The social classes
Like many other great ancient civilizations, ancient Egypt had a social pyramid system too. There were six main layers, and the higher the layer, the more power they had. At the top of it was the pharaoh, who was like the king of ancient Egypt, except that he was considered more of a god among the people than a human, and his words were absolute. In second place were the government officials, though their powers were vastly different from those of the pharaoh. Next are the nobles and the priests, who took care of somewhat important matters. Then there were the artisans and merchants, and although they were of low rank, ancient Egypt could not have been as it was without them. At the lowest point, there were peasants and slaves. But what was unique about ancient Egyptian peasants and slaves was that they were treated humanely and counted as an actual part of society rather than being seen as property. Under normal circumstances, no one would get hungry. Due to these reasons, the ancient Egyptian social class was one of the most balanced and fair ones throughout the history of mankind (Gill, 2022).
Gods of ancient Egypt
There are numerous gods and deities that the ancient Egyptians worshiped. In fact, there are over 2,000 of them, though most of them are almost unheard of to most people. But here are some of the more well-known gods that play a major role in ancient Egyptian mythology.
- Ra, the God of the Sun, is one of the most recognizable ancient Egyptian gods. He is
considered to be the god of the sun, life, and creation. Ra was worshiped as the king of all the gods, and his appearance was that of a human with a falcon’s head and a sun disk floating above him. It is also believed that he had the ability to give life and heal. As important as he was, there were many temples dedicated to him all around Egypt, even more so than most other gods.
- Osiris, the God of Death, is a very prominent god in ancient Egyptian mythology.
In charge of the afterlife and agriculture, in the myths, he was once a human ruler of ancient Egypt until his jealous brother, Set, who split the parts of Osiris’s dead body and scattered them, murdered him across the land. However, Osiris’s wife, Isis, collected all of them and brought him back to life. Because of this backstory, he is often depicted as a mummified pharaoh holding a crook and flail.
- Horus, God of Light And Goodness, is one of the most ancient and magnificent
Egyptian gods. He is very iconic and can be found everywhere in Egyptian ruins. He always carried weapons to protect others from evil, and in mythology, he is the son of Osiris and Isis who avenged his father by defeating Set.
- Seth, who is also known as Set, was the god of war. While his image may make him look brutal and cruel, he was also an extremely strong protector of the ancient Egyptian people. He protected travelers crossing the desert from evil spirits, and his importance is raised even further because his name and pictures were found in a lot of ancient Egyptian temples and tombs.
- Anubis, the God of the Dead, is one of the most famous gods in all mythologies. He has a unique appearance, looking mostly like a normal man but with a jackal’s head. Anubis guides souls in the underworld to their final resting places. He is also heavily associated with mummification and embalming (Fattouh, 2022).
Ancient Egyptian agriculture
Agriculture was the core and the origin of the ancient Egyptian economy, and just like in any other civilization, even in today’s world, it was crucial for everyone that lived there. But ancient Egypt, although greener than modern Egypt, was still a desert, therefore not being the best place to grow crops. But the ancient Egyptians flourished with farming, and that is all due to the Nile River overflowing once a year at the same time every time, which made the surrounding land extremely fertile. In fact, they only needed that single yearly inundation, which was more than enough to replace rain, and in good seasons, they had enough food to feed every single person that lived in ancient Egypt and yet still had a surplus, which they stored for future uses or traded (Mark, 2017).
Ancient Egypt had exceptionally advanced systems and tools. Some of these utensils helped with planting and cultivation. For example, they used oxen to plow the land and special hoes. Some of the richer farmers were also able to purchase a large bucket that they could attach to their chests by using hemp straps, and this unique tool allowed them to use both hands for sowing. The methods ancient Egyptians used were so effective that even great civilizations such as Rome and Greece implemented them in their cultures as well (Mark, 2017).
Due to their thriving agriculture practices, ancient Egyptians were mostly vegetarians since meat was expensive and lasted for only a short amount of time since back then the concept of refrigeration was nonexistent, and so they were mostly for the nobility or some special festivals and occasions. When the people did eat meat, pigs and fish were very popular, though the high class was not allowed to eat fish since they considered it unclean. The crops they produced were mainly wheat, papyrus, garlic, onions, barley, chickpeas, lettuce, emmer, and flax. One special case that stood out from the others was the opium poppies produced at Thebes during the New Kingdom (c. 1570–1069 BCE). Opium poppies were used for all sorts of medicine, such as pain relievers. Emmer, in particular, was probably the most important crop they grew back in ancient Egypt, since it was used for the production of beer and bread, both of which were eaten practically every day, even by the nobility (Mark, 2017).
