestivals held in their honor by the priests,statues of the gods are carried through thestreets.


In this middle-class home, theplaying pieces are made of wood, and

when not in use are kept in a drawer atone end of the box.The throw of four carved

sticks is used to determine a player’s move, depending on the waythey fall, crossed or pointed.

Senet is played on a board of 30 or 36 squares laid out in threerows of ten or twelve. Certain key squares are inscribed, and bringa benefit or disadvantage to the player who lands on them. Eachplayer has six pieces and the object is to pass through theopponent’s pieces and return to the original starting point, whileblocking the other player’s moves as much as possible.

Playing Senet

Below: Dancers and musicians from a tomb in theValley of the Kings, Thebes.

Queen Nefertari, wifeof Ramesses II, isshown in this paintedwall relief playingSenet. Below: Thewooden Senet set ofKha, royal overseer atDeir al-Medina.

The career of scribe in ancient Egypt is asexacting in its requirements as it is

honorable and profitable in its rewards.Ayoung man lucky enough to have graduatedfrom one of the great scribe schools ofMemphis or Thebes is expected to be able toread, write, and draw to a high level ofaccuracy.

And more, he must be well versed inmathematics, bookkeeping, management ofworkers, the law, and even such subjects asmechanics, surveying, and architecturaldesign.The job of surveying farmers’ fields isimportant (see pages 22–23), but a scribe whoexcels in building and surveying might findhimself in the king’s retinue working on thegreat royal monuments and temples, a muchsought-after position to hold.

A scribe’s functionsOnce he has qualified, a scribe automaticallybecomes a member of the educated officialclass.This status exempts him from meniallabor of any kind, including the labor tax,and he is on the first step of theadministrative ladder up which he may risethrough recognized stages to the highestoffices in the land.

Scribes of the lowest rank, like the onepictured on the opposite page, make lists,keep records, write letters, and draw upsimple legal documents.Those with noflair for administration but who canwrite beautifully might work ina great temple’s House of Life(archive) where documents arestored, and copied when theybegin to wear out from use.

For the more able scribe,there are more responsiblejobs in the administration,such as supervising the

collection of taxes that are paid in both farmproduce and labor.The most talented andambitious men hold top posts ingovernment, and supervise junior scribes.

Scribes also act as paymasters for the army,organizing the daily supplies of food, arms,armor, and other equipment necessary oncampaign.The mostsenior of the armyscribes keep a dailyjournal of thecampaign, andwrite of the king’sglorious exploits.

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CHAPTER 3

Scribes—the Machinery of GovernmentEvery freeborn Egyptian boy wants to be a scribe when he is older. Scribes keep the machinery of society and government working, and are honored for their skills—and well paid besides.

A Working Life

The scribe’s palette, hisreed pen, and the jar ofwater he uses to wetthe color pigment formthe hieroglyph denotinga scribe.

A statue of the scribePetamenophis, a man ofvery high ability andposition. His mummycan be seen on page 86.

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CHAPTER 3: A WORKING LIFE

In thefield,scribeskeep noteson scraps ofpapyrusattached topalettes likethis, equippedwith a slot tohold pens. Onecan be seen inthe tomb wallcarving above.

The scribe and his equipmentThe scribe pictured above sits with his fellowsin the chancellery office of a great lord’sestate.The task he is performing—making aninventory of his lord’s linen supply—mightseem lowly, but an Egyptian noble’spossessions are what mark him out.Top-quality linen is important and every itemmust be accounted for. Linen sheets have anink inscription in one corner, giving thename of the individual, estate, or governmentdepartment to which it belongs.

The scribe sits cross-legged so that thefront of his kilt is tightly stretched across histhighs to act as a desktop.The small cylindersuspended from his neck is inscribed with

his lord’s name, and is used for sealingdocuments and other items belonging to theestate. He writes on fine papyrus in hieratic(see page 57) from right to left, using a brushmade from reed with a carefully frayed andtrimmed tip.

He keeps his inks—black and red—in twobowls of an alabaster palette.A piece of ragattached to the end of the palette is used asan eraser. Next to the palette is a stone slabfor grinding the solid blocks of pigment tomake ink.The scribe’s bronze basin,containing water for mixing with thepigment, sits on top of a leather bag inwhich he keeps fresh rolls of papyrus.

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Writing—Tool of the ScribeThe first examples of Egyptian writing appeared in about 3300–3100 BCE, and mayhave been inspired by Sumerian cuneiform writing. The Egyptian script is known ashieroglyphic, which is Greek for “holy writing,” but the Egyptians know it as medunetier, or “divine words.”

Hieroglyphs are pictograms—pictorialrepresentations of plants, animals,

buildings, people, and objects of daily use.Over time they developed into a writtenform of the spoken language, with wordsand whole sentences.The Egyptians use asystem that combines phonograms (sound-signs that spell out the word in an alphabeticmanner) and ideograms (pictures with nosound value that are added to a spelled-outword to make its meaning clear).

How hieroglyphs workEgyptian writing consists of over 700hieroglyphs, each representing a sound or anidea. Each hieroglyph corresponds to thesound of one or two letters, for instance:

bread loaf ankh cataractt nh sw

A sign can also represent an object. Someans mouth, but also represents the sound“r” and can be used as part of the word nfr,meaning “beautiful.”

To complicate matters, there are also somethree-letter signs. For example nfr might alsobe written as a single sign:

No vowelsEgyptian scribes write in consonants only. Inorder to pronounce the language, vowelshave to be added. Language experts oftendisagree as to which vowels should beadded, which leads to several spellings of thesame name. For example, the hieroglyphs forthe name mnhtp can be written asAmenhotep,Amenhotpe, or Amunhotep.

Two-letter hieroglyphsSome two-letter signs have a meaning ontheir own, and represent individual words.They are often completed with a stroke,known as the ideogram sign that indicates theword corresponds with its pictorial value.For instance with the ideogramstroke this glyphmeans “duck,”while without the stroke it means “son.”

Making meanings clearSometimes a sign representing an object ormovement is placed at the end of a word, toclarify its meaning.This is called adeterminative.The hieroglyph meaning“scribe” can be followed by the determinative of a manto make the word “writer.”The same hieroglyph followed by the determinative“papyrus roll” turns the word into “script” or the verb “to write.”

CountingEgyptians count using the decimal system.For the main numbers, the following signsare used:

When a scribe writes a number, he placesthe higher-value signs in front of the lower-value signs.The number signs are then

n(water)

f (viper)

r(mouth)

unit

ten

hundred

thousand

ten thousand

hundred thousand

million, infinite

Pharaohs and nobleshave their namesinscribed in stone orpainted on walls inhieroglyphics. Thecollected words arecalled cartouches.These are the twocartouches of PharaohAmenhotep IV.

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repeated as often as necessary to reach theintended value.

When numbers are combined with a word,they come after the word they are referringto:

CartouchesWhen writing the name of a king or a god,scribes use a cartouche.This is an oval framesurrounding the hieroglyphs that spell outthe name.

The calendarGroups of hieroglyphs are used to indicatethe parts of the Egyptian year, with its threemain seasons of four months each:

Dates are given by counting the years,months, and days from the start of a new

king’s reign.The start point is represented by the hieroglyph:

This example…

means “22nd year, 2nd month, 23rd day, under the majesty of theking of Upper and Lower Egypt,Tuthmosis III.”The king’s name iscontained in his cartouche.

Egyptian fractionsThe udjat, or wadjet, is a symbol known as the Eye of Horus, orsometimes the Eye of Osiris. Horus is said tohave lost his left eye in a battle with the evilgod Seth while avenging the death of his father,Osiris.Thoth, god of wisdom, reassembled theeye and returned it to Horus, who in turn gaveit to his father and brought him back to life.Scribes—and especially doctors—use the component parts of the Eye of Horus to denote fractional measurements for the ingredientsof prescriptions.

It works like this:

the number 2,235 is written

14 strangers

Tuthmosis III

year

month

day

akhet (inundation)

peret (winter, growing)

shemu (summer, harvest)

2 jars

two (thousand)two (hundred)

thirty (tens)five (units)

Shorthand scriptsThe Egyptiansdeveloped twoshorthand scripts fordaily use, which weremuch faster to writethan hieroglyphs,which were usuallyreserved for religiousand royal inscriptions.The first, known ashieratic (shown here),was already in useduring the OldKingdom, and thesymbols are simplifiedversions of the originalhieroglyphs. Duringthe Late Period (c.750BCE), an even moreflowing script evolved,known as demotic.

1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64 = 1

Few men in Egypt are as powerful as theroyal architect, for it is he who

transforms the pharaoh’s dreams into stone.One of the most famous architects, Imhotep,built the first true pyramid for King Djoser(Zoser). Imhotep was so revered that he waslater made a god of learning.

It is the task of the architect to draw upplans and make models of any projectproposed by the king. For this the architecthas an entire state department staffed bynumerous scribes who turn his concept intoaccurate drawings. For these to becomereality, the architect must employ the bestsurveyors and their staff to measure theselected site.

The process of surveying involves testingthe proposed site for the soundness of thebedrock to take the new building’s weight,taking levels so that the foundations can be

adjusted to account for any variations in theground, and marking out the intendedground plan.A foundation ceremony is held,during which the king lays out the groundplan with posts and ropes.

The building logisticsSurveyors are also dispatched to the greatrock quarries in the south near Aswan toselect suitable stone for the building’s blocks,columns, and obelisks. Engineers accompanythem. It will be their task to work out howto move the rough-hewn stone blocks andthen transport them to the building site.Engineers are also responsible for overseeingthe mechanics of building, for instancedeciding where earth ramps will be neededas the walls get higher.

The architect is also responsible for thefinal finish, working with stonemasons onarchitectural detail and carvings, and withpainters on the colored decoration of reliefs,walls, and columns.

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Architects, Surveyors, and EngineersElite among scribes, great status is enjoyed by architects,surveyors, and engineers, especially those who work directlyfor the pharaoh on his monumental building programs.

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Before building startssacrifices are made andthe pharaohceremoniously marksthe perimeter of theprojected structure.Stonemasons begintheir work: after roughshaping with a stonehammer, the block issmoothed using ahardened bronze chisel.Mud-brick ramps areerected, up which thestone blocks mountedon wooden sleds arehauled on a track ofheavy timber beams.As the walls rise higher,the center of thebuilding is filled withsand for the workers towalk over. When fullheight is reached, stonecross beams are setinto the column tops tohold the roof.

Raising an obeliskA brick “chimney” is builtaround the base stone andtwo ramps raised on eitherside. The chimney is filledwith sand. With one gangpulling and the otherpushing, the obelisk isdragged up one ramp untilits base drops into thechimney’s top, resting onthe sand. The sand is thenreleased from the bottom.

Managing the workforceDuring his work, the architect is alsoresponsible for the taskforce that mayamount to many thousands of men—permanent laborers, peasants paying the labortax, and prisoners of war.

