History lovers! Forget those old books; here’s a look into the interesting world of the Egyptians, with some amazing facts you probably didn’t learn in school.
Pharaohs
Not Just tombs and Golden Masks: Everyone knows about the huge tombs and the glitzy pharaohs. The interesting part is here: It wasn’t just rich people who were pharaohs. People saw them as live gods, gods who came to life on Earth. Talk about how hard it is. Egyptians thought that pharaohs kept the heavens in balance, made sure crops would grow well, and kept the Nile flowing smoothly. They were getting ready for the future, where they’d continue doing their godly jobs, which is why they built those fancy tombs.
To Cleopatra
Not Just a Beauty Queen: Glimpses of history show Cleopatra as a queen who used her beauty to gain power. But her story isn’t over yet. She was an amazing student who spoke many languages, a great negotiator who helped Egypt break away from Rome, and a strong leader who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in politics. Don’t believe the Hollywood version of Cleopatra; this one was a real force.
Egypt’s people weren’t all stuck-up pharaohs
From school, it might seem like Egypt in the past had a strict order, with pharaohs at the top and everyone else working hard. But things were more complicated than that. There was social movement! People who were good at making things and writing could move up the social ladder, and women could even be priestesses or managers, which were powerful jobs. There was a social order, but it wasn’t as black and white as some people might think.
They weren’t obsessed with death; they were just getting ready for it
Egyptians may have been very interested in death, as shown by their very ornate coffins. They thought of death as a normal part of life and a way to get to the next world. Their complicated mummification methods and tomb building were all about keeping the body safe and making sure the future was nice, not about thinking about death. They even held very complicated practices called “Opening of the Mouth” to help the dead move on to the next life.
Cats (kind of) ran the world
Egyptians didn’t just like cats; they worshiped them! People thought of cats as guardians and linked them to the powerful goddess Bastet. If you hurt a cat, you could even get in trouble with the state. Having a cat was a sign of wealth. That really put the “purr” in pharaoh!
They did some strange things to look good
Egyptians loved makeup. They used kohl to make their eyes look dramatic and colored paints on their lips and cheeks. That’s not all, though. Some people think that the green malachite paste they put around their eyes may have kept them safe from the hot desert sun and also served as a cool eyeshadow. Men and women both wore makeup, and for special events, some men went bald and wore very fancy wigs.
They came up with the first board game ever
Monopoly, get out of here! Sitting back and having fun, the Egyptians played Senet, a board game with dice and moving pieces. It’s hard to remember the exact rules, but you had to move your pieces around the board, which could have been a metaphor for a trip through the future. When you play a board game next, remember that you’re continuing a practice that goes back a very long time!
