39Fascinating Facts About Ancient Egypt To Dig Through

Egyptians may have treated their pharaohs like gods, but it didn’t mean they could mess with their labor rights. There are recorded cases of labor strikes organized by Egyptian workers to get better working conditions. One of the most famous one took place in the 12th century BC during the reign of pharaoh Ramses III, when constructors who worked on the royal necropolis at Deir el-Medina did not receive their usual payment of grain. The workers walked into a nearby mortuary and stayed there until someone came to listen to their demands and made sure they got their due payment.

Many of us have heard about Egyptian deities such as Isis, Ra, Osiris, Anubis, or Horus. But the fact is the Egyptian pantheon included over 2,000 gods and goddesses. Those more popular became national deities celebrated all over the country. Other, lesser known ones, were either associated with a particular region or supervised a certain ritual or role. One of such deities was goddess Qebhet, who offered cool water to the souls of the dead as they awaited judgment in the afterlife. Another example is Seshat the goddess of written words and specific measurements.

Cleopatra is well-known for her beauty but very little is spoken of her intellect. Not only did she speak as many as twelve languages but also had substantial knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and oratory. Ancient Egyptian chroniclers described her as a ruler who gave scholars their due, and would often be seen in their company.

Women may not have been social equals of men in Ancient Egypt, yet they enjoyed quite a wide range of rights and freedoms, especially when compared to other countries in the same era. Unlike Greece, where women were practically owned by their husbands, Egyptian women were allowed to divorce and remarry, and would also retain the wealth they brought into the marriage. In addition, they were allowed to buy and sell property, enter into legal agreements, and even serve on juries. They rarely worked outside the home, but in case of an official employment were usually guaranteed equal pay.

Egypt was the first to introduce a health care plan. Stanford Egyptologist Anne Austin speaks about “the earliest documented governmental health care plan” that allowed workers from a village that later became known as Deir el-Medina to take a paid sick leave or visit a doctor during their time on the pyramid construction. Some modern countries could definitely learn from this example.

Moldy bread was used as a form of early antibiotics. Mr. Allen, curator of Egyptian art at the Met, spoke about one ancient Egyptian text that suggested applying moldy bread on wounds. This implies that, though they didn’t know anything about bacteria, Egyptians had already discovered a way to fight infections and understood the basic principle behind the functioning of penicillin.

It is a well-known fact that cats were very special in the ancient Egyptian culture but did you know that wealthy families would dress their cats in jewels and feed them with food not every common family could afford? As the cats were considered to be magical creatures, ancient Egyptians believed they brought good luck to people who had them as pets and treated them right. If a pet cat died, the owner would shave off their eyebrows and mourn the loss until the eyebrows grew back.

The pyramids were not built by slaves.

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.

Makeup was not only acceptable but also encouraged for both sexes. Moderation was not a concern when applying it with wooden, bone, or ivory tools. Eye makeup was manufactured by grinding ores like malachite and galena. The received substance was known as kohl. Women also enjoyed painting their hands and fingernails with henna and coloring their cheeks with red paint. Perfume made of oil, myrrh, and cinnamon was popular among both men and women. Makeup was considered to summon protection of the gods Horus and Ra and have magical healing powers. Interestingly, there was truth to this supposition. Scientists confirmed that lead-based cosmetics would protect Egyptians from eye infections.

Wars were a part of life in Ancient Egypt. One of the longest lasted for over two centuries, in which Egyptians fought against the Hittite Empire for control of lands in what later became the country of Syria. By the time pharaoh Ramses II ascended the throne, both empires were in danger of attacks from other lands. To end the battle that drained much necessary resources, in 1259 BC Ramses II proposed what later will become known as the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty, one of the first known recorded peace treaties. It helped both countries stop the fight and unite their powers against other invaders. A copy of the treaty can be found today above the entrance to the United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York.

Cleopatra’s first husband, Ptolemy XIII (who was also her brother), ran her out of Egypt when she tried to get rid of him as the ruler and hold all the power in her hands. Cleopatra found an ally in Julius Caesar and defeated Ptolemy, becoming the queen of Egypt. Ptolemy, on the other hand, drowned in the Nile.

Most ancient healers would treat anything from a fever to a wound sustained in a fight. However there is evidence to prove that some Egyptian doctors would concentrate on one particular aspect of human health. Greek historian and traveler Herodotus first mentions this practice in his notes dating to 450 BC. This is what 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.” Egyptians would even give specific names to doctors specializing in only one field.

We already established that Cleopatra was not only beautiful but also very intelligent. What she was not though is Egyptian. She was born in Alexandria, and her ancestry can be traced back to a Greek Macedonian lieutenant Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most trusted people. His descendants ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 BC, and managed to largely preserve their Greek identity and culture.

The age of the Sphinx is a mystery. The most common and widely accepted theory puts the construction of the Great Sphinx in the era of Pharaoh Khafre (ca. 2603-2578 BC), however it is just that – a theory. Some scientists suggest the statue is much older. They base their supposition on the patterns of erosion presented on the statue and other archeological signs.

Ancient Egyptian economy heavily relied on the River Nile. Surrounded by desert, the Nile was an essential lifeline, not only for transportation of construction materials and travel, but also irrigation of agricultural land, food resources and much more. It affected every aspect of life in the country.

Some modern European countries may be regarded as the best beer producers but did you know that in Ancient Egypt beer was a regular part of the menu? As it was rich in calories, beer was considered as a great source of nutrition not only for adults of both genders but for kids as well. It was also quite common to use beer as compensation for labor. For example, construction workers at the Giza plateau would receive beer three times a day as payment for their work.

Every deceased person in Ancient Egypt was buried with four canopic jars. Those jars were used to store and preserve the deceased’s internal organs while the body was mummified. Each canopic jar contained one vital organ: lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach. The embalmers wouldn’t remove the heart as it was considered to be the home of the person’s soul.

Board games were very popular among Ancient Egyptians. Some of the games that reached us were “Mehen” and “Dogs and Jackals” but it seems like the most popular one was a game known as “Senet”. It included rolling dice or throwing sticks and moving your pieces along a board with painted squares. While historians are still trying to determine the exact rules of the game, they are fairly confident it goes as far back as 3500 BC and was popular not only among common folks but also pharaohs.

The process of embalming had strict rules in Ancient Egypt, and one of them was keeping the heart inside the body, while other organs were removed. Imagine how shocked archeologists were when they discovered that this rule was violated for none other than King Tut. The reason could be an injury the young king sustained on his chest before he died. Some Egyptologists believe that the wound that left him without his chest wall was a bite from a hippo. Archeological evidence shows that Egyptians hunted river horses for sport, and several statues in King Tut’s tomb portray him throwing a harpoon. So it is highly possible that he indeed died during a hunt.

Everyone knows that Egyptians loved their cats who were associated with the goddess Bastet. But of course, they were not the only animals Egyptians kept as pets. Hawks, ibises, dogs, lions, and baboons were also highly respected and held a special status in Egyptian households. Often, when they died, animals would be mummified and buried with their owners. Ancient Egyptians would also train animals to provide help with work. For instance, Egyptian police had special dogs, and sometimes also monkeys, who would accompany them on patrols.