Scribes handle the innumerable matters ofworkers’ pay, food supplies, accounting formaterials and tools, accidents, housing, andthe overall schedule. base stone

obelisk dropsinto chimney

when the obeslisk is upright, the sand is released

gangs on ropes controlthe dropas thesand runsout

the brickchimneyis thenremoved.

brick “chimney”

pulling gang pushing gang

blockedsand funnel

Column capitals takethe form of the lotusflower, the symbol ofrebirth—like the sun, itis open in the day (left)and closed at night(above).

pulling gangrestraininggang

Although skilled craftsmen are few innumber compared to farmers, their

contribution to Egypt’s economy isimportant.The best are wealthy men whoown their own workshops and employ fellowartisans, among them potters, carpenters,weavers, jewelers, painters, and workers inleather, glass, or metal.

A trainee craftsman, normally followinghis father’s trade, starts off as an apprentice,rises to be a junior, and finally graduates tofull craftsman status.The most skilledworkers find full-time jobs in the workshopsof temples, nobles, and the king.

CarpentryLack of good nativetimber makes theEgyptian carpenter amaster of his trade.Large boards andbeams are fashioned bycarefully piecing togethershort, narrow cuttings from thescrubby local trees—willow,tamarisk, acacia, fig, sycamore,and palm. Imported hardwoods,such as pine and cedar from Phoenicia, orebony from the Sudan, are costly so they areonly used for carpentry fixings, door fittings,and small, expensive pieces for the wealthy.

Metal fastenings are rarely used, carpenterspreferring to fix pieces with tapered andstraight hardwood pegs.Artful cheats cancreate the impression that a greater weight ofwood has been used.

The carpenters’ bronze cutting and drillingtools—adze, saw, ax, chisel, knife, scraper, andbow drill—are equipped with hardwoodhandles. Mallets and set-squares are also ofhardwood, and the whetstone used forsharpening blades is quartzite stone.Wood issmoothed with a plane—a lump of sandstonewith a carefully grooved cutting surface—andvarious grades of sand are used as abrasives togive the wood a smooth, even finish.

GlassmakingColored glass beads are prized for use injewelry, but more spectacular are the elegantvessels made from blue-green glass.These arefashioned by making up the vessel’s shapefrom a clay core around a handling rod.Thisis dipped into molten glass and leveled byrolling the whole thing on a flat stone calleda marver. Pincers are used to shape the feetand rims.

Patterns are made by winding threads ofred, white, or yellow glass around the still-hot core.These threads are sometimes pulledwith a needle in order to form “swag” or“feather” patterns.After cooling, the centralcore is broken up and removed through theglass vessel’s neck.

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The Main CraftsEgyptians who do not work in the fields and who hold noofficial positions as scribes form the core of the professionalclass of artisans—craftsmen in a variety of trades.

This painting inside thetomb of Rekhmara, agovernor of Thebes,shows artisans at workon different tasks and ina wide range of skills.

A busy carpenter’sworkshop is depicted inthis model, dating fromc.2000 BCE.

A carpenter’s toolsA Drill bit from abow-drillB Bronze chiselC AdzeAB

C

PotteryThe art of throwing pottery vessels on apotter’s wheel and then firing the part-driedclay in a wood-burning furnace is similar allover the Middle East.A trade related topottery is that of the alabaster worker. Egyptis rich in fine white or brown alabaster, asoft, translucent stone that the craftsmanpatiently carves into shapes, such as figurinesor pots, drinking cups, and bowls. Carvedand smoothed until their walls are paper-thin, alabaster bowls are popular aslampshades, the light flowing warmlythrough the almost glass-like stone.

WeavingOne of the principal trades for women,weaving is done both at home and in specialworkshops. In the early days the looms werelaid out horizontally on the ground, but theHyksos (see page 11) introduced the verticalloom.These are more practical to useindoors because they take up much lessspace. Other women’s occupations includeperfume-making and managing farms.

LeatherworkingLeatherworkers, using hides mainly fromcattle and gazelles, make a range of goods,including body armor, shields, arrow quivers,satchels for scribes, sandals, door hinges, andstraps used for the seats of stools.

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Paper-makingPaper-making is a vital trade in support of the scribes’ efforts.Paper is made from the papyrus reed, which grows along themarshy banks of the Nile.After harvesting, the outer fibers arepeeled away and the core of the stalk is sliced into very thin stripsthat are as broad as possible (A).The strips are soaked in water toremove most of the sugar content.Then the strips are pounded andthe excess water removed, after which strips are placed side by side,slightly overlapping.

A second set of strips is placed over the first at right angles (B).After a further pounding (C), the raw papyrus sheet is left to dryunder a heavy stone slab for about six days. During this process,the remaining sugar content of the papyrus helps to “glue” thestrips and layers firmly together.After drying, the sheet’s surface ispolished to a smooth finish with a shell or piece of smooth ivory.

Carved alabaster isprized for its translucentbeauty.

A fine example of theEgyptian potter’s craft,this decorated jar datesfrom about 1560 BCE.The neck is adorned

with the deviceknown either asthe Eye of Osiris

or the Eye ofHorus. It brings luck

because Horus gavethe eye to his murderedfather Osiris, whichthen brought him backto life.

A B

C

Mining for copper and gold is doneunder dreadful conditions, far from

home, far from water, under the broiling heatof the desert sun by day and freezingtemperatures at night.The work is heavy,dusty, and tiring.

Mining and quarrying expeditions areauthorized by the king and financed bytaxes.The workforce includes stonemasons,engineers, and mining experts, but themajority is made up of unskilled men whowork as part of their labor tax. Because ofthis, mining and quarrying are usuallyseasonal activities, carried out during theperiod of the Nile’s inundation. However,larger projects continue throughout the year,using convicted criminals and prisoners ofwar as slave labor.

A gold mining campGold is found mainly in the Eastern Desertand Nubia. In these mining sites there arepermanent stone-built barracks for theworkforce, close to the mineshafts.Theseplunge horizontally or diagonally downwardfrom the cliff face entrances, following theveins of quartzite rock bearing the gold.Theengineers are skilled in drilling verticalshafts, sometimes as deep as 230 feet, into thegalleries to act as air ducts.

The underground quartz veins are minedby crushing the rock before it can beextracted. In the dark and winding tunnels,the workers light their way with torches thatare fixed to their foreheads.Young boysfollow them and laboriously pick up piecesof the crushed rock in their hands and carrythem outside.

On the surface, the quartzite rocks areheated to make them brittle and then brokenup with stone hammers.The oval stonehammers are about 8 inches long, made ofhard basalt rock.A wooden handle is insertedin a deep groove and fastened to the rock.After smashing, the smaller chunks of ore areground in a mill similar to a corn mill.The

resulting dust is then washed and the goldextracted.This is called “gold of themountain.”

In some places gold is found nearer to thesurface, having formed naturally in sandyriverbeds in prehistoric times when thedeserts were lush forests.This alluvial gold isextracted by washing away the lighter sandparticles with water and then melting theremaining gold particles.This is known as“gold of the water.”

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Quarries, Mines, and MetalworkersEgypt is well supplied with a variety of stones and minerals.Quarries in the Eastern and Western Deserts are within reachof the Nile, but metal-bearing ores are at a greater distance.

Stone barracks for theworkers and store-houses sit against therock face in this busycopper mine. Ore iscrushed and smelted toextract the copper.Soldiers are on hand toprotect the workmenand the precious metalfrom bandits.

Other precious commoditiesIn Egypt, silver is rarer than gold, whichmakes it more expensive.The two metals areusually found in the same deposits, and evencombined as an alloy.When the silvercontent of the gold-silver alloy is higher than20 percent it dulls the metal’s golden sheen,and is called electrum.

Mafaket (turquoise) and sehmet (malachite)are mined in the Sinai, while emeralds areextracted from hills near Koptos. Othersemi-precious stones are found here and inthe Eastern Desert close to Elephantine—jasper, feldspar, amethyst, beryl, lapis lazuli,carnelian, and garnet.

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An unfinished granitestatue of Tuthmosis IIIlies half buried in theground in a royal quarrynear Aswan. Work mayhave been abandonedon the king’s death.

Egyptian smiths work in copper, bronze, silver, gold, and electrum.Copper and bronze are smelted from raw ore brought in from themines in furnaces fueled by wood and fiercely heated by use of apair of bellows. Bronze is hammered into shapes for armor, swords,and spearheads. Liquid metal is poured into clay molds for largerpieces, or used in the “lost-wax” casting process for finer objectssuch as ornaments, which are also light in weight.

In this, a rough shape is made in clay. Bronze pins are insertedand a detailed wax model is built around the clay core.The waxmodel is then covered by an outer clay mold. Now the clay moldsare fired in a kiln and the heat melts away the wax model, leaving aperfect impression of its shape on the inside of the outer mold (theinserted bronze pins keep the central core in place as the waxmelts). Next, molten bronze is poured in between the outer moldand the inner core, and when it has cooled, the outer clay mold iscracked away to reveal the finished, hollow (light) bronze figure.

Jewelers at work making a gold shoulder necklace and using a bow-drill.

Metalworking

AsyutAsyut

Timna

AbydosQena

RED SEA

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Thebes

malachite

amethyst& others

emerald

emerald

feldspar

jasper

malachiteturquoise

alabaster

limestone

sandstone

basalt/dolerite

granite(s)

porphyry

natron (salts)

copper

tin

lead iron

gold/silver

semi-precious stone (type)

Kephren’sQuarry

Elephantine

Koptos

Memphis

W E S T E R ND E S E R T

E A S T E R ND E S E R T

S I N A IFaiyum

el-KhargaOasi s

DeadSea

Delta

Gulf

o fSuez

Gul

fof

Aq a

ba

Ni l

e

Egypt’s mineral deposits

The tombs in the Valleys of the Kings,Queens, and Nobles are a massive

undertaking (see pages 90–91). Just below theentrances to the royal valleys, a communityof craftsmen has grown up.The men andtheir families live in the town of Deir el-Medina, which was built specially to housethe tomb-builders.The workers call the placePa-demi, which simply means “the town.”

A place of comfortDeir el-Medina is unique in as much as itsfoundations and many of its walls are built ofstone and not mud bricks.Where it issituated—far from the river—stone isplentiful and river mud is not. However,bricks brought up to the slope are used

internally, for steps, raised beds, andtemporary structures.

The town has its own temple and priests,vizier’s court, doctor, scorpion charmer, anda wall around it to keep out desert raiders.There are some 70 homes inside the walland another 40 to 50 outside.A main streetruns from north to south through themiddle, with a few side alleys leading off it.The community well—filled by water-carriers from the nearest canal off the Nile,about half a mile away—is situated outsidethe only gate, at the town’s north end.

