There is no way to talk about ancient civilization without bringing ancient Egypt into the picture. Ancient Egypt was the world’s most civilized nation-state for over 3000 years and produced a range of rich cultures and fascinating fields of study that attracted the attention of great scholars such as Pythagoras, Thales and Empedocles.
Ancient Egypt map
On a map, ancient Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Israel to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. It covers a total area of 1,001,450 km².
From their fascinating art and architecture to their intriguing burial methods, there is more about this ancient community that will definitely make you close conventional history books in search of more information about their veiled facts. With that in mind, here are 10 things you’ve probably never heard about ancient Egypt.
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1. It was the training ground for a great majority of Greek philosophers
Ancient Egypt’s contribution to world-leading civilization cannot be totally ignored, not with all the solid evidence that puts it at the forefront. First, there is Pythagoras, who after his education in Egypt returned to Samos, where he stayed for a while before emigrating to Italy. Then came Thales, who traveled to Egypt to study geometry before returning to Greek to amaze his contemporaries with his newfound mathematical ability. Also on the list are Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Zeno Melissus, and the others who helped make Greek the “Father of Civilization.”
2. Her original name is Old Kemet
We all know ancient Egypt, but only some of usknow ancient Kemet – the original name of ancient Egypt. At a time when the whole world around 3,900 B.C. Totally uncivilized, ancient Egypt had a well-developed religious system, commonly referred to as the mysteries, which turned out to be the first system of salvation, as well as the fulcrum of many religions that we shall come to have later.
3. They were the inventors of hieroglyphs
The Egyptian writing system consisted ofpictographs – images that represented real words. Such imagery was used extensively in Egyptian tombs and a number of other sites to tell stories of war, culture and politics, all of which played a crucial role in making their ancient history believable. Over time, they began incorporating other elements—like alphabetic characters—into their writing system to make it easier for them to scrawl conceivable ideas and names for future generations.
4. Your old doctors were specialized
Although most ancient physicians were known to be jacks of all trades, Egyptian physicians specialized in either focusing on a single ailment or treating just a specific part of the body. That said, some of them might treat the eye, some the teeth, while a good number focus solely on the stomach and other parts of the body. In fact, each specialist had a specific name that clearly suggested their area of expertise to avoid confusion.
5. Both genders wore makeup
Make-ups were won by both sexes in ancient Egypt. Turns out, these makeups weren’t actually worn for beauty reasons, as most of you would like to think, but to protect them from their two wild gods, Horus and Amun Ra. Usually, they can make the cosmetics by grinding ores such as galena and malachite, and then apply them to their eyes, fingernails, cheeks, and hands. Likewise, they could prepare perfumes from myrrh, cinnamon, and oil, all of which they believed possessed magical powers to protect them from common ailments.
6. They built the Pyramid of Giza
To date, no one has known exactly how the ancientEgyptians actually built the Pyramid of Giza. For some, the pyramid must have been built by extraterrestrials. While for a large majority of the population, this ancient mysterious object must have been built by an army of ancient workers who took over 20 years to complete the structure. Either way, the ancient Egyptians were involved in one way or another in assembling the structure. As such, they are accredited for erecting one of the most amazing architectural designs in human history.
7. Egyptian workers knew about strikes
If you’re surprised by the current rate when Egyptians go on strike, you’ll be shocked to learn that their ancestors did the exact same thing over 5000 years ago. First, there is the infamous strike that took place in 1200 BC. under King Ramses III. took place. As noted, the entire nation-state faltered when the workers building the royal necropolis at Deir El-Medina flocked to a nearby mortuary, refusing to live unless the government granted them an increase in grain tariffs.
8. What killed Pharaoh Tut?
If there is an Egyptian pharaoh, it’s well known – even by those who have never had the opportunity to go to school, it should be pharaoh Tutankhamun. But apparently there is no record of his death in history. Until recently, when a group of Egyptologists theorized that he might in fact have been killed by a hippopotamus. This claim takes into account his sudden disappearance from Egypt’s burial process, as well as his habit of looking for sports, which suggested he may have suffered a mysterious bite from a smoking hippopotamus.
9. Egyptian women had rights
At a time when women were believed to be marginalized and generally discriminated against, Egyptian women enjoyed a tremendous amount of freedom. They could act, act as judges, enter into a legal contract and, even more exaggeratedly, make wills – unlike their Greek peers, who were legally owned by their husbands.
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Ancient Egypt religion, gods
One of the most popular and interesting things about ancient Egyptian culture is religion. The Egyptians believed in the existence of many gods with different purposes, but Amun is considered the king of the gods, the same position held by another god, Aten. Horus is probably one of the most important because he is considered the god of the sky and protector of the rulers of the land. Interestingly, the pharaohs were thought to be the living Horus.
Isis is the god who protects people, Osiris is the ruler of the dead and the underworld, while Anubis is the god of the dead and Seth is the one who causes chaos. There is also another god who is considered the goddess of the sky. It is her body that covers the earth. Thoth is the god of knowledge. Ra is another god held in high esteem among humans as a bringer of the day or sun god. Ra is said to be born every morning after being swallowed by the sky god Nut every night.
The ancient Egyptians assumed animals to be the incarnations of their gods. They therefore kept them as pets. Among them, cats were the most preferred type of pets as they were believed to be in close association with the goddess Bastet. Other pet animals included ibises, lions, dogs, baboons and hawks.
Your Government, Clothing, Food & Economy
In ancient Egypt, government and religion were closely linked. They had a pharaoh as their head of state, but the pharaoh also served as the divine representation of the gods on earth. Government and religion maintained order in society, with the pharaoh being assisted by a hierarchy of advisers, priests, civil servants, and administrators who were responsible for the affairs of the state and the well-being of the people.
Colors were a matter of course in ancient Egyptian clothing. Clothing was adorned with precious stones and jewels and the fashions were designed to help the Egyptians stay cool in the hot desert. Food often separated the rich from the poor. Where rich ancient Egyptians ate meat, Nile fish, or fowl on a daily basis, the poorer Egyptians could only eat meat on special occasions. They also used wheat to make bread and barley to make beer. These were their main food prices.
The economy of ancient Egypt was built on trade. The traded goods ranged from gold, papyrus, linen and grain for cedar, ebony, copper, iron, ivory to lapis lazuli (a beautiful blue gemstone). They had ships going up and down the Nile bringing goods to different ports.