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ANCIENT EGYPT
General Remarks
There is a fascination about Ancient Egypt that most of us have
experienced. The pyramids and Cleopatra are dramatic parts of their past.
Did you know that nearly 3000 years separate them? While Egyptian
civilization is not necessarily the oldest in the ancient world, it is the longest
lasting civilization in the world.1 Basically, this ancient civilization existed
unchanged for thousands of years. Historians usually begin relating the
history of Ancient Egypt ca. 4000 B.C.E., and end it with the last pharaoh’s
death, Cleopatra VII in 30 B.C.E. Although there were thirty-one dynasties
people generally lived under the same political, economic, social and
religious structures thereby enjoying stability and serenity that only
infrequently was interrupted. Even the same styles of art were followed
except under the monotheistic beliefs of the Pharaoh Akhenaton and his
chief wife Nefertiti.
For the ancient Egyptians sameness represented peace
and civilization. Historians have traditionally focused on civilizations that
have thrived on change and war. Egypt provides a fascinating comparison
as the longest peaceful civilization in world history.
Advantageous Geography of Ancient Egypt
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Many scholars argue that Ancient Egypt is older than Ancient Sumer. Most Egyptians today live in the Delta
region of the Nile, and that is where they lived in ancient times. Excavations have not been done there as in the
rest of ancient Egypt along the nearly 750 miles of settlement along the Nile. Imagine what occurred ca 7000
b.c.e.?
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Aided by geography and Mother Nature, and surrounded by deserts
and the Red and Mediterranean Seas, this left the ancient Egyptians
comparatively free from threats of foreign invasion. Their climate then and
now was dry and invigorating. Even the hottest days produced none of the
oppressive discomfort as Egypt has low humidity and cool nights.
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winds that blew three-fourths of the year from the north meant a general
absence of malaria that plagued other regions. As the current of the Nile
flowed northward, and winds southward, transportation thrived. Ancient
Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt with their capitols of Memphis
(near modern Cairo) and Thebes (now Luxor.)
Hieroglyphics and Papyrus
When scholars set about reconstructing the past of ancient Egypt,
there was a problem as they did not know how to decode the hieroglyphics.
In 1799 the Rosetta Stone was found, and French and English scholars
proceeded to decipher how to read the hieroglyphics from the three separate
writings on it in archaic Greek, Coptic and the hieroglyphics themselves.2
Hieroglyphics are based on three types of characters: pictographic, syllabic,
and alphabetic. Had the Egyptians separated the alphabetic symbols from
the other two forms, they would have developed the writing systems that
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Coptic still survives as the liturgical language of the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt. Cleopatra VII was the last
pharaoh to read hieroglyphics.
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are credited to the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans.3 Ancient
Egyptians wrote on papyrus, the reed that grew wild along the Nile. They
cut it in strips, flattened them, put them in water with weights (laying them
first rectangular, then perpendicular. Papyrus has natural glue that held the
strips together, and thus the origin of the word paper. Papyrus had multiply
uses as boats, baskets, and sandals were made from it, and even in a pinch
papyrus could be eaten. The dry climate has left many papyrus rolls to
reconstruct their ancient past. Most Egyptians never went to school, but
there were schools for scribes, which was an honorable profession as in
Mesopotamia. Scribes did important work for the state, keeping tax records
and recording judicial proceedings and decrees. Due to the long years of
study, social mobility was possible for scribes, including persons of common
birth.
The Nile River – “Gift of the Nile”
Life in Ancient Egypt was really ruled by the Nile not by dates.
Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, surely had reason to designate
Egypt as “The Gift of the Nile.” Flooding regularly each year during the
summer months, the Nile left rich silt making Egypt as fertile as
Mesopotamia. Water generally always receded in time for the growing
season. As a consequence, the deities associated with the Nile River were
benign and predictable, not what was experienced in Ancient Mesopotamia
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The Phoenicians borrowed the ideas of the ancient Egyptians
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with the unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. As the
longest river in the world (4000 miles), the Nile starts in the mountains of
Central Africa, and carved a vast canyon bounded on either side by towering
cliffs. The valley along the Nile was anywhere from ten to thirty-one miles
wide. Between the river and the cliffs lay rich alluvial soil that in certain
places was more than thirty feet deep, making the soil so productive that as
many as three crops could be raised yearly. Ancient Egyptians diked and
dammed the river to release a continual flow of water into the fields with
irrigation ditches. Flooding of the Nile occurred until the Aswan Dam was
completed in 1971.
Political History
The political history of Ancient Egypt is generally divided into six
periods, with the earliest called the archaic or pre-dynastic period (ca. 3100ca.2770 B.C.E.4 This is when the development and inception of a single
monarch, the pharaoh, occurred, and Egypt became the world’s first united
nation with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the ruler, Namer.
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Before that, separate powers had ruled in Upper and Lower Egypt, but
unity was essential for Ancient Egypt’s future as a single government was
necessary to regulate the irrigation projects peacefully along the Nile. Even
the white and red crowns were united making one crown. Ancient Egyptian
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The Textbook usually covers more of the political history
Some sources refer to him as Menes.
