Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians loved life as we’re blessed with ideal conditions

like very fertile land and a beautiful climate. They considered their life to be

perfect, to the point that they believed that their afterlife the eternal continuation

of life on earth. Daily life in ancient Egypt focused on enjoying every single

moment of time they had and make it memorable as much as possible.

And through their observation of the harmony and the balance of the universe,

they encouraged to live in the same way in order to achieve peace and happiness with themselves and others.

Social Classes During Life in Ancient Egypt

The population of Egypt divided into social classes in the shape of social

pyramids based on their profession and role in society. At the top of the pyramids

. the king and queen the god’s chosen people and their royal family

enjoyed an unimaginable amount of status, wealth, and luxury. Second to the top,

the educated professional class like the doctors, the accountants, priests,

and scribes that believed to be chosen by the god Thoth of wisdom and knowledge.

Then comes the working class like the sailors, the craftspeople, and soldiers

who played a key role in providing and protecting life in Egypt. And in the

lower class the servants and the farmers that worked in the lands owned

by the king, they the ones who produced the goods that helped the entire

culture to thrive and the necessary labor force for the construction of the

pyramids and other monuments of Egypt. All of the jobs

and positions in society passed down from father to son.

Families During Life in Ancient Egypt

The concept of family very important during life in ancient Egypt. Most

of the marriages in Egypt arranged by the parents; girls usually

married around the age of 12 and boys at the age of 15. Girls would stay

at home and learn from their mothers, while the boys would train in the

profession of their fathers and uncles. Also, most marriages polygamous

with the husband having several wives; one of the wives considered

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

a chief wife who higher than the other ones. Divorce also existed in life

in ancient Egypt but it’s highly rare because the Egyptians were committed

to the sanctity of family unity. An unmarried man was seen to be incomplete

and boys advised to marry as soon as possible. The structure of the family

very simple as the wife the mistress of the house that looks after all the

household and the husband work outside the home to earn enough money to provide for his family.

The Role of Women in Life in Ancient Egypt

Women in life in Ancient Egypt often treated as equal to men as they

allowed to own property, conduct business dealings just like men, even testify

in court, and some women able to rule Egypt like Cleopatra, Hatshepsut,

and some others. Women had the ability to obtain high-ranking jobs like administrators,

supervisors, and priestesses. But their main responsibility to be a wife, a mother,

and the caretaker of the home and the children above all else.

Home and Shelter in Life in Ancient Egypt

In the beginning, ancient Egyptians built their own houses, temples,

and tombs out of adobe which mud-bricks made of sun-dried mud.

This material fast and cheap and almost all the mud bricks have

crumbled and dissolved. The houses filled with decoration, amulets,

and ancient religious artifacts. The houses cool on the inside and had a flat roof,

so in the summertime, people could sleep on top of them. Most of the townhomes

were divided into two floors, the first floor reserved for the reception, and the

top floor is reserved as private housing for the residents. Houses were built around

courtyards, and all the cooking done outside in the courtyard. All of the

noblemen’s houses larger as they had three areas while the rest of the farmers lived in modest houses.

The Nile River’s Role in the Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

The Nile represents the bloodstream and the life force of Egypt. It considered

being the main form of transportation for goods, materials, and people.

The Nile a line of communication between Upper and Lower Egypt

and provided a very fertile land to the ancient Egyptians so they could

and grow all that they needed like wheat, barley, flowers like papyrus

which turned into paper, rope, and baskets, and other crops.

The Nile also played an important role as a religious entity because of the

public view that found it as a gift from gods like the “God Sobek” who credited

with creating the Nile. You can cruise the Nile River on board Egypt

Nile cruises to witness the most famous landmarks in Egypt.

Food and Drinks in Life in Ancient Egypt

Finding food and water life in ancient Egypt not that hard as the soil

was very fertile, the Nile filled with nutrition water and that’s why many

crops like wheat and barley were easily found. The bread considered the

source of carbohydrates and seasoned with honey, herbs, fruits, and sesame

seeds. Their diet mainly vegetarian as they lived on a combination of wheat

and vegetables, and fish acted as their main source of protein as the meat

more expensive and difficult to come by and can only be found at the house

of the elite and the wealthy. A lot of the animals ritually slaughtered and

extremely hard to keep the meat fresh within the Egyptian climate.

Beer also the main drink of life in ancient Egypt and consumed at

every meal. Wine also found at the tables of the wealthy noblemen.

Entertainment of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians tried to live their life to the fullest as they engaged in

everything from hunting crocodiles and hippopotamuses, and playing board

games like Senet and Hound & Jackals, they even made toys for children in

the shapes of animals. They’re also a lot of sports that included athletics

in the early versions of teams such as swimming, earth hockey, handball, wrestling,

rowing, archery, gymnastics, and many water sports like water jouster which

form of sea battle played in small boats on the Nile River. The noblemen

and the wealthy would throw extravagant parties filled with the finest

foods and beverages. Music and dancing also found very common

in ancient Egyptian culture and considered to be art forms.

Festivals in Ancient Egypt

All the festivals in the life of ancient Egypt had a unique feeling depending on the

nature of the events. Most of the festivals in the life of ancient Egypt had

a religious nature as all the Egyptians celebrated god’s birthday. The religious

festivals held in conjunction with the lunar calendar in temples like the

festival of the valley in Luxor in the honor of the god Amun, the feast of Hathor

at Dendera, the festival of the goddess Isis at “Busiris“, and the celebration of

Bastet at “Busastis“. There also other kinds of festivals like individual

birthdays, anniversaries of the great deeds of the king, funerals, and

house-wearing events. There also other festivals that had unique

Festivals in Ancient Egypt

religious nature like the “WepetRenpet” which marked the beginning of

the year in July at the annual Nile flooding, “The Sea Festival”  held in

the third reign of the pharaoh’s reign to celebrate his kingship

and “The Festival of Khoiak” which honored Osiris death and revival.