Womens’ rights
Throughout history, women were viewed as inferior to men, and this was true even in the Bible, where they weren’t counted in the population along with children and it was stated that they were still humans but only existed to support men. Even not so long ago, the United States of America had troubles deciding whether women should have the right to vote. In ancient Egypt, although they were still typically viewed as less important compared to men, women had a wide range of freedoms and rights, such as buying and selling properties, serving on juries, and even working outside of the home, though only a few did this. But for the women who did have a job outside of their houses, they still received the same payment for doing the same job as men would, and even the freedom to divorce and remarry by their own wills. This unique aspect of ancient Egyptian culture catches the attention of many since, in almost every other culture, women were merely considered a helping hand for their husbands by taking care of the house (Andrews, 2023).
How were the pyramids created?
One of the most iconic symbols of Egypt and one of the most recognizable works of architecture in the entire world, the pyramids are full of mysteries and hidden secrets that are yet to be uncovered. They are made of mostly limestone, and the bricks themselves are spectacular. Even a single block of The Great Pyramid of Giza could be as high as one and a half meters and weigh up to ten tons, which is approximately three times heavier than an average truck (Hemeda, 2020). No one knows for sure who or even what built the pyramids, mostly because of the exceedingly high level of architecture and systems built into them. Considering the time they were built, they are unlike any other buildings. Because of these reasons, The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the seven wonders of the world (Margaux, 2023).
The materials of the pyramids include limestone, sandstone, syenite, and granite. Most of the materials were found and excavated around the pyramid, though granite had to be transported from Aswan. The amount of resources used to build the pyramids, which are more than a hundred scattered around Egypt and could be even more, is absolutely ridiculous, and this is why the rumor that aliens might have helped build them started. A majority of people think that slaves built them, but this is also false, though the work conditions were still very harsh. It was actually workers that the pharaohs paid to build it for him. There are numerous proofs, such as a gravesite found near the pharaohs’ tombs, and inside were basic tools for navigating the afterlife, which cost considerably more to give out to slaves (Betz, 2021).
Inside the pyramids, there are several systems one might expect in a tomb, such as escape tunnels, rooms for the reservation of the bodies, one specifically dedicated to the king, and even traps to prevent thieves since the tomb of the pharaoh was full of valuables (Margaux, 2023).
It is still not confirmed exactly how the pyramids were built, but it is theorized that ramps were built to carry those heavy bricks that high and that multiple people were needed to use all their might to even move them slightly. They pulled them by ropes, and it is also possible that they used wooden posts and stairs. Since a carving that looked very similar to a ramp was found near their holes, it is also guessed that the wooden posts and stairs existed as well (Westmaas, 2019).
Mummification
Unlike in the movies in today’s world, the process of mummification was an honored tradition and was used in several ancient societies, including Egypt. It was a belief in the afterlife and a sort of preparation for it. However, the ancient Egyptians took this a step further, and mummification reached its greatest height. Though it was mostly for the nobility and the rich, since mummification was quite expensive (Garlinghouse, 2020).
The ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, their spiritual essence was still alive, and that the spirits must journey through dangerous places and meet both divine and demonic beings, then finally be judged by Osiris himself. If their soul was pure, the deceased was allowed to live with the gods in an eternal paradise. The reason for mummification was that, according to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the body needed to stay intact for their spirits to make the journey (Garlinghouse, 2020).
The initial phase of mummification was to cleanse the body, which was done by placing it inside an “ibu” tent and cleaning it with water and fragrant wine imported from the Nile River. The brain was next removed, which was probably the most repulsive procedure because, in ancient times, it was thought of as a rather inconsequential organ. The embalmers, or those in charge of mummifying, took pieces of the skull until none were left by inserting special hooked rods through the nostrils and into the head. While this alone is already horrific, right after they removed the brain, they took out all the other organs, such as the lungs and intestines, but not the heart, since it was thought to be where all the intelligence came from. After this, the body was dried for forty days, then washed again with Nile River water and oil. Finally, it was wrapped completely in linen, and they also added amulets to protect the body from evil forces (Sarkar, 2022). Even though this is horrifying in and of itself, they also removed the heart because it was believed to be the source of all intelligence after removing the brain, but they left the lungs and intestines in place. The corpse was then dried for forty days before being cleaned once again with water and oil from the Nile River. The body was then fully covered in linen and embellished with amulets to ward off bad spirits (Sarkar, 2022).
References
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