Revisiting an old favourite
Ancient
Egypt stood as one of the world’s most advanced civilizations for
nearly 3,000 years and created a culture so rich that it has spawned its
own field of study. But while Egyptian art, architecture and burial
methods have become enduring objects of fascination, there is still a
lot you probably don’t know about these famed builders of the pyramids.
From the earliest recorded peace treaty to ancient board games, find out
11 surprising facts about the Gift of the Nile.
1. Cleopatra was not Egyptian.
Universal History Archive/Getty Images
Along
with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with
ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria,
Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians
originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most
trusted lieutenants. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 to 30
B.C., and most of its leaders remained largely Greek in their culture
and sensibilities. In fact, Cleopatra was famous for being one of the
first members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to actually speak the Egyptian
language.
2. The ancient Egyptians forged one of the earliest peace treaties on record.
Giovanni Dall'Orto/Wikimedia Commons
For
over two centuries the Egyptians fought against the Hittite Empire for
control of lands in modern day Syria. The conflict gave rise to bloody
engagements like 1274 B.C.’s Battle of Kadesh, but by time of the
pharaoh Ramses II neither side had emerged as a clear victor. With both
the Egyptians and Hittites facing threats from other peoples, in 1259
B.C. Ramses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III negotiated a famous
peace treaty. This agreement ended the conflict and decreed that the two
kingdoms would aid each other in the event of an invasion by a third
party. The Egyptian-Hittite treaty is now recognized as one of the
earliest surviving peace accords, and a copy can even be seen above the
entrance to the United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York.
3. Ancient Egyptians loved board games.
Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis
After
a long day’s work along the Nile River, Egyptians often relaxed by
playing board games. Several different games were played, including
“Mehen” and “Dogs and Jackals,” but perhaps the most popular was a game
of chance known as “Senet.” This pastime dates back as far as 3500 B.C.
and was played on a long board painted with 30 squares. Each player had a
set of pieces that were moved along the board according to rolls of
dice or the throwing sticks. Historians still debate Senet’s exact
rules, but there is little doubt of the game’s popularity. Paintings
depict Queen Nefertari playing Senet, and pharaohs like Tutankhamen even
had game boards buried with them in their tombs.
4. Egyptian women had a wide range of rights and freedoms.
DEA/A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images
While
they may have been publicly and socially viewed as inferior to men,
Egyptian women enjoyed a great deal of legal and financial independence.
They could buy and sell property, serve on juries, make wills and even
enter into legal contracts. Egyptian women did not typically work
outside the home, but those who did usually received equal pay for doing
the same jobs as men. Unlike the women of ancient Greece, who were
effectively owned by their husbands, Egyptian women also had the right
to divorce and remarry. Egyptian couples were even known to negotiate an
ancient prenuptial agreement. These contracts listed all the property
and wealth the woman had brought into the marriage and guaranteed that
she would be compensated for it in the event of a divorce.
5. Egyptian workers were known to organize labor strikes.
Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Even
though they regarded the pharaoh as a kind of living god, Egyptian
workers were not afraid to protest for better working conditions. The
most famous example came in the 12th century B.C. during the reign of
the New Kingdom pharaoh Ramses III. When laborers engaged in building
the royal necropolis at Deir el-Medina did not receive their usual
payment of grain, they organized one of the first recorded strikes in
history. The protest took the form of a sit-in: The workers simply
entered nearby mortuary temples and refused to leave until their
grievances were heard. The gamble worked, and the laborers were
eventually given their overdue rations.
6. Egyptian pharaohs were often overweight.
rob koopman/Wikimedia Commons
Egyptian
art commonly depicts pharaohs as being trim and statuesque, but this
was most likely not the case. The Egyptian diet of beer, wine, bread and
honey was high in sugar, and studies show that it may have done a
number on royal waistlines. Examinations of mummies have indicated that
many Egyptian rulers were unhealthy and overweight, and even suffered
from diabetes. A notable example is the legendary Queen Hatshepsut, who
lived in the 15th century B.C. While her sarcophagus depicts her as
slender and athletic, historians believe she was actually obese and
balding.
7. The pyramids were not built by slaves.
Peter M. Wilson/Corbis
The
life of a pyramid builder certainly wasn’t easy—skeletons of workers
commonly show signs of arthritis and other ailments—but evidence
suggests that the massive tombs were built not by slaves but by paid
laborers. These ancient construction workers were a mix of skilled
artisans and temporary hands, and some appear to have taken great pride
in their craft. Graffiti found near the monuments suggests they often
assigned humorous names to their crews like the “Drunkards of Menkaure”
or the “Friends of Khufu.” The idea that slaves built the pyramids at
the crack of a whip was first conjured by the Greek historian Herodotus
in the fifth century B.C., but most historians now dismiss it as myth.
While the ancient Egyptians were certainly not averse to keeping slaves,
they appear to have mostly used them as field hands and domestic
servants.
8. King Tut may have been killed by a hippopotamus.
Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis
Surprisingly
little is known about the life of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen, but some
historians believe they know how he died. Scans of the young king’s
body show that he was embalmed without his heart or his chest wall. This
drastic departure from traditional Egyptian burial practice suggests
that he may have suffered a horrific injury prior to his death.
According to a handful of Egyptologists, one of the most likely causes
for this wound would have been a bite from a hippopotamus. Evidence
indicates that the Egyptians hunted the beasts for sport, and statues
found in King Tut’s tomb even depict him in the act of throwing a
harpoon. If the boy pharaoh was indeed fond of stalking dangerous game,
then his death might have been the result of a hunt gone wrong.
9. Some Egyptian doctors had specialized fields of study.
Blaine Harrington III/Corbis
An
ancient physician was usually a jack-of-all-trades, but evidence shows
that Egyptian doctors sometimes focused on healing only one part of the
human body. This early form of medical specialization was first noted in
450 B.C. by the traveler and historian Herodotus. Discussing Egyptian
medicine, he wrote, “Each physician is a healer of one disease and no
more…some of the eye, some of the teeth, some of what pertains to the
belly.” These specialists even had specific names. Dentists were known
as “doctors of the tooth,” while the term for proctologists literally
translates to “shepherd of the anus.”
10. Egyptians kept many animals as pets.
The Art Archive/Corbis
The
Egyptians saw animals as incarnations of the gods and were one of the
first civilizations to keep household pets. Egyptians were particularly
fond of cats, which were associated with the goddess Bastet, but they
also had a reverence for hawks, ibises, dogs, lions and baboons. Many of
these animals held a special place in the Egyptian home, and they were
often mummified and buried with their owners after they died. Other
creatures were specially trained to work as helper animals. Egyptian
police officers, for example, were known to use dogs and even trained
monkeys to assist them when out on patrol.
11. Egyptians of both sexes wore makeup.
The Art Archive/Corbis
Vanity
is as old as civilization, and the ancient Egyptians were no exception.
Both men and women were known to wear copious amounts of makeup, which
they believed gave them the protection of the gods Horus and Ra. These
cosmetics were made by grinding ores like malachite and galena into a
substance called kohl. It was then liberally applied around the eyes
with utensils made out of wood, bone and ivory. Women would also stain
their cheeks with red paint and use henna to color their hands and
fingernails, and both sexes wore perfumes made from oil, myrrh and
cinnamon. The Egyptians believed their makeup had magical healing
powers, and they weren’t entirely wrong: Research has shown that the
lead-based cosmetics worn along the Nile actually helped stave off eye
infections.
Originally posted on: The History Channel
No comments:
Post a Comment