The houses are lined up along either sideof the main street, and each opens directlyon to it.The average house has four rooms,although some have as many as seven.

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Town of the Royal Tomb BuildersFor several hundred years the kings of Thebes havebuilt their tombs by cutting them deep into the clifffaces of the valleys high above the mortuary town of West Thebes. A permanent settlement has grown up there to house the craftsmen.

Reconstruction of theworkers’ walled town ofDeir el-Medina. Tombsof the wealthier artisanscan be seen rising upthe hillside on the right,many of them toppedby small pyramids.Artifacts buried with theworkers and the manywall paintings are thebest source ofknowledge about thelives of ordinaryEgyptians who workedon the royal tombs inthe Valley of the Kings.

The workersThe workmen are divided into two iswt, organgs, known as the Left and Right sidegangs, a reference to a boat’s crew andreflecting on which side of a tomb theywork.An iswt is a military-style unit workingunder a foreman who oversees theworkmen’s activities. Each gang consists ofstonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, anddraftsmen/painters.

The Egyptian week is ten days long—eight days of work and two rest days. Onworking days, the men of Deir el-Medinalive in a camp closer to their work up in theroyal valleys. Scribes are in attendance to logthe workmen’s tools in and out from acentral store, and record the work done,workers’ absences, payments, and supplies.They also write letters for the townspeopleand send reports on progress to the vizier.

65


As each section of atomb is hewed out ofthe cliff, the walls arecoated in plaster. Themaster-draftsmanprovides his scribeswith sections ofdrawings made on clay.To ensure accurateenlargement of theoriginal, proportionsquares are laid out onboth sketches and thewall. The lines formingthe square are“snapped” onto theplaster by means of acord coated with redpigment. The manmarking off the squaresuses a measuring rod,one royal cubit (20.6inches) in length. On theprepared grid apreliminary full-sizesketch is made in redoutline, over which thefinished drawing isdone in black, ready forthe colorists to fill in thedetail.

Bringing living color to the tombs

Providing for eternityThe craftsmen and families of Deir el-Medinaare well cared for.Their wages consist offood, oil, linen, and firewood, specialbonuses of salt, wine, extra meat, andsilver; andthere areslaves to dothe heavywork, suchas bringing water upfrom the valley andgrinding grain.

In addition to theweekend days off, a further 65holy festival days a year give the workersplenty of relaxation time. However, not all of this time is spent infeasting. Better off craftsmen have been allowed to purchase plotsfor their own tombs in the lower hills above the town.While tinycompared to those of their royal master, these are beautifullyconstructed and decorated, and topped by small pyramids.

courtyard

niche

tomb

entry chamber

pyramid

stairs

shrinegate

66

Egyptians use scales and standard weights like thedeben, which is often shaped like a bull’s head. Thefigure at the top of the post represents the goddessMa’at, who weighs the souls of the dead against herfeather (see pages 76 and 84).

Below: The thin chief ofPunt, Perehu, and hiscuriously deformed wifeEty wait to greet theEgyptian merchants.This relief is part of agreat cycle of imagesfrom Hatshepsut’sfunerary templedetailing the expedition.

Cypruspoppy juice formedicine,copper

Greek islandswine, copper,silver, luxury

goods

Lebanon(Phoenicia)cedar wood

Eastern Mediterranean coasttimber, tin, copper, silver, wine,oils, resins, slaves, horses; exoticFar Eastern goods

Sinaiturquoise,malachite,copper

A R A B I A

E G Y P T

M E D I T E R R A N E A NS E A

Nubiaslaves, cattle, gold,copper, amethysts

Punt (possible site)myrrh trees for

incense

Desert oaseswine, cattle, reeds,dates, natron, salt

African interiorebony wood, ivory, incense,ostrich feathers, leopard and

panther skins

BA

B

YL

ON

I A

RE

DS

EA

Nile

Tigris

Euphrates

67

In the ancient world, trading can bringdifferent peoples together—or drive them

to war in protection of their goods and land.Crossing frontiers in search of metals oftenleads to conflict with the local inhabitants,and for that reason trade in Egypt is linkedwith foreign policy, and therefore a matterfor the king. Most overseas trade is organizedby the pharaoh, although some temples andindependent merchants are granted rights totrade abroad.

Egypt’s exports include gold, linen, wheat,and papyrus, as well as a wide range ofmanufactured goods. Merchants bring backsilver, copper, slaves, horses, incense, wine,luxury goods, and—most importantly—goodtimber, especially cedar from the Lebanon inPhoenicia and ebony from the Sudan.

Weights and measuresAs usual in a barter economy, the biggestcause for argument between traders is therelative value of the goods being exchanged.For example, two copper bowls might beconsidered to be worth four linen tunics,whereas two of bronze might fetch as muchas ten tunics.

For items that can be weighed, such asgold rings, there are standardized weightsmade of stone, copper, or bronze calleddeben.Although mainly intended for

weighing precious metals, deben are also usedto give the equivalent value of a wide varietyof non-metallic goods.

Goods with a volume such as wine orother liquids are measured by the capacity ofstandard vessels.The hinw (“jar”) has avolume of about 0.1 gallon, the hekat(“barrel”) is equivalent to 10 hinw, and thekhar (“sack”) is 160 hinw, or about 16.5gallons.

The expedition to PuntQueen Hatshepsut commissioned a tradingventure to the distant, legendary Land ofPunt, probably situated on the coast ofSomalia, East Africa.The fleet sailed fromThebes, down the Nile almost as far asmodern Suez, crossed over by canal into theRed Sea, and then undertook the longvoyage southward.

The expedition’s progress was recorded indetail by scribes in a series of painted reliefs,including the tall, thin chief of Punt, Perehu,and his deformed wife Ety.These arepreserved in the queen’s great funerarymonument at Deir el-Bahari in WesternThebes.The expedition returned safely withits rich cargoes of ebony, ivory, gold,electrum, aromatic woods for perfume-making, cosmetics, and panther skins, not tomention apes, dogs, and natives of Punt.


Trade and EconomyEgypt is well placed for trade with Africa, Asia, and the Greek islands. One of themost distant and famous Egyptian trading expeditions is the one sent to the fabledLand of Punt by Queen Hatshepsut.

Below right: One of Queen Hatshepsut’ssea-going vessels builtto undertake theexpedition to Punt.

Astudent doctor commonly learns hisprofession from other physicians in the

family, probably his father, but he might alsobe sent to one of the few medical schoolsattached to the great temples. Most doctorswork as general practitioners within theircommunity, but some specialize in one partof the body. Others work in temples, or asarmy surgeons.

Compiling medical knowledgeOver the centuries, the medical professionhas accumulated many texts of instruction.There are books about every part of thebody, books for surgeons, dentists, andveterinarians, as well as descriptions ofvarious common diseases and books ofrecipes for medicines.

Egyptian doctors understand a lot abouthow the human body works, of the nervoussystem and the effects of injury to the spine.Much knowledge about the body and itsorgans comes through mummifying the dead(see pages 86–87), which has made it clearthat the heart is the most important organbecause it pumps blood around the body. Sodoctors know that a patient’s pulse “speaksthe messages of the heart.”

68


Doctors and MedicineEgyptian doctors are highly regarded throughout the Middle East for their skill andknowledge. The best even travel abroad, with the pharaoh’s permission, to treatforeign rulers at their request.

One of history’s firstdoctors, Hesire, was the“Chief of Tooth-Doctorsand Doctors” at thecourt of the OldKingdom pharaohDjoser. Hesire examineda boy who sufferedfrom what sounds likediabetes. Hesireprescribed a specialdiet of fruits, grains, andhoney. Although the diethelped his youngpatient, it could not curehis problem.

A collection of Egyptianmedical instruments,including a papyrusscroll containing textson diagnosis,medicines, andtreatments.

MedicinesRemedies for ailments fall into three broadcategories: treatment with medicines, surgery,and “incubation” (see below).There aremedicines to be taken by mouth, some to beapplied to the skin, and others to be inhaled.

Regularly used herbs include opium,myrrh, frankincense, fennel, cassia, thyme,henna, juniper, aloe, linseed and castor oil.Garlic and onions are regularly eaten to givestrength, and raw garlic is given toasthmatics. Fresh, mashed garlic, mixed withwater and vinegar, makes a healthymouthwash and relieves sore throats andtoothache, though it does smell strongly!

Leaves from many plants such as willow,sycamore, acacia, and mint are used inpoultices for binding wounds.Tannic acidderived from acacia nuts is applied to burns,and castor oil, combined with figs and dates,is used as a laxative.

SurgeryDoctors sometimes use surgery to treatpatients, and open skulls to relieve pressureon the brain. Before operating, the patient isgiven an alcoholic drink to deaden any pain.Since Egyptians attach great importance toritual cleanliness, the surgeon and hisassistants wash themselves thoroughly andpurify their instruments in fire before theoperation.

Magic, prayers, and dreamsPhysical medicines such as herbs and surgeryare mostly expected to help with the pain,while magic is believed to cure the patient.Some herbal remedies have ingredients suchas mice and beetles, which drive out thedemons causing the illness. Prayers are a vitalpart of any treatment, aided by the wearingof charms and amulets to ward off evil.

In serious cases, the doctor will advise avisit to a temple associated with one of thegods of healing—Thoth, Sekhmet, Isis, orImhotep—where priests are trained as doctors.Here, the patient spends the night close tothe god’s inner sanctuary. Such a stay is called“incubation,” during which the patientmight be healed by the god, or dream of thegod and receive instructions for treatment.

69


This votive inscription,giving thanks to a god,is typical of many leftby people at the gatesto a temple. Requestsfor divine interventionare basic to the healingarts. The two pairs ofears seen at the bottomleft are believed tomake it easier for theintended god to hearthe plea for a cure.

After ritual cleansing,patients are permittedto spend a night closeto the god’s innersanctuary, in the hopethe deity will cure themwhile they sleep.

Egypt of the New Kingdom has a largeand well-trained army under its

commander-in-chief, the king. He oftentakes to the battlefield in person, with abodyguard of elite soldiers, and officials toadvise him.The army does not have all thecenturies-old traditions of other socialinstitutions, so it is relatively easy for talentedindividuals to rise through the ranks.Thanksto the gifts of land and slaves they receivefrom the grateful king, they can advance insociety and maintain a high position.

Appreciation for this military nobility isoften expressed in inscriptions:

“The name of the brave man will last becauseof what he’s done. It will never disappear from thisEarth.”

Volunteers and conscriptsOne in every hundred able-bodied youngmen is liable for call-up, but because of thegood prospects it offers, the army is nevershort of volunteers. Conscription is onlyrequired in times of extreme danger or whenthe king wants to conquer a new territory.

New recruits have their hair cropped veryshort or their heads shaved bare.Then theyare equipped from the quartermasters’ storeswith leather body armor, helmets, andleather-covered wooden shields.They arethen assigned to a ten-man squad who sharea barracks.

