Facts About the Life of Ancient Egyptians That Should Actually Be Taught in History Lessons
If you imagine ancient Egyptians as people that are completely different than us, then you are partially wrong. They used to follow fashion, use perfume, have pet animals, have big parties, drink beer, and dance just like us, only a little different.
Bright Side found 10 facts for you from the life of ancient Egyptians that you probably never heard in your history lessons. At the end of the article, there is a bonus showing that the way we imagine common things can differ from reality.
10. Family members used to have breakfast separately.
It wasn’t common to have a meal together in the morning, especially in noble families. The head of the family had breakfast alone — servants brought him food after he finished his morning bath. Women, in their turn, had breakfast while making themselves up in the morning or right after it. Family members gathered at one table either in the afternoon or in the evening. By the way, beer used to play an important role in the meals of ancient Egyptians. We will tell you more about it soon.
9. A wooden mummy was displayed to guests during feasts.
The picture painted by Edwin Longsden Long called ’An Egyptian Feast’, a part of which you can see above, depicts a strange scene where servants drag a mummy in front of the guests of a big feast. The mummy looks real. So what’s happening there?
According to Herodotus, a wooden figure, symbolizing a dead person, was shown to guests to remind them about the transience of life. It was done with the following words: “Look at him, drink, and enjoy your life because you’ll be the same after your death!”
8. A special attitude toward shoes
Egyptians mostly walked barefoot, even Pharaohs used to do it; they had a special servant whose duty was carrying sandals for the ruler. Sometimes the soles of noble people’s sandals were decorated with the faces or names of their enemies so they could trample them.
Also, sandals were considered footwear that a person would need in their afterlife, that’s why there were always places for them in tombs near the bodies of the deceased. Pharaohs’ sandals were often made of gold; however, in real life, it would have difficult to make even a couple of steps in these golden sandals.
7. Love for pets
Ancient Egyptians were one of the first who started to keep animals as pets. We all know how much they loved cats, but dogs, ibises, falcons, and monkeys were also among their favorites (look at the left picture where a man is giving water to a dog right from his mouth — he probably didn’t have a bowl handy). According to some pieces of evidence, monkeys and dogs used to help soldiers patrol their territory.
Pets were as important to ancient Egyptians as they are for us today. The owners wanted to see their pets in the afterlife which is why, after their death, pets were embalmed and turned into mummies to be later placed in the tomb of their owner.
6. Egyptian women didn’t hesitate to wear open-breasted dresses.
The garment worn by Egyptian women was called kalasiris — a tight dress with one or 2 straps. The dress started under the breasts, thus, leaving them exposed. Not only was it worn by servants, women of simple classes, priestesses (like the ones in the picture to the right), but also by noble women. Also, goddesses like Nefertari, whose picture you can see on the left, were depicted in kalasiris. This wasn’t considered shameful, and there were other, more modest versions of clothing too.
5. Dancers didn’t burden themselves with clothing.
Female dancers in ancient Egypt appeared in front of spectators in transparent clothes or without clothes at all; they might have been wearing just a skirt or a belt. Male dancers would additionally wear an apron. It seems that the choreography in ancient Egyptian dances was much more important than clothes. However, dancers of both genders compensated for their lack of costumes with their hairdos, a lot of jewelry, and the smell of incense.
4. Scented head cones
Egyptians paid a lot of attention to aromas and one of the ways to surround themselves with a nice smell was by wearing incense cones on their heads. The cones were made of either wax or tallow mixed with myrrh, cinnamon oil, and other aromatic substances. These cones were worn right on their heads tied to their wigs with ribbons. In the hot Egyptian climate, wax or tallow started to melt, which would spread the aroma around a person. Additionally, essential oils repelled blood-sucking insects.
3. A special hairstyle for kids
Ancient Egyptians, especially those of noble classes, were known for shaving their hair and replacing it with wigs. As for children, both boys’ and girls’ heads were partially shaven leaving a strap of hair on one side. This strap was called ’the sidelock of youth’ and it was shaved off once they reached adulthood.
You can see this sidelock on a fresco from the tomb of an official named Nebamun who used to count the harvest gathered from fields. The fresco depicts Nebamun himself, his wife (the one you have already seen with a cone on her head) and one of their 3 daughters with ’the sidelock of youth.’ Some believe that this hairdo prevented the appearance of lice, but it is also possible that its purpose was mostly sacral.
2. Beer was so important that it was used to pay salaries.
Egyptians believed that it was Osiris, a god of the afterlife, who taught them how to brew beer. However, brewing is not the right word here because they used to make beer using a cold method. Ancient beer would probably surprise modern people because it was as dense as milk, sour, and a little bitter and it perfectly quenched their thirst. As you can see in the picture, Egyptians had to use a straw in order to not swallow chaff, the pieces of corn that were used to make the beer.
Beer was served together with bread and was paid to soldiers, officials, and pyramids builders. Even pharaohs undertook a written commitment when getting married that they would provide 10 pieces of bread and 2 jars of beer to their spouses every day.
1. Funeral portraits
After Egypt had become one of the provinces of the Roman Empire, many ancient traditions were changed. For example, funeral masks were replaced with Fayum mummy portraits — the ones that you can see in the pictures above. Thanks to the dry climate, the funerary portraits were well preserved. They allow us to see how people of that era, like Egyptians that adopted Roman customs and Hellenes, the descendants of the Ptolemies, looked in details.
Basically, the portraits showed young people since they were painted long before their death. Decorations were painted with extreme accuracy because it was believed that a deceased person would need them in the afterlife. There are about 900 portraits that have survived up to the current time, and even today they amaze us with the brightness of their colors.
Bonus: This is how the Giza pyramids look from Cairo.
Turns out, the Pyramids today look a little different from what we are used to imagining.
Which of these facts amazed you most of all? Please tell us about it in the comments!
Preview photo credit Hossam Abbas Photography/Facebook