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history is divided into three main eras: the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom,
and the New Kingdom, separated by two intermediate periods when the
country’s fortunes were temporarily at a low ebb. Over the last one hundred
years, dates have been altered by Egyptologists, but not the numbering
system of the dynasties. The Old Kingdom ca. 2705 -2200 B.C.E. lasted
about 550 years, and this was when the most famous structures were built:
the three pyramids at Giza, and the Sphinx6. This is considered the classical
or golden era in Egyptian history that compares with other civilizations’
golden ages. At this time the authority and prestige of the pharaoh was at
its apex. During the first immediate period that lasted until ca. 2050 B.C.E.
the power of the pharaoh was eclipsed by his advisors, but now not only the
pharaohs, but all Egyptians could have eternal life. During the Middle
Kingdom, ca. 2050 – 1640 B.C.E., expansion in both political and economic
realms transpired, and the capitol was now moved from Memphis to
Thebes.7 The nobles remained powerful while also giving loyalty to the
pharaohs, who now were showing a new sense of social responsibility. Circa
1786-1560 B.C.E. the second intermediate period occurred when Egypt was
conquered by the Hyksos or foreigners, but life continued as usual. Egypt
only paid tribute to these conquerors, but in the process, the Egyptians
learned methods of warfare that apparently they had not be exposed to
previously.
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In the New Kingdom ca. 1560-1087 B.C.E. the pharaohs went
Scholars and textbooks do not agree on the exact dates for the various kingdoms and intermediate periods.
Modern day Luxor
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about acquiring an empire in the Near East. More territory was annexed than
could be managed successfully and eventually most of the conquered areas
were lost. When the New Kingdom came to a close Egypt’s days as a great
nation were over, although pharaohs interspersed with foreign conquerors
continued to occupy the royal throne, including Egyptians or Nubians,
Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Perhaps the most famous foreign
rulers were the Ptolemies, who succeeded as Hellenistic rulers when
Alexander the Great died in the fourth century B.C.E. Cleopatra VII who
identified herself with the Goddess Isis was the last Ptolemaic ruler. She will
be covered under the Roman Empire chapter.
Structure of Society
Most societies of ancient history can be graphed like a pyramid
structure, and probably no society better fits this analogy than ancient
Egypt, home of the pyramids. At the apex of society was the pharaoh.
Below the pharaoh were the other classes. Priests, priestesses, and nobles
constituted 2-3%. The middling class held 5-8% of the people who were
scribes, merchants, artisans, and wealthy farmers. Peasants represented
75-80% of the Ancient Egyptians, and at the bottom were the servants (58% of the population.) During the Middle Kingdom a sixth class was added:
professional soldiers, who were about 10% of the people, thus lowering the
percentage of peasants to 65-70%. Thousands of slaves were also captured
in this period, and for a time formed a seventh class. Yet humble people
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could rise to the highest positions if they possessed talent. An example of
this is the biblical story of Joseph who was sold into Egyptian slavery by his
brothers, and then eventually rose to second only to the Pharaoh.
Standards of living separated the upper and lower classes of Egypt perhaps
even wider than recently in America. Wealthy nobles lived in splendid villas
that opened onto gardens with shade trees. Their food had all the richness
and variety like today. They ate from vessels of alabaster, gold, and silver,
and adorned themselves with expensive clothing and costly jewelry. These
wealthy individuals would definitely have had servants and maybe foreign
slaves. It has been determined that ancient Egyptians had vineyards
producing a variety of wines that were stored and labeled almost the same
as today. By contrast the life of the poor laborers in towns inhabited
congested quarters in mud—brick houses. All was not lost, though, as it is
thought that there were seventeen kinds of beer, including expensive
imports, although the workers probably did not have access to these
imports. It is known that the workers on the pyramids and other temples
were paid in beer at times, and new excavations have shown their living
accommodations were nice.
Power of the Pharaoh
Power of the pharaohs was unlimited, and they ruled Egypt as a
theocracy. The pharaohs were responsible for the crop yields, commerce,
trade, law-giver, and ownership of the land. People paid rent to him for
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their land. Governing through two viziers, one at Memphis and one at
Thebes, along with a well-organized hierarchy of bureaucrats allowed the
pharaohs to maintain a stable government most of the time. Problems then
as now were evident with bureaucratic red tape when a letter was found at
Saqqara from 2200 b.c.e. regarding quarry workers. The supervisor of these
workers balked at orders mandating him to take his men across the river to
government headquarters to receive their clothing. He wrote that it was an
unwarranted interruption of his duties, by pointing out that this procedure
had wasted up to six days. He added that “This whole business could be
settled in a single day if the clothes were sent to them by barge.”
Family and Marriage Customs
Egyptologists do not know as much about their family and marriage
customs, but it is assumed that polygamy was permitted although the basic
family unit was a monogamous marriage. Even pharaohs who had harems
of secondary wives and concubines, still had a chief wife, who was head of
the household. Evidence of brother-sister marriages is available, but only
with the royal dynasties to keep the line pure for political reasons. In fact, a
young pharaoh-to-be often married his sister to enhance his right to the
throne. This was more common during the Ptolemy and Roman periods.