Hard, disciplined trainingEgyptian soldiers are expected to becomecompetent with a variety of weapons—battleaxes, swords, maces, spears, daggers, bows andarrows—but their unit usually specializes inthe use of one particular weapon. Some unitsare given very specialized training such astrench-digging (by sappers), using batteringrams and scaling ladders, and scouting.

70


An Egyptian Soldier’s LifeFor ambitious young men with a sense of adventure, a careerin the Egyptian army offers excitement and a chance to gainthe pharaoh’s favor and royal gifts of land.

Having just grown toadulthood and beenallowed to wear a fullhead of hair, haplessrecruits receive asevere “short back andsides” before gettingtheir army kit. Nextstage—a mercilesstraining schedule.

The training is tough, and young recruitsare sent on long marches to prepare them forcampaign, when the army often covers anaverage of 12 miles a day over baking desertterrain. Drilling and discipline is hard. Battlesusually consist of a succession of preciselyexecuted maneuvers, and soldiers have to beable to respond promptly to the commandsof the trumpeter.

A soldier’s tough lifeThe scribe Khety says recruits are subjectedto brutal training, and barracks life is aconstant round of quarrels, rivalries,drunkenness, and gambling. Campaigns, hesays, mean hunger, thirst, flies, and woundsthat lead to death or permanent disablement.But Khety is trying to dissuade his pupilsfrom abandoning their profession as scribesfor the better possibilities of advancementthat the army offers an energetic young man.


The army’s organizationAn army division has several thousandmen, typically 4000 infantry and 1000chariots, organized into 10 battalions ofabout 500 soldiers.These are furthersubdivided into companies 250 strong,platoons of 50 men, and squads of tenmen who share a barracks tent. Eachdivision is named after one of the majorgods such as Amun, Re, Ptah, and Seth.

The overall command of the army is inthe hands of the pharaoh or one of hisclose relatives, usually a son.As thekingdom is divided into Upper and LowerEgypt, so the army is split into a northernand a southern corps overseen by chiefdeputies, often the viziers.

There is a long line of commandextending down from the pharaoh, as thiscomplaint from the scribe Nebmare-nakhtindicates:“Let me tell you the woes of thesoldier, and how many are his superiors:the general, the troop-commander, theofficer who leads, the standard-bearer, thelieutenant, the scribe, the commander of50, and the garrison-captain.”

Recruits are seentraining in this wallrelief from the funerarytemple of warlikeTuthmosis III.

A company has 25chariots and fourplatoons of 50 men.

1st Platoon

2nd Platoon

3rd Platoon

4th Platoon

Eye-ax andbattle ax

Sickle-sword

In battle, hardened veterans make up theranks of the army’s front line, while young,

inexperienced soldiers and recruits form thesecond ranks and reserves.An elite corps ofshock troops called “Braves” are the army’selite.The army unit goes into battleaccompanied by a standard bearer, and atrumpeter who passes on the commander’sorders with special calls on a long trumpet.

The cavalry is lined up in front of theinfantry, consisting of chariots. Eachcompany has 25 two-man chariots drawn bytwo horses. One man acts as the driver,while the second of the crew does thefighting, but the king is usually depicted on

wall paintings driving his own chariot,armed with a powerful bow and javelins.

All the king’s menThe Egyptian army is well organized, notonly in the fighting force but also in itssupport services.There are doctors to lookafter the men and animals, and scribes todeal with supplies and wages and record theprogress of campaigns.

Priests accompany the army to providemagical and spiritual support, whileastronomers and astrologers guide thedecisions of the commanders and the king.A corps of heralds carry messages and makereports to the king, scouts are sent out toexplore the terrain and spy on the enemy,and grooms care for the horses and packdonkeys that carry the supplies, tents, andspare weapons.

The army camp on campaignArmy base camps have brick-built barracksto house the men, but away on campaigntemporary camps are constructed.Thesoldiers live in tents erected withinrectangular earthworks made by digging aditch and throwing up the soil to form arampart. Shields are placed around the topfor added protection, and sentries patrol thedefenses on a regular basis.

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The Egyptian Army and NavyIn the New Kingdom era, the army of Egypt is among themost powerful in the Middle East. Much of its success lies inthe central organization of arms, armor, and supplies.

A soldier’s extra rewardfor victory might be ashare of the bootycaptured from theenemy or a decorationin the form of goldenlions or gold flieslike these shownhere, known asthe Gold of Valor.

Egyptian infantrymenon the march carrycopper-bladedspears and shieldswith personal designsfor quick identification.

Below: Tutankhamunsmites his enemies,trampling themunder his chariot’swheels.

Pharaoh’s armies aremade up of recruitsfrom all over thekingdom.

The tents are laid out in neat rows, withthe pharaoh’s tent at the center. Beside theroyal tent stands another holding theportable shrine of the god Amun.The kingenjoys great comfort when campaigning, andhis officers are also well looked after by theirservants in large, comfortable tents, with twoor more rooms and furniture includingfolding stools and camp beds.

The Egyptian chariotThe outstanding advantage of the Egyptianarmy is the chariot. Built with light, spokedwheels and open weave-work cladding overflexible frames, they are extremely fast andmaneuverable in battle. But their weight is soslight that two men can carry them acrossdifficult mountainous terrain, while thehorses are led separately by grooms.

The main weapon of the charioteer is apowerful compound-wood bow, firingbronze-tipped arrows capable of piercingthick sheet metal. Extra arrows sit in a quiverstrapped to the chariot’s side, along with aspare bow and several short javelins forthrowing or thrusting.

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The navyAlthough boats are a common factor ofeveryday Egyptian life, sailing the open sea isanother matter, but for the adventurous youngman a career in the navy might be appealing.Egypt keeps several squadrons of speedyships to patrol the eastern Mediterranean.The sailors, however, rarely do any fighting,which is done by land troops carriedonboard—sometimes as many as 250 men.

The ships can be sailed and rowed, whichgives them an advantage over most enemies,who only sail, and powerful archery winsmany battles without the need for hand-to-hand combat. In most cases, however, thenavy is used to transport troops to where theyare needed—on the coast of Canaan orupriver to Nubia, when the boats need to bedismantled and carried up the cataracts.

Below: A large reliefshows the Egyptiannavy fighting the SeaPeoples during the reignof Ramesses II.

74

CHAPTER 4

Some gods, such as Amun-Re, Osiris, andHathor, are worshipped throughout the

land, while others have only local followings.The most important gods have huge culttemples in their “home towns,” while manyof the lesser deities, usually concerned withdomestic matters, have no temples but areworshipped at small shrines in homes. In all,

The Major Egyptian GodsReligion plays a part in every aspect of Egyptian life, nothing is left out. There aregods of the air, the earth, and water, and deities responsible for everything frombirth to death.

A Land Ruled by Gods

the Egyptians have as many as 2000 gods andgoddesses.

They take many different forms inpaintings and carvings. Sometimes a godtakes human form, but with distinct dress,but mostly they are shown with the head ofthe animal or bird that is especially associatedwith them.

ShuSon of Re, god of air

ReSun god,creator god

Shu

Nut

GebNut

Sky goddess= Geb

God of Earth

IsisGoddess of crafts,

motherhood,and

medicine.Temple:Philae.

HorusKing of EgyptPrince of Godsand symbol ofthe pharaohs.Temple: Edfu.

IhyChild god of

music. Temple:Dendera.

HathorGoddess of

love, beauty,and joy.Temple:Dendera.

AnubisGod of

embalming.Temple:

Cynopolis.

== =OsirisRuler of

the dead.Temple:Abydos.

NepthysGoddess offunerals. No

formal temple.

SethGod of evil, the

desert, andstorms. Notworshipped.

The creation mythThe beginning was created from an oceancalled Nu, which wasshrouded in darkness.Thenan island rose up and thesun god Re appeared,who created light and allother things. Some sayRe was hatched from anegg laid by a goosenamed the Great Cackler;some say he flew to theisland as a falcon, withwhich he is associated.Others claim he was bornfrom the sacred blue lotusflower, and still more sayhe appeared as a scarab beetle on theeastern horizon, the rising sun Khepri,seen here with a scarab for his face.

75

CHAPTER 4: A LAND RULED BY GODS

Osiris and SethLong ago, Osiris (from a wall painting, below left) and his sister Isis ruledEgypt.They taught men how to farm the land and make wine andwere much loved by the people, but their brother Seth (from a wallrelief, below right) was jealous. Seth, sometimes known as Set, murderedOsiris by sealing him in a coffin and throwing it into the Nile, whichcaused the river’s annual inundation.

Isis found the body and with the help of her sister Nepthysused magic to bring Osiris back to life. By her brother, Isishad a son named Horus, but Seth found Osiris againand cut him into 13 pieces. Undaunted, Isis appealedto her stepson Anubis the jackal to reassemble herbrother as a mummy and breathe lifeinto him. In revenge, Seth attackedHorus, and there were many battles,but in the end Horus won.

Seth was banished to the outlandsas the god of evil and Horus becamethe first king of Egypt. Osiris—moredead than alive—was givencommand of the kingdom of thedead, where Anubis weighs the heartsof dead men against the Feather ofTruth. Hearts weighted down bysin are eaten by Ammit, devourerof wicked souls, and those who arelight enough are sent to Aaru,abode of the blessed dead.

AmunKing of the New

Kingdom gods, alsoknown as

Amun-Re.Temple:Karnak

MutMother goddess,usually shown

wearing a vultureheaddress.

Temple: Karnak

=

The Theban Triad

The falcon-headed godHorus, King of Egypt,seen in this tombpainting of c.1310 BCE

wearing the Pschent, orDouble Crown of Upperand Lower Egypt (seepage 33 ).

KhonsuMoon god.

Temple: Karnak

Ptah is thepatron of

Memphis andthe Apis bull,

and ofcraftsmen.

Sekhmet is thefire goddess,patron of thedestructivepower of the sunand famines.

NefertemSon of Ptahand Sekhmet,he is the godof oils andperfumes.

Sekhmet = Ptah

Khnum (Khenmu,Chem, Kemu, Khem)Khnum is depicted as aman with the head of aram. He creates peopleand animals out of Nileclay on his potter’swheel. He is reveredthroughout Egypt, withcult centers atElephantine, Sunnu,Abu, and Semnut.

Ma’at Goddess of truth,justice, law, anduniversal order, sheappears wearing acrown topped by a hugeostrich feather. Manypharaohs have takenthe title “Beloved ofMa’at” to show theirlove of justice and truth.In the Hall of Two Truthsat the entrance to theUnderworld, the heart ofthe deceased isweighed on scalesagainst Ma’at’s featherby Anubis and before

Osiris (see page 85).So widely is Ma’atrevered that eventhe gods are shownpraising her.

