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.