However, for most of Ancient Egyptian history descent was matrilineal.
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Some of the most fascinating information we have found concerns the
contraceptive measures they used. It is obvious that they wanted to limit
the number of children, but children were usually welcomed once they were
born. There is some evidence that children were abandoned to the waters of
the Nile by poor who could not feed them, illegitimate children, and slaves
who could not keep their children, and did not have the heart to kill them.
The only evidence we have of the practice of infanticide is in the Bible,
where Moses was cast into the Nile River in a reed basket. In the medical
papyrus rolls, there is an intriguing contraception composed of crocodile
dung that was cut up into sour milk. Undoubtedly, the acidic component of
this mixture worked as a spermicide.
Sponges soaked in vinegar were
common contraceptive devices until quite recently in the Western World.
Another method that supposedly prevented conception for up to one to three
years was a concoction of ground acacia tips or spikes, apples, dates, and
honey.
When a child was born, the mother was unclean for usually fourteen
days, a custom practiced by most other cultures too. Soon after the birth, a
professional astrologer would cast a horoscope for the child to determine
what career and type of life the child would have. There are paintings on
the ceilings of some of the tombs, showing these early signs of the zodiac.
During Cleopatra’s reign, it appears that Julius Caesar took this idea along
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with the Egyptian solar calendar to Rome, where it was incorporated into
Roman society.
Status and Role of Women
It is apparent by looking at the statues, paintings, and writings, that
ancient Egyptian society treated women with equality and respect. Women
had more privileges than any other ancient civilization, except maybe the
Celts. Wives were not secluded when dining and entertaining as they were
in Greece. Drinking wine was not restricted or forbidden to women either.
In fact, there is evidence that excess drinking was not uncommon to both
sexes in Ancient Egypt. There is even an ancient image of a woman
throwing up after indulging too much. Women could own and inherit
property, engage in business and trade, and almost alone among the ancient
peoples, Egyptians permitted women to succeed to the Throne. While
Queen or Pharaoh Hatshepsut was not the first female ruler, she surely was
the most important one based on her accomplishments, as one of the most
outstanding rulers in the eighteen dynasty. More will be written about her
when discussing the important pharaohs.
Personal Care and Leisure Activities
Ancient Egyptians’ personal care is another amazing story. Both
genders wore bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and make-up. Women
especially wore heavy eye makeup that has now been determined to have
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vitamin A for their eyes that was retrieved from bat droppings. Both men
and women went to barbers who shaved their heads and bodies with bronze
razors. Fine wigs were donned when they went out. False beards on the
pharaohs were striking stylistic determinants.
Leisure activities for the
upper classes were hunting, playing games (including Senet, the forerunner
of Backgammon, and available in stores today.), enjoying athletic contests,
singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments.
Medical Practices
Some of the ancient Egyptians most remarkable work was in the field
of medicine. Doctors were world famous, and even the Greek physician,
Hippocrates, acknowledged that. Medical care underwent some important
changes that other societies would have to wait for hundreds of years to
accomplish. The earliest doctors were magicians for it was the belief that
disease and sickness were caused by evil forces entering the body. This
disease or evil force could be driven out or killed by threats, curses, spells,
and sympathetic magic. Some of the earliest medical treatments were made
up of concoctions so revolting that it was thought the evil spirits could not
endure. These dreadful ingredients were animal and human dung, urine;
bat, pelican and fly droppings, and fish. Inevitably some of these
“medicines” contained efficacious ingredients, and doctors eventually saw
disease coming from natural not supernatural causes, although magic was
not entirely eliminated. It became the physicians’ duty to provide accurate
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diagnoses and reliable treatments. Some of their diagnostic methods were
taking the patient’s pulse and listening to their heartbeat. They even were
able to diagnose hypochondria as an ailment. Four categories of specialists
developed: eye doctor, tooth doctor, belly doctor, and “shepherd of the
hindquarters”, a most necessary branch of medicine in a society where
intestinal troubles endemic due to the parasites in the Nile River. Surgeries
were done including circumcision. According to Clement of Alexandria (200
C.E.), Egyptians had forty-two books containing sum total of human
knowledge. Among these were six papyrus rolls on Medicine. One of the six
dealt with women, and there was a midwifery school. It is calculated that
Ancient Egyptian physicians knew and made use of at least a third of the
medicinal plants found in modern pharmacopoeia. The historical image for
prescriptions at Pharmacies today is the eye of Horus = R/, who lost it in an
epic struggle with his uncle Seth.
Science and Mathematical Advancements
Medical knowledge was not the only scientific advances ancient Egypt
accomplished. Astronomy was highly advanced, and they came up with the
solar calendar. They also devised arithmetical operations of addition,
subtraction, and division. They invented the decimal system, but ironically
had no symbol for zero. Mathematical measurements of triangles,
rectangles, and hexagons were developed as well as ratio of the
circumference of the circle to its diameter, which they calculated at 3.16,
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coming close to modern pi. More interesting dimensions will be covered
when discussing the building of the pyramids.