MihosMihos is the liongod and son ofBast. His cult center

is in the Delta region atLeontopolis.

MinAn old god of fertilityand of the harvest,Min’s cult is in Koptos.He is depicted with anerect penis and his armlifted up to a flail,usually dressed in thewhite of a mummy.

Ament (Amentet)Ament is patron of thegates to theUnderworld. She usuallyappears dressed in therobes of a queen. Shehas no temple and isnot worshipped, but isrevered in many hymns.

Anukis (Anuket, Anket)Goddess of the FirstCataract, she wears acrown of reeds andostrich feathers. Thedaughter of Khnum, sheis worshippedthroughout Nubia. Hercult center isElephantine.

Babi (Bab, Babay)Babi is a bloodthirstybaboon god who wasancient even in therealm of Egyptian gods.He symbolizes thevirility of the king, butlives on human entrails.Spells are needed toprotect against him.

Bast (Bastet)Goddess of music anddancing, love andpleasure, sherepresents the sun’shealing power, and ispatron of cats, women,and secrets. Shecommonly appears onamulets as a womanwith the head of a cat.Widely worshipped, hercult center is Bubastis.Her son is Mihos.

Bes (Bisu)Bes—a fat, ugly,bearded dwarf, oftenshown sticking out histongue and holding arattle—protects againstevil spirits. Unique inEgyptian art, he isshown full-face. Patronof the home, childbirth,infants, humor, song,and dance, Bes has notemples or priests but isa popular householddeity.

Hapi (Hep, Hapr)Shown as a beardedman with breasts andwearing a crown ofreeds and lotusblossoms, Hapi ishelped by crocodilegods and froggoddesses to ensurethat the Nile runs cooland clear. Worshippedthroughout Egypt.

Heqet (Heket)The frog-headedgoddess of childbirth,and a water goddessassociated with fertility.“Servants of Heqet” arepriestesses who train asmidwives. Women wearamulets of Heqet toprotect them while theygive birth. Some say asa wife of Khnum shegives the breath of lifebefore a child is placedto grow in its mother’swomb. Worshippedeverywhere.

76


Gods for EverythingMany gods and goddesses have overlapping functions, oreven different names depending on where you live along theNile. Here are a few of the more important ones.

Ament

Anukis

Bast

Babi

Bes

Khnum

Heqet

Hapi

Min

Ma’at

Renenutet (Ernutet)Patroness of theharvest, Renenutetwatches over theraising and storing ofgrain. She also looksafter fertility amonghumans and animals,and is the goddess oflinen and good fortune.She protects childrenand gives themnourishment and theirdestiny. She is depictedas a cobra, or wearing acobra on her head.

Satis (Satet, Satjit, Sati)As the patroness ofEgypt’s borders, sheis also the goddessof hunters. She isshown wearing thecrown of UpperEgypt flanked bygazelle antlers,carrying in herhands an ankh anda staff. With herhusband Khnum anddaughter Anukis, Satisforms part of theElephantine Triad.Worshipped throughoutNubia and Egypt, hercult center is atElephantine.

Sobek (Sebek)aaaaThe crocodilegod, patron ofFaiyum, wasborn from waterychaos when theworld wascreated. Hesymbolizes the king’sphysical strength. Cultcenters: Arsinoe andKom Ombo. When hewears the sun disk heis a form of Re, calledSobek-Re.

77


Taweret (Taueret, Taurt,Toeris, Ipy, Ipet, Apet,Opet, Reret)A combination ofcrocodile, pregnanthippopotamus, standingon her hind legs withlarge breasts, and alion’s body, Taweret is agoddess of maternityand childbirth, protectorof women and children.Like Bes, she is both afierce demonic fighterand a deity popularthroughout Egypt. AsOpet, she is animportant Thebangoddess, central to theannual inundationfestival in her name.

ThothAn old god of wisdom,learning, fantasy,writing, wit, speaking,and inventions. Hechecks the result at the“Balance of Truth” whena soul is weighedagainst the feather ofMa’at at the court ofOsiris. He wears anibis-stork headdressand carries his writingtools.

Four Sons of Horus These are funerarydeities, gods of the

viscera and thecanopic jars (seepage 84). Theirnames are Imsety(Imsti), Hapy (or Hpy,not to be confusedwith the Nile rivergod, Hapi),

Duamutef, andKebehsenef. As funerarygods, they are notworshipped and haveno cult centers.

Sacred animalsMany Egyptian gods are associated with aparticular animal, and many of these arekept in a temple enclosure.They aretreated with great respect because thegod’s spirit passes into them. In this state,the animal can act as an oracle, giving thegod’s answers by its movements. Sacredanimals are often given the full rites ofburial on their death and mummified, likethis crocodile, before being placed in awooden casket or a stone sarcophagus.

The most sacred animal in Egypt is theApis bull (seen below, depicted on a stela).The Apis bull is associated with the cult ofPtah.The birth of an Apis calf is a time forcelebration, since it means that the livinggod has been born.The bull must be blackand white, have distinct markings—awhite diamond on its forehead, an imageof a vulture on its back—double thenumber of hairs on its tail, and a scarabmark under its tongue.

Once identified, the new Apis bull isallowed to live in comfort for the rest ofits life. Its dung and milk are used formagic and medicinal purposes.

Satis

Taweret

Renentutet

Thoth

Sobek

Hapy and Duamutef

Obelisks, sacred monuments toRe, stand before the pylon.

Ordinary people are sometimesallowed into the temple tocelebrate a special occasion, butonly as far as the courtyard andeven then only after undergoingritual purification.

Sacred pool inwhich priests purifythemselves.

The sanctuary contains a shrine that houses the god’scult statue. Every day at dawn, noon, and

sunset the priests dress the god’sstatue and offer it food.

The great hypostylehall.

Pylon

Shrine for the god’s sacred boat. During the most importantfestivals, priests bear the god’s cult statue on the barqueoutside the temple to show to the gathered people.

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The temple is a private place wherenormally only priests and priestesses go

inside to tend the deity’s cult statue.Ordinary people are only allowed as far asthe entrance to make offerings and pray.Thetemple precinct is usually walled to keep outimpure spirits, with access given throughlarge gateways called pylons.The temple itselfis usually divided into three main areas—thecourtyards, a large hall filled with columns,called the hypostyle hall, and the innersanctuary of the god.

Within the enclosure there may be manyother halls and rooms with specific

purposes—a place to store and copybooks, workshops, accommodation

for the priests and acolytes,and a sacred lake holding holywater for purification rituals.

Temple priestsPriests do not live apart from thecommunity.They can marry and hold secularas well as religious posts.A temple’s priestsare divided into four groups, called phyles.Each phyle goes on duty three times a yearfor a full month.When on duty a priest mustbe pure—he must shave all his body hair,bathe several times a day, refrain fromwearing wool (which is considered impure),and only eat certain foods.

In addition to the priests, there are otherstaff. Priestesses sing hymns while shakingsistra (metal rattles) during ceremonies, andthere are professional musicians, singers, anddancers. Bakers and cooks prepare specialfood offerings for the god, and the templeneeds craftsmen, skilled laborers, cleaners,and many slaves.These costs are met byrevenues from renting out temple land totennant farmers.

Dreams and oraclesAll Egyptians believe that dreams are visionsfrom the gods, but the message is not alwayseasy to understand. In such a case thepuzzled person can repeat the dream to apriest specially trained to interpret dreams’meanings.The priest has many books to helphim find the answer.

In difficult cases where there is a problemin the family or a dispute that neither sidecan agree on, it is usual to consult an oracle.This is done by asking a temple scribe towrite down the question and receive a “yes”or “no” answer from the god when it ispresented to the priests. On feast days aninquirer may ask the god directly when heappears on his sacred barque outside thetemple wall.Answers are given by the boatswaying backward, forward, or dipping.

An older, but still popular, tradition is fora person to buy a small hand-sized stela of apair of ears and place it against the templewall.This is to remind the god to listen tothe person’s prayers.

Temples and the PeopleTo Egyptians the temple is not a place where a congregation gathers to holdservices. It is the home of a deity on Earth, a place where gods and goddessesmake contact with humans.

Workshops producegoods such as statues,linen, sacred objects,and furniture.

Monumental statues of thepharaoh flank the pylon.People pray before the statues,asking the king to intercedewith the god on their behalf,and place votive plaques (seepicture, page 69 ).

Scribes sit at the temple gate tonote down questions people havefor the god. The questions are sentto the priests inside the temple.

Avenue ofsphinxesleads tothe Nile.


Karnak and Luxor—Monumental TemplesOver a period of 1300 years, the Temple of Amun at Karnak and the neighboringtemple at Thebes (Luxor) have grown to become the world’s largest religiouscomplexes. These and the following two pages show them in their heyday.

1. Canal from the Nileto the harbor for theroyal barges.

2. Temple of Amun-Reat the center of theprecinct of Amun.

3. Sacred lake forpurifying the priests.

4. Precinct of Montu,Theban god of war, withan avenue leading to itsown harbor.

5. Temple of Khonsu.

6. Precinct of Mut.

7. Avenue of ram- and human-headedsphinxes leading southtoward the temple ofLuxor.

8. City of Thebes.

9. Entrance of a canal(one of several) leadingto the funerary templesof West Thebes belowthe Valley of the Kings.

6

7

8

8


Karnak, the modern name for Ipet-isut(“the Most Sacred of Places”), is a

complex of three precincts, to Amun, Mut,and Montu (the Theban god of war),containing several temples, notably to Ptah,Khonsu, Osiris, and Opet (the Theban namefor Taweret).

Many pharaohs contributed to thebuilding of Karnak, but it reached its greatestextent between the reigns of Tuthmosis I andRamesses II.

The Temple of Luxor (see the followingpages) is known as Ipet-reyst, or “the southOpet,” and it is the focal point of the annualOpet festival.Amenhotep III and RamessesII were its main builders.

The sacred processionAn avenue of sphinxes 1.25 miles long connects the two great complexes. Each yearduring the inundation the cult image ofAmun-Re is carried, together with his wifeMut and their son Khonsu, on their sacredboats from Karnak to Luxor to celebrate thefestival. Once, they used the sphinx avenue,but it is now customary to make the journeyup the Nile, with the gods’ sacred bargestowed by several smaller boats.

Although the festival of Opet is primarilyreligious, it is also significant in renewing theking’s divine rule at that most critical time—the annual flooding of the Nile.

1

2

3

4

5

9

N

Luxor

1. Precinct of Mut,most southerly part ofthe Karnak complex.

2. Avenue lined byram-headed sphinxes,88.5 feet wide and 1.25miles long, connectingKarnak and Luxor.

3. The city of Thebes isbuilt above the annualflood level to avoidbeing inundated.

4. Neighboringagricultural land, mostlyrented out by thetemple priests to tenantfarmers.

5. Chapel of thegoddess Serapis.

6. Chapel of thegoddess Hathor.

7. Two giant obelisksstand in front of thetemple’s first pylon(gateway), with twomonumental statues ofthe seated Ramesses IIbeside them.

