Six Interesting Facts About Life In Ancient Egypt
Egyptian culture is one of the most admired and mythologized cultures in history. We are talking about the most successful and prosperous civilization in human history; There were many great thinkers in ancient Egypt and incredible scientific, technical, and academic breakthroughs.
In fact, Egypt was the second country after Mesopotamia to develop a written language: the famous hieroglyphics.
The word hieroglyph is made up of the ancient Greek words hierós (holy) and(Scratched) together. Amazingly, the Egyptian hieroglyphs have a completely different structure than the written language in the Mesopotamian areas of Sumer and Akkad.
Although the hieroglyphs were last used many centuries ago and were deciphered almost 200 years ago, more and more people are interested in them. Due to globalization and the social networks, Egyptian culture has become interesting again for many people. Therefore, today we want to tell you about six interesting facts about life in ancient Egypt.
Six interesting facts about life in ancient Egypt
1. The pyramids were not built by slaves
Although this belief is widespread , the pyramids in ancient Egypt were not built by slaves. The workers who built them were on three-month contracts and received fair wages. They were also very respected, although they came from humble and simple backgrounds.
Such was the admiration for these workers that those who died during the construction work were buried in the Giza pyramid complex. In this way they were even closer to the pyramids than the pharaohs themselves and that, of course, was a great honor.
2. In ancient Egypt, cats were very much revered
It’s no secret that the ancient Egyptians were very fond of cats. Nevertheless, it is very difficult for many people to understand how pronounced the worship and adoration of cats was at that time. In Egyptian culture , cats were considered to be the embodiment of Ra, the sun god. He came to earth to kill Apophis, the god of chaos, who had the shape of a snake.
Ra later became a subordinate of the female deity Bastet. She protected the houses and was a goddess of war. She also made cats sacred and inviolable creatures that later became pets.
3. The ancient Egyptians invented mortar
The Egyptians invented this material, which they used to manufacture building elements. They used the mortar to build the foundations of the pyramids. However, there are currently discussions about whether the Etruscans were not also involved in the invention of the mortar.
For the first time mortar was used in the construction of the Great Pyramid (around 2600 BC). After that, the Egyptians developed other types of mortar and plaster, such as plaster casts, finishing plasters, and decorative plasters.
4. Society in ancient Egypt was much more egalitarian than that of the Greeks or the Romans
In ancient Egypt women had more rights than their Greek and Roman contemporaries. In fact, divorce and inheritance were allowed at the time ( as with the Celts ) and abuse was frowned upon.
In addition, women were able to set up and run their own companies and work in a wide variety of professions. Most of these professions were in the health and education sectors.
5. The left foot was always in front
If you look at a statue that comes from ancient Egypt, you will find that the left foot is always in front. Since the Egyptians believed that the left side of the body gives life because this is where the heart lies, they always put the left foot forward.
Since their enemies knew this too, they always destroyed the left legs of the statues when they attacked temples. Thereby they also destroyed the “life” of the Pharaoh in a symbolic way. This in turn meant that he was destined to be forgotten forever .
6. In ancient Egypt, red was the color of mourning
In contrast to our culture , the lucky color of the ancient Egyptians was black. This belief arose because the bank of the Nile turned black when the fertile Nile mud spread there during the floods and that promised a good harvest.
The color in the Egyptian coffins was red. In ancient Egypt this color symbolized the rage of life and the anger during battle. In addition, it was actually the blood of the animal sacrifices, which only upper-class families could afford for their funerals, that colored the coffins red.
Egyptian culture made an important contribution to the development of many cultural (and not so cultural) elements in Western culture today. Its medical and scientific achievements are virtually unmatched by any other civilization. In addition, its fascinating architecture is one of the most impressive examples of a megalomania that is almost unique in human history.