The Egyptians would indulge themselves in every kind of entertainment

in these festivals despite the fact that self-indulgence wasn’t appropriate

at every gathering. You can read more also about festivals and public holidays in Egypt these days.

Clothing and Fashion in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians wore clothes made from linen, which is a light and

cool fabric woven from cotton. Both men and women wore the same material

in the shape of linen kilts. Most women dressed in plain sleeved dresses.

Servants and lower-class women are often shown wearing a kilt while

the royal and the noblewomen shown wearing fitted dresses from

the shoulder to the ankles and the noblemen seen in skirts and blouses.

All the little children in ancient Egypt didn’t wear clothes until the age of ten.

All of the social classes went barefoot to imitate the gods who didn’t need footwear.

But when someone on a long journey or a place where they would hurt

or injure their feet, they would wear sandals. The lower class would wear

Clothing and Fashion in Ancient Egypt

cheap sandals made of woven rushes while the nobles and the rich would wear

expansive sandals made of leather or painted wood. Men, women, and children

wore cosmetics like Kohl which considered to be the most popular type of

makeup that helped protect the ancient Egyptians from the sun. The ancient

Egyptians like the lower class wore jewelry like rings, pierced ears, necklaces,

and amulets while the higher and wealthier class wore jewelry made

of gold, silver, and electrum for both fashion and religious purposes.

Health in Life of Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian medical condition was heavily affected by the religious

atmosphere. They used a combination of scientific techniques like observation

and diagnosis plus magical rituals such as spells and charms. All of Egypt’s doctors

began their training as scribes as they needed to read medical texts to figure

out the right cures. Most diseases thought to inflict by the gods as

a form of punishment for committing a certain sin and that’s why they

believed that supernatural presence is responsible. In order to do their job,

they had to read and study a lot of religious literature works on surgery,

Health in Life of Ancient Egypt

the setting of broken bones, dentistry, and the treatment of various illnesses.

The ancient Egyptians gained a great deal of knowledge in the field of anatomy

due to the practice of removing the human organs and understanding the

afflictions and the remedies of the human body. They cared deeply about their

dental hygiene as they developed toothpaste made of eggshells, ox hooves, and ashes, and the toothbrush to keep their teeth healthy and clean of sand

and grit, they also invented breath mints to cover their bad morning aroma.

They also very civilized as they took extra care of their hygiene, they would

cleanse themselves in the river or a bath at home daily. They didn’t have soap

but they used a cleansing cream made of oil, lime, and perfume instead.

Religion in Life in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian mythology had thousands of deities over the centuries.

Their religion polytheistic as every town and village had its own god or goddess.

Every deity or religion had its own temple, rituals, ceremonies, and other special

practices that had a powerful influence on their life. They believed in life after

death as the body preserved in a lifelike form through the mummification

process. They confused magic with science and believed it’s only in the power

of gods to create or destroy. They had many myths that explained the way of

the world and beyond like the creation of the universe, and the afterlife. Most

of our information comes from the book of the dead as it’s written throughout

Egypt’s history and contained text, hymns, formulas, incantations, and magical

words to help the dead arrive safely to the underworld to be judged and explain the origin of the gods.

Technology in Life in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians natural-born explorers and inventors.

They made the earliest inventions that we still use today. They the

first to create a writing system in the form of hieroglyphics which drawing

portraying a story. they used it to keep accurate records of their lives, discoveries,

and religious dogma. They also developed a sheet of paper called papyrus which

they personally created and black ink which they used in writing and painting which came in various colors.

The ancient Egyptians used the knowledge of astronomy to develop

the lunar calendar based on the cycles of the moon and the star Sirius, which

we still use to track the days until today. They the first people to divide

days into equal parts 12 months, 356 days, 24 hours units through timekeeping

Technology in Life in Ancient Egypt

devices like obelisks, shadow clocks, water clocks, and sundials. The position of

the sun determined the passing of the days and the passing of the night

determined by the rise and fall of the stars. Their observation of the sun,

the night sky, and the stars affected their religion and way of life.

The ancient Egyptians had a talent for geometry and math as they used it to

accurately build pyramids, temples, and other buildings as well as for record-

keeping and business transactions. They also created the ox-drawn plow and

an irrigation system using hydraulic engineering principles in order to improve

their agriculture. They also worked on developing the best ships through their knowledge of aerodynamics.

Crime & Punishment in Life in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian society a law-abiding community; Egyptian law

swift for anyone who chooses to break it. Overseeing Justice and judgment

the responsibility of the vizier, the king’s right hand, and the second in command.

The local court or “Kenbet” made up of community leaders who would hear

the cases and decides who’s guilty and who’s innocent. The court could be even

held in the marketplace or on the street and there also an administrative

building called the judgment hall which existed in every city.

Crime & Punishment in Life in Ancient Egypt

In the new kingdom, there no lawyers or appeals, the priests of Amun

the ones who decided the verdict as the people trusted them to give

a just hearing and to make the right judgment. Minor offenses fined

but major crimes like rape, assault, murder. or tomb robbing punished by

mutilation, incarceration, forced labor, or even death in some cases. All the

convicted felons used for manual labor in Karnak and held in

the great prison in Thebes. Its also known that the guilty will face a far worse fate in the afterlife.

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