8. Great Pylon ofRamesses II.

9. Great court ofRamesses II, containinga shrine to the Thebantriad of gods—Amun-Re, his consort-wifeMut, and their divineson Khonsu.

10. Processionalcolonnade ofAmenhotep III.

11. Forecourt ofAmenhotep III.

12. Hypostyle hall.

13. Sanctuary ofAmenhotep III.

14. Dock for thesacred bargesprocessing fromKarnak for theNew Yearcelebrtions.

3

Because the sun god Re sails his solar boatacross the Nile, rising in the east to bring lifeand setting in the west to journey throughthe Underworld, the east bank of the Nile isthe place of the living, while the west bank(off the picture to the left) is for the dead. SoWest Thebes, site of the Valley of the Kings(see pages 90–91), houses all the funerarytemples and buildings associated with therituals for preparing people for their future inthe afterlife, or “Next World.”

N Egypt’s great temple builderRamesses II lived longer and left behind moretemples and monuments than any other pharaoh.This sculpted head once topped a giant seatedstatue at Luxor temple. There were many suchstatues of Ramesses at Luxor and another may beseen at the very front of this book (page 2 ).

1

2 3

4

8

7

9

10

1112

13

14

56

Considering the importance ofachieving perfect peace in the Next

World, it is no surprise that Egyptians placegreat importance on the preparation fordeath.To enjoy eternal life to the full inthe kingdom of Osiris, it is vital that themortal body of the deceased survives, andto this end great care is taken over theembalming process (see pages 86–87) toensure that the person’s three souls areproperly reunited.

For those who cannot afford the costlyembalming process, nor an expensive tomb,their grave is a shallow, simple hole in theground in one of the cemeteries situated onthe fringes of the desert.The bodies quicklydry out in the hot sand and so are preservedfrom decay.

Richer people can afford a stone or rock-cut tomb of several rooms.These are richlydecorated with scenes of the funeral and ofdaily life in the Next World.The paintedimages provide the deceased with his or herdaily needs in the event that the relatives areunable to maintain a regular supply ofofferings.

The funeralAfter embalming and being placed in itscoffin, the body—together with the fourcanopic jars containing the internal organs—is taken to the tomb in a procession offamily and friends.A noble’s burialprocession is accompanied by professionalmourners, priests, animals for sacrifice, andporters to carry the dead man’s belongings.

On reaching the tomb, the priest performsa ceremony called “opening the mouth,”which revives the dead person’s bodilyfunctions to make ready for the arduousjourney to the Next World.The woodencoffin is then placed inside a stonesarcophagus and the lid shut.The burialchamber is sealed, but the outerrooms or upper chambers are leftopen so that food offeringscan be left in the mortuarychapel.

84


Death and the Next WorldLife is but a dream to Egyptians, over in a moment, a merepreparation for life in the west—the kingdom of Osiris, god ofthe dead, where everyone reaches their full potential.

Right: Anubis weighs adead soul’s heart on thescales against Ma’at’sFeather of Truth; detailfrom an illustration inThe Book Of The Dead.

The funeral processionof a wealthy Egyptianmakes its way towardhis elaborate tomb, ledby professionalmourners. His slavescarry the heavy gravegoods, including thevarious pieces offurniture he will need inthe next life. At theentrance to the shrine,priests stand the coffinupright to perform theritual known as“opening the mouth.”

Reaching the kingdom of the westNo matter the wealth or social standing ofthe dead person, all must now face the samerigors to reach the Next World. First thedead person must persuade the ferrymanAken to take them across the river of death.Then they have to pass through the 12 gates,each guarded by demons and serpents, andpass by the lake of fire.To help themnegotiate these hazards, the deceased hasmagic amulets—a djed pillar, ankh, and heartscarab—and spells contained in the Book ofthe Dead.

The next hurdle is to convince the 42assessors that the dead person has notcommitted any of the 42 “deadly sins.” If heor she passes this test, they may enter thejudgment hall of Osiris. Before the god ofthe dead,Anubis weighs their heart againstthe weight of Ma’at’s feather to test whetherthey have told the assessors the truth.

A sinful heart is heavy, and the person’ssoul is given over to Ammit, devourer of thewicked.A virtuous heart is the same weightas the feather, and the dead person may jointheir ancestors in the kingdom of the west toenjoy eternal life.

85


An Egyptian’s spirit lifeA living Egyptian’s body is called khet or iru, meaning“appearance.”The body is known as khat.When the khat ismummified, it becomes a sah. Mummification changes the deadperson into a new body filled with magic.

Each individual has three souls, called the ka, the ba, and theakh.The ka is a person’s “life force,” which is given to a new beingby Heqet after Khnum has created them on his potter’s wheel (seepage 76). Ka is represented in hieroglyphs by a pair of arms pointingupward, as seen in the picture above of a husband and wife raisingtheir arms to Osiris.The ka survives a person’s death, so it requiresfood and drink, which is why Egyptians make food offerings tothe dead.

The ba is an individual’s personality, what makes them unique.The ba must leave the tomb to rejoin the person’s ka in order tobecome an akh.The akh is the dead person’s spirit, a ghost that canreach beyond the tomb to have both positive and negative effectson the living.When the ka and ba are reunited with the akh thedead person becomes enduring and unchanged for all eternity.

Tet or djed pillar, the oldest symbol of theresurrected god Osiris. It represents hisbackbone and his body, and brings luck to the dead person.

A heart scarab is laid on the breast of the mummy. It is a talisman to secureexemption from any sins the dead personmay have committed but forgotten.

The ankh is thehieroglyphic sign of lifeand one of the mostpotent symbols inEgyptian art.

The Eye ofHorus covers the incision made todrain the body (see page 87 ).

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The Egyptians believe that mummifying aperson’s body after death is essential to

ensure a safe passage to the Next World.Thisis done by embalming, a process that helps topreserve the body from natural decay.

Mummification is an expensive processbecause it takes a long time—about 70 daysin all. People make preparations to beembalmed after their death as well as theycan possibly afford. High-ranking officials,priests, and other nobles have elaborateburials. Kings, who become gods when theydie, have the most magnificent burials of all.

First steps toward immortalityWhen an Egyptian dies, embalmers collectthe body and carry it by boat or litter totheir wabet, the embalmers’ workshop, wherethey treat it with various processes thatpreserve it. First, priests recite prayers andmake a final attempt to revive the corpse.Next it is washed and ritually purified in aspecial shelter called an ibu.

In the next step, the internal organs areremoved through a cut in the left side of thebody.These are embalmed by packing themin a salt called natron, which dries out andpreserves the tissue.The organs areindividually wrapped using long strips oflinen and placed in canopic jars.The lids ofthese jars are fashioned after the four sons ofHorus (see page 77), who are each entrustedwith protecting a particular organ.

86


Embalming and MummificationOn the Nile’s west bank at Thebes, morticians working in the mortuary templescarry on the ancient tradition of Anubis, preparing the deceased for eternal life byembalming their bodies.

A tomb wall paintingshows Anubis in theprocess of mummifyinga body, while in thebackground Ma’at, thegoddess of truth,spreads her wingsprotectively over thedead soul, who willsoon be resurrected.

The head and shouldersof the mummy of thescribe Petamenophis,whose statue can beseen on page 54.

Embalming is both ahighly skilled processand a deeply religiousone, designed to ensurethe happy reunion ofthe deceased with hisanimating spirit in theafterlife.

Draining and dryingAfter removing the inner organs, the bodycavity is packed with natron.The brain isthen drawn from the skull through the noseusing long hooks. Since the brain isconsidered to be unimportant, it is usuallythrown away.

The body is placed on a special table andcompletely covered with natron.The table isslanted, which allows the fluids to drip awayas the body slowly dries out.After 40 moredays, all the natron is removed to reveal adried, shrunken corpse.After anothercleaning, the mummified body is rubbedwith precious oils to help preserve andbeautify the skin.The head and body cavityare then stuffed with linen packing.

Protecting the mummyIn the final stage, the cut made in the side ofthe torso is sewn up and covered with apatch depicting the protective Eye of Horus.The mummy is adorned with gold, jewels,and protective amulets. Protective gold capsare placed over the fingers and toes beforebeing individually wrapped with narrowstrips of linen.

The arms and legs are also wrapped, thenthe entire body is wrapped in strips of linento a depth of about 20 layers, with amuletsof a djed pillar, ankh, and heart scarabincorporated between the windings to offerthe mummy good luck.The embalmers use aresin to glue the wrapping layers.

A portrait mask of the dead person isplaced over the wrapped head by the chiefembalmer, who wears a jackal mask ofAnubis as he completes the ceremony.Themummy is now ready to be placed in acoffin and then its sarcophagus.

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CoffinsEarly coffins were simple, wooden rectangular affairs, sometimesdecorated with a band of hieroglyphs—magic spells to aid the deadperson’s passage into the Next World—but later ones are aselaborate as the family can afford.

Human-shaped coffins are popular, and nobles are often buriedwith one coffin nested inside another, each decorated with a maskof the deceased.Above are a rich lady’s coffins.

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The funerary complex at Giza is built onthe desert plateau above the old capital

city of Lower Egypt, Memphis.There arehundreds of smaller tombs, called mastabas,for the nobility and wealthier citizens, sittingin the shadows of the three pyramids of thepharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.

Each pyramid is surrounded by smallerones for their queens and sons, andconnected by long causeways to theirmortuary temples where the royal bodieswere embalmed.

A great wonderThe Great Pyramid, built for Khufu andtaking some 18,000 workers 20 years tocomplete, is one of the ancient SevenWonders of the World because of its size.It stands 481 feet tall, with each side of thebase measuring 754 feet, giving a square areaof 568,500 feet (13 acres) and the estimated2.3 million block weight of 6.5 million tons.†

However, the construction time and back-breaking labor were reduced by quarryingthe basalt and granite stone on the spot (tocreate the base site), and obtaining thelimestone casings from a nearby quarry.

The Pyramids of GizaThe tombs of the pharaohs are the most magnificent in all Egypt. Those in theValley of the Kings at Thebes are the most elaborate, but few can match theextravagant splendor of the Fourth Dynasty pyramids at Giza.

Khufu’s funerary cedarwood barquewas discovered by chance in 1954,hidden in a 102-foot deep pit on thesouth side of the Great Pyramid. It is141 feet long and was neatlydismantled into its component parts,ready for reassembly in the afterlife.

The pyramids of Giza, looking to the north fromthe tomb of Menkaure. Because of the perspective,the middle pyramid of Khefren appears higher thanthat of Khufu, which is actually the tallest.

† These are originalmeasurements.Damage to the outerlayer has reduced thedimensions to a heightof 449 feet and basesides of 745 feet.

Below: The stepPyramid of Djoser, builtabout 100 years beforeKhufu’s, was the firsttruly monumentalpyramidal royal tomb.

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load-bearing stonework

outer skin of the core,which is solid, made oflimestone blocks

exterior of white, highlypolished limestone blocks

second abandonedchamber (queen’schamber)

firstunfinishedchamber

secret roomhousing Khufu’sbarque

escapechute

descendingpassage to thefirst chamber

Cutaway showing theinterior structure andmain elements of theGreat Pyramid ofKhufu

ascendingaccesscorridor

entrance

granitecappingstone

“air shaft”

“air shaft,” thought toallow the king’s ba(personality) to reunite withhis ka (lifeforce) and allowhis akh (spirit) to communewith the stars

mastabas, tombs of thenobles, priests, andscribes

plateauof Giza

Nile

main burial chamberwith Khufu’ssarcophagus

“air shaft” grandgallery

EAST

NORTH

Site plan showing thethree great pyramidsand surroundingmastaba buildingsat Giza.

Leveling the siteThe pyramid’s first step sits on a platform ofleveled limestone blocks.Across its area, thisplatform is accurate to within half of aninch, an astonishing achievement.

It was done by erecting a wall around thesite to create a huge well, filled with water to

leave only the highest spots visible.Thesewere then cut down to the water level. Nextsome water was released and the revealedhigh spots again cut back.This process wasrepeated until the entire site, between thecore and the four walls, was leveled down tothe base of the pyramid’s platform.

A sacred geometryThe sides of the pyramid are almost exactlyaligned with the cardinal points of thecompass. It is not known what astronomicalmethod was used to achieve this orientation.

The pyramid’s distinctive shape—derivedfrom the earlier step-pyramids, such asDjoser’s at Saqqara (pictured opposite)—islinked to the worship of Re. It is designed tohelp the king’s lifeforce (ka) to climb up andaccompany him on his daily voyage acrossthe sky.As Re sails the sky on his sacredbarge, so Khufu intended to do—a secretchamber beside the pyramid houses a largebarque, built in kit form ready for the king’sservants to reassemble in the afterlife.

Below: Most of the polished limestone outer casingwas removed about 600 years ago for building newcities, creating the present worn, step-likeappearance.

Great Pyramidof Khufu

mortuarytemple

mortuarytemple

Mastabas ofthe Nobles

Pyramid ofKhefren

G I Z A P L AT E AU

sphinx

Pyramid ofMenkaure

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From the outside, the tombs areinconspicuous if compared to the

pyramids at Giza, but the insides are lavishlydecorated. For more than 800 years theskilled craftsmen of Deir al-Medina (see pages64–65) have worked for the kings, queens,and nobles to make these tombs anextraordinary monument to the Egyptians’belief in eternal life.

Some tombs are quite small, a simplechamber off a sloping shaft. Others, such asthe one shown here, are vast complexes.Thechambers and galleries are embellished with

floor-to-ceiling paintings depicting the greataccomplishments of the deceased, hisconversations with the gods, the funeraryrituals, and scenes of everyday life in theNext World.

This 3D section of the tomb complexKV5—sons of Ramesses II (marked inred on the map, top right)—gives an ideaof how hard the tomb builders had towork to cut the galleries and chambers ofthis massive tomb. Ramesses II hadmany sons (see page 33 ).

Only the excavatedgalleries are shownhere. Work continues in

the lower level(shown without

walls, left).

modernentrance tothe tomb

Tomb painting fromthe tomb of Horemheb,showing the pharaohwith Horus.

Valley of TombsThe New Kingdom pharaohs and theirfamilies are buried in tombs cut intocliffs, situated in two remote valleys—one for the kings and one for thequeens—on the west bank of the Nile,opposite Thebes.

steps down

ramps down tolower galleries

slope down

slope down

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Left: One of thegreatest monuments inthe royal valleys is not atomb, but the funerarytemple of QueenHatshepsut. It was builtin a unique style by herroyal architect Senmut.He was raised so highin status that he builthimself a tomb nearbyso lavish that it rivalsthose of the pharaohs.

Below: View lookingalong the Valley of theKings. From outside, theentrances to the tombsappear unspectacular.

Below right:Wall painting showing Queen Nefertiti.

Right: The map of theValley of the Kingsshows the huge extentof this royal cemetery.Tombs in white passover or under those inblack.

KV1RAMESSES VII

Dyn 20

KV2RAMESSES IV

Dyn 20

KV4RAMESSES XI

Dyn 20

KV3SON OF

RAMESSES IIIDyn 20

KV5SONS OF

RAMESSES IIDyn 19

modern road and access pathsto the tomb entrances

KV46YAYA & THUYU

parents-in-law ofAmenhotep III

Dyn 18

KV7RAMESSES II

Dyn 19

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KV55AKHENATEN?

Dyn 18

KV6RAMESSES IX

Dyn 20

KV57HOREMHEB

Dyn 18

KV62

KV44

KV45

KV27

KV60

?Dyn18

KV28

KV56

KV58

KV54

KV36

KV61

KV29

KV26KV40

KV30

KV31KV37

KV32

KV59

KV8MERENPTAH

Dyn 19

KV9RAMESSES V & VI

Dyn 20

KV35AMENHOTEP II

Dyn 18

KV42HATSHEPSUT

Dyn 18

Queen Hatshepsut was not buried here;it was later used by Senefer,a governor of Thebes.

KV48MENTUHERKHEPESHEF

son of Ramesses IXDyn 20

KV43TUTHMOSIS IV

Dyn 18KV20

TUTHMOSIS I & HATSHEPSUT

Dyn 18

KV34TUTHMOSIS IIIDyn 18

KV17SETI IDyn 19

KV11RAMESSES IIIDyn 20

KV19AMENMESSESDyn 19

KV16RAMESSES IDyn 19

KV18RAMESSES XDyn 20

KV47SIPTAHDyn 19

KV15SETI IIDyn 19

KV14Q. TWOSRET &SET-NAKHTEDyn 19 & 20

KV13

KV38

KV12Unknown Dyn 20

KV49UnknownDyn 18

KV21Unknown,Dyn 18

KV13 BAY, Dyn 19(Vizier to Siptah)

KV26 Unknown, Dyn 18KV29 UnknownKV30 Unknown, Dyn 18KV31 Unknown, Dyn 18KV32 TIA’A (mother of

Tuthmosis IV, wife ofAmenhotep II)

KV36 MAIHERPERI, Dyn 18(Royal Fan Bearer ofTuthmosis IV)

KV37 Unknown, Dyn 18KV38 TUTHMOSIS I, Dyn 18KV40 Unknown, Dyn 18KV45 USERHAT, Dyn 18KV54 TUTANKHAMUN CACHEKV56 Unknown, Dyn 18KV58 Unknown, Dyn 18KV59 Unknown, Dyn 18KV60 SIT-RA (Royal Nurse of

Hatshepsut)KV61 UnknownKV62 TUTANKHAMUN, Dyn 18

Valley of the Kings

Some of the great funerary temples—suchas that of warlike Ramesses III—are filled

with numerous carved and painted reliefs ofbrutal carnage.These are testimonies to thedead king’s power while he lived. But mostof the tombs in the Valley of the Kings aredecorated with wonderful paintings of life inthe Next World.

The kingdom of the dead was conceivedas being no different from the living world,

but without its troubles, so these imagesshow us the grace and enjoyment of goodliving. Men are shown herding cattle, pickinggrapes, walking among flower-filled fields,and enjoying banquets and the company oftheir families.

Some of the most beautiful art comesfrom the tombs of the craft workers of Deirel-Medina.Without the need for endlessrepetition of great deeds to fill up the walls

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Everyday Life in the Next WorldIn preparing their tombs for eternal life after death, the ancient Egyptians have leftus a remarkable legacy of art which even after as much as 5000 years brings theireveryday life into vivid focus.

with hieroglyphs, the lesser folk were able topaint large, colorful scenes of everyday life.Because of them we know more about livingin ancient Egypt than any other of the earlyMiddle Eastern cultures.

Egyptian art would inform and inspireearly Greek artists, and through them theRomans and the rest of later Europeanculture.The Greeks, of course, woulddevelop a highly realistic representation, butin spite of its two-dimensional depictions,ancient Egyptian art has rarely been betteredfor its simple, elegant expressiveness.

In their tomb paintings, ancient Egyptianstruly brought the dead to life to inhabit abeautiful world full of lush greenery,swarming with animals, fed by the waters ofthe eternal Nile. It was, in fact, theafterworld portrayed as everyday life.

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Below: Three geesepainted in about 2620.

Above: A worker’s tombchamber bursts with lifeat Deir el-Medina.

Above left: Domesticbliss in the 15th centuryBCE, from the tomb ofSenefer, a noble.

Facing page: Detail ofa hunting scene fromthe tomb of Menna.

akh A dead person’s spirit. See alsoba.

Apis bull A distinctively patternedbull associated with Ptah, patron godof craftsmen.The most sacred animalof Egypt, a bull with this appearanceis believed to have magical abilities.

apu Tax paid by an official,calculated on the money passingthrough his office, to a vizier.

ba Someone’s personality, whichthey hope will re-join with their akhand ka in the afterlife.

barque/bark A type of boat inwhich Egyptians bury pharaohs andthe prosperous.They believe thedeceased will use the barque in theafterlife, along with the other “gravegoods” buried with them.

beku The tax paid by an individualfarmer, tradesman, fisherman, orhunter to a local treasurer.

Canaan A region of western Asiaroughly corresponding to today’sIsrael and Palestine, ruled by Egyptin the 15th–13th centuries BCE.

cubit A unit of length based on themeasurement of a forearm.TheEgyptian royal cubit is equivalent toabout 20.6 inches and divided intoseven palms, each of four digits.

deben Also spelled “dbn,” meaningring, it was a standard weight, laterchanging to block form. Differentsizes and different materials give arange of deben. Smaller units calledshena are also used.

djed A pillar or column symbol,shaped like the backbone of the godOsiris.Also spelled “tet,” itsymbolizes stability.

Elephantine An island in the RiverNile, also known as Abu or Yabu, thename of its southern town. It isbelieved to be the home of Khnum,the god who creates people andanimals from the Nile’s clay.

Eye of Horus An elaborate symbolthat represents the sun and power,originally known as the Eye of Ra,after the sun god. In mathematics,parts of the symbol representdifferent sizes of fraction (page 57).

Feather of Truth In the afterlife,the god Anubis balances a person’sheart against this feather. Heartsheavy with sin are eaten by Ammitand the owner’s soul destroyed.

Hamites The race of peoples fromNorth Africa to which ancientEgyptians belong, as do Berbers andTuaregs.

hieroglyphs A pictorial form ofwriting, where symbols arecombined to modify or “spell out”meaning.There are two simpler,quicker forms of hieroglyphs:hieratic and demotic writing.

hinw “Jar,” at 0.1 gallons thesmallest unit of volume.The hekat(barrel) is about a gallon and khar(sack) about 16.5 gallons.

Hittites A conquering race fromAsia Minor who defeated Egypt toretain supremacy of Syria.

Hyksos A Semitic race that invadedEgypt in 1663 BCE, ruling as the15th and 16th dynasties, bringingnew developments to Egyptianculture. Kings from Upper Egyptdrove them out c.1555.

incubation The process where anill person spends a night in the

temple of a god associated withhealing, in the hope of being curedthrough medical instruction in adream.

inundation The annual flooding ofthe Nile between mid-July and lateSeptember, during the season ofakhet. It deposits fertile river siltonto the land, an event Egyptiansbelieve is the work of the god Hapi.

iswt On a large building project, astrictly organized unit of workmen,such as those employed at Pa-demi.They are organized as two groups,the “left gang” and the “right gang”.

ka A person’s life force. See also ba.

kenbet A town court, held underthe watch of Ma’at, goddess of orderand justice.There are no lawyers—the participants present their owndefense and prosecution—and a juryof governors at the Court ofListeners can review a case if theoriginal outcome is questioned.

khat The human body.While alivea person’s body is a khet.

Kingdoms When referring topharaohs, an era of ruling dynasties.The Old, Middle, and NewKingdoms are divided by“Intermediate Periods” when lesserfamilies rule.

kohl A makeup used on the eyes.Made from malachite (green ore ofcopper) it is known as udju, whilemesdemet is a dark gray lead ore.

labor tax Every year, eachhousehold must perform a fewweeks’ manual work for the good ofthe Egyptian state, a type of tax.

Medjay A tribe from Nubia hired as

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Glossary

mercenaries, c.1550 BCE theydeveloped into a type of police forceand employed Egyptians in theirranks.

medu netier “Holy words”—theEgyptian term for hieroglyphs.

natron A white, crystalline salt(hydrated sodium carbonite) minedfrom dry lake beds and used as anantiseptic, hair-remover, and asdrying agent for mummification.

nebet per The “lady of the house,”a wife who enjoys the privileges ofnear-equality with her malecounterpart.

nome One of about 40 districts orprovinces, which act as religious andeconomic centers and sometimesgrow in importance so that a rulingnomarch, or governor, mightthreaten the authority of the pharaoh.The nomes united into the states ofUpper Egypt and Lower Egypt,which themselves joined into asingle nation c.3100 BCE.

Nubia The region of Africa southof Egypt. It had a developed cultureat the same time as the ancientEgyptians’ and during its Kushkingdom period in the 8th–7thcenturies BCE briefly ruled Egypt.

paat The privileged ruling class,employed as the pharaoh’s officials.Although initially of royal blood,later, commoners can work theirway up to paat status.

Pa-demi “The town,” the namegiven to Deir el-Medina nearThebes by its workers. It wasestablished for the many workersrequired to build the lavish tombsand monuments of the Valley of theKings and Valley of the Queens.

papyrus As well as its most famoususe as a form of paper, the papyrus

reed that grows along the banks ofthe Nile is used to make boats, roofs,and even huts.

peret The season from Novemberto mid-March in which crops aregrown in the soil fertilized duringakhet, to be harvested during shemu.

Persia A Middle Eastern countrywhose Achaemenid dynasty invadedthen ruled Egypt from 525 BCE untilthe arrival of Alexander the Great’sGreeks in 332.

pharaoh The king of all Egypt,Menes being the first from c.3100when he united the Upper andLower states. Pharaohs are said tobecome a type of god when theytake office. From Memphis thepharaoh’s capital moved to Thebesc.1570 when the city’s kings foughtto expel the Hyksos.The Greekkings ruled from Alexandria,332–30.

phyle A group of men, such astemple priests or workmen.

Pre-Dynastic The period5000–3100 BCE before Egypt’s 31dynasties of pharaohs began, whenthe Badarian,Amratian, andGerzean cultures dominated thecountry.

Royal Heiress The chief wife of apharaoh, usually the eldest daughterof the previous king.

sah A mummified body.

scarab A type of beetle held to besacred. Scarab symbols are used asornaments, commemorative items,grave goods, and general good luckcharms.

scribe A vital and much soughtrole in government, scribes aretrained to write hieroglyphs neatlyand accurately and use this skill to

keep records, write letters, monitortaxes, draw architects’ plans,regulate army and building supplies,and more. Scribes do not pay labortax.

Semites Groups of peoples whoshare a similar language and live in aregion stretching from LowerMesopotamia to eastern Egypt.

shaduf A counterweighted poleused to lift buckets of water withwhich to irrigate farmland.

shemu The harvest period, fromMarch to the end of April. It isfollowed by a hot season that leadsto the next inundation.

sistrum A U-shaped metal framewith loops of metal, a sacredinstrument used by priestesses.

tjaty See vizier.

uraeus The figure of the sacredasp or cobra with its head in theupright position as though aboutto strike. It is worn on theheaddress of pharaohs as a sign ofkingship.

ushabti Also known as a shawabti, afigurine set in a tomb to representthe deceased and perform their labortax in the afterlife.

vizier Derived from the wordwazir, meaning “bearer of burdens”,vizier is the word more commonlyused today for the office of tjaty.Thevizier performs duties on behalf ofthe pharaoh and sees thatinstructions are carried out in theking’s name.

wab A priest, junior to a sem orhigh priest, who performs cultrituals and gives dedication at funeralceremonies. Priests washed andshaved off all their bodyhair eachday to remain pure.

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GLOSSARY

Africa 8, 67afterlife 84–85, 92–93agriculture 8, 17–23, 34, 36Aken 85Alexandria 11Amratian culture 10amulets 85Apis bull 77architects 58–59army 49, 70–73art 74, 84, 90, 92–93Asia Minor 33Assyrians 11Aswan 15Avaris 11

Babylon 33Badarian culture 10barques 31, 79, 88–89bartering 67bathing 41board games see gamesboats 31, 52, 67, 73brewing 26burials see funeral ceremoniesbuilding 8, 16, 28, 58–59, 64–65buildings see homes, pyramids,

temples, tombs

calendar 57Canaan 11, 33, 73careers 34–36, 43, 47, 54, 58–61carpentry 60cataracts (waterfalls) 8, 14children 46–47class system 35, 43, 54clothes 50, 61coffins 87cosmetics 51crafts 43, 60–61crime and punishment 39crowns 33customs duty 37

dairy produce 25death 84; see also afterlife, enbalming,

funeral ceremoniesDeir el-Medina 64–65, 90, 92deserts 8dikes 17divorce 43, 45dreams 79drink 26–27

education 47–49Elephantine 8, 14, 23embalming 84, 86–87engineers 58entertainment 43, 53, 79Ethiopia 15

families 42–46farming see agriculturefestivals 53fishing 16, 52

flooding see inundationfood 20–21, 23–25funeral ceremonies 21, 84, 86

games 52–53Gerzean culture 10Giza 88–89glass 60gods 74–77

Ament 76Ammit 75, 85Amun 8, 75, 81Amun-Re 75, 81–82Anqet 14Anubis 75, 85, 87Anukis 76 Babi 76Bast 76Bes 76Duamutef 77Geb 74Hapi 14–15, 76Hapy 77Hathor 32, 74, 82Heqet 76Horus 32, 57, 74–75Ihy 74Imhotep 69Imsety 77Isis 69, 74–75Kebehsenef 77Khnemu 14Khnum 14, 76, 85Khonsu 75, 81–82Ma’at 38, 76, 85Mihos 76Min 76Montu 81Mut 75, 81–82Nefertem 75Nepthys 74Nut 74Opet 81Osiris 25, 57, 74–75, 81, 84–85Ptah 75, 77, 81Re 31–32, 74, 82, 89Renenutet 21, 77Satis 77Sekhmet 69, 75Serapis 82Set 25, 75Shu 74Sobek 77Sopdet 14, 16, 23Taweret 77, 81Thoth 69, 77

government 22–23, 34–35, 54Great Pyramid 88–89Greeks 93

hair 51Hamitic race 8harvesting 20–21Heliopolis 14Hesire 69

hieroglyphs 56–57Hittites 11homes 23, 40–41horses 11hunting 16–17, 52Hurrians 11Hyksos people 11

inundation 8, 14–17, 81irrigation 15, 18–19Israel 11

jewelry 8, 50

Kadesh, battle of 11Karnak 48, 80–81kings:Alexander the Great 11,

Burnaburiash 33, Kadashman Enlil32,Tushratta 33; for Egyptian kingssee pharaohs

labor tax 22, 36–37, 62Late Period 57law 22–23, 38–39, 43leather 61Lebanon 67life expectancy 47Lisht 34livestock 18, 22Lower Egypt 10, 25, 29, 34, 37Luxor 81–83; see also Thebes

marriage 42, 44–45medicine 68–69Memphis 14, 34, 54Mesopotamia 33metals/metalworking 8, 10–11, 50,

62–63mining 62Mitanni people 33mummification 86–87

navy 73New Kingdom 11, 70, 90Next World 84–85Nile river 8, 14–18, 22, 25, 28, 52,

67, 81–82Nileometer 14–15Nubia 8, 39, 73

Old Kingdom 57oracles 79

paper 61Persians 11pharaohs 10–11, 32–33, 67, 71

Akhenaten 33Amenhotep III 33, 81–82Djoser 89Khafre 88Khufu 88–89Menes 10Menkaure 88Ptolemy 11Ramesses II 33, 81–82

Seti 49Tuthmosis 81

Phoenicia 11, 67police 39pork 22, 25pottery 10, 61priests 23, 72, 79, 84Punt 67pyramids 88–89

quarries 62Queen Hatshepsut 67, 91

Red Sea 67religion 74–75; see also gods, priests,

sacred animals, templesRomans 11, 93Royal Heiress 32

sacred animals 77Saqqara 89school see educationscribes 48–49, 54–55, 58seasons 14, 16–23Semites 11Senet 53ships see boatssins 75–76, 85soldiers see armySomalia 67soul/spirit 85sport 52Sudan 67Suez 67surveyors 58

taxes 20–21, 34–37, 54temples 23, 32, 67, 69, 78–83, 88Thebes 11, 34, 54, 67, 81–82tombs 23, 64–65, 84–85, 88–93toys 52trade 66–67transport/travel 8, 11, 30–31, 72–73tributes 37

Underworld 31, 82Upper Egypt 10, 25, 29, 34, 37

Valley of the Kings 82, 88, 90–91Valley of the Queens 67, 90viziers 34

weather 8, 15, 29weaving 61weights and measures 67wells 41, 64wine 26–27writing 56–57; see also scribes

96

Index

living in ancient egypt (living in the ancient world)

Documents