Chapter 9

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DailyLife in
Ancient Egypt
9.1Introduction
In Chapter8, you learnedaboutfour Egyptianpharaohs.In this chapter,
youwill meetother membersof Egyptian society.You'll learn what life was
likeforEgyptians
during the New Kingdom (about1600to 1100n.c.r.).
Eachyear,when the Nile River flooded its banks,all of Egypt celebrated
theOpetFestival.Work in the fields stoppedwhile the peoplejoined in a
fe$ivalhonoringthe pharaohand his patron,the god Amon-Re.
Almosteveryonein Egyptian societytook part in the festival. Priests
decorated
a statueof the god with jewelry. They put the statuein a shrine
andplaced
the shrineon a ceremonialboat called a barque.The beautifully
decorated
boatwas madeby artisans,or craftspeople.High government
officials
competedfor the honor of
carrying
thebarqueon poles through
town.Peasant
farmerslined the streets
towatchtheprocession.Scribesmade
awrittenrecordof the celebration.
TheOpetFestivalbrought all these
gtoups
together.
But in everyday
life,theybelongedto very different
rocialclasses. Theseclassesmade
upa social pyramid, with the
pharaoh
at the top and peasantsat the
bottom.
In betweenwere government
priests,scribes,and artisans.
officials,
Thedailylife of eachclasswas quite
different.
Inthischapter,you will learn more
about
Egypt'ssocialpyramid. Then
you'llexplore
the work and daily life
ofthevariousclassesin Egyptian
society.
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
81
9.2 Ancient Egypt's Social Pyramid
artisan a craftsperson
peasant a personwho
doesfarmwork
forwealthy
l an d o wners
Egyptian society was structuredlike a pyramid. At the very
of this socialpyramid was the pharaoh,Egypt's supremeruler.
Egyptian religion strengthenedthe pharaoh'sauthority.Pharaohs
were looked upon as gods,and their word was law.
Below the pharaohwere severallayersof social classes.The
classesnearthe top of the pyramid had the fewest people and
enjoyedthe higheststatus.The classesnearerthe bottom had
more peopleand lower status.
Egypt'sSocialClasses
P haraoh
Government
Officials
Governmentofficials and priestsbelongedto the top two
classesin the socialpyramid under the pharaoh.They were the
most powerful groupsin Egypt.
Governmentofficials carried out the orders of the pharaoh.
Most of them camefrom noble families. They were powerful and
wealthy,and they enjoyeda high quality of life.
Priestswere also a powerful group, becausereligion touched
every part of people'sdaily lives. The priestswere in chargeof
the templesand religiousrituals.They also oversawthe i
ceremoniessurroundinsdeathand burial.
Next on the socialpyramid were scribes.The scribesheld a
respectedposition in society.They recordedinformation for government and religious leaders.It took many years of schooling
to becomea scribe.
Artisans occupiedthe next layer of the social pyramid. This group included craftspeoplelike carpenters,
metal-workers,painters, sculptors,and stone carvers.
Artisans were highly skilled, but they had little
social status.
At the bottom of the social pyramid were
the peasants. They were the largestsocial
class.Peasantsworked the land,
Egypt with a steadyfood supply. When
they weren't farming, they worked
the pharaoh'smassivebuilding
projects.
Ancient
Egyptian
society
was
pyramid.
organized
likea
The
groupsnearthetophadthe
powerandstatus.
82 Chapter9
be
ha
cft
Y(
&
YA
id
Egyptian
womenenjoyed
more
freedom
andrightsthanmost
wo me nin t h ea n c ie nwt o r l d .
A f e wwo me ne v e nb e c a m e
o h a ra o h s .
nevery top
le ruler.
Pharaohs
sses.The
ileand
n had
two
rerethe
araoh.
verful and
Lifein Egypt'sSocialClasses
touched
nrge of
important
held a
t for govrchooling
rl pyralenters,
) carvers.
little
d were
:stsocial
providing
ly.When
rorkedon
lding
ywas
l.The
themost
Egypt'ssocialpyramid was fairly rigid. Peopleusually
belonged
to the samesocial classas their parents.Most people
hadlittlechanceto move to a higher class.Peoplein different
classes
hadsomethings in common,but in other ways their lives
werequitedifferent.
Egyptians
in all social classescherishedfamily life. Most
Egyptians
marriedwithin their social group. Children were highly
valued.
Menandwomen had different roles within the family. Men
weretheheadsof their households.They worked to supportthe
family,Fathersoften trained their sonsfrom an early age to take
ontheirline of work. Women typically managedthe home and
raised
thechildren.Noblewomenhad servantsor slavesto help
them.
Lower-classwomen had to do the work themselves.
Menwerein chargeof Egyptian society,but women enjoyed
more
freedomand rights than most women in the ancientworld.
Theycouldown land and run businesses.
They could ask for
divorces
andrepresentthemselvesin legal matters.Somewomen
inthemiddleand upper classesworked as doctors,government
officials,
or priestesses.
Both women and men enjoyeda better
qualityof life the higher they were on the social pyramid.
TheEgyptiansbelievedthat their classsystemcreateda stable,
well-ordered
society.Each group had its own role to play. Let's
takea look at the dutiesand daily lives of the various social
classes
duringthe time of the New Kingdom.
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
83
9.3 Government Officials
governvi zi er a high-ranking
mentofficial
allia n ce an agreement
between
nations
to work
tog e ther
for common
interests
Governmentofficialsbelongedto the highestclasson Egypt's
socialpyramid, after the pharaoh.Their job was to assistthe
pharaohin his or her role as supremeruler of Egypt.
Governmentofficials usually came from the pharaoh'sfamily
or otherupper-class
families.Most of them inheritedtheir positions from family members.However,trustedservantsfrom the
royal court sometimesrose to power.
lm portant Govern ment Officials
Three importantofficials were the vrzier,the chief treasurer, and the generalof the armies.Each had his own duties.
The vizier had more power than anyoneexceptthe
pharaoh.The vizier advisedthe pharaohand carried out his
commands.He appointedand supervisedmost of the other
governmentofficials.
The vizier also servedas a kind of chiefjudge.Judges
often broughthim their toughestcases.A vizier was expected to be fair and not show specialfavor to either side in a
dispute.One vizier had this advice for thosewho would follow him: "Regardone you know like one you don't know,
one near you like one far from you." In works of art, viziers
often were shown wearing white, the color of neutrality.
The chief treasurerlooked after the government'swealth.His main duty was to collect
taxes.Egypt'seconomywas basedon goods
ratherthan money.Peoplepaid their taxesin
grain,cows,cloth, silver,and evenbeer.
After the pharaoh,the generalof the armies
was the top military commanderin Egypt. He
advisedthe pharaohin mattersof war and
national security,such as how to protect Egypt's
bordersfrom invaders.He also helpedthe
pharaohmake alliances with otherkingdoms.
1
n
S(
tri
pr
an
da
be
an
be
an
lor
ne
ed
SA:
of
Ev
nei
Thisis a statueof lmhotep,
an
e a rlya n dp o we rf uvliz i eirn
a n c ie nEt g y p tlmh
. o t ep
was
f a mo ufso r h isro lein d e s i g n i n g
t numents.
a n db u ild inggre a mo
84 Chapter
9
or
vic
pla
Gu
pt's
rily
sihe
)asrties.
his
ner
)s
)ecta
lfol)%
ziers
rnl
II
les
{e
ypt's
'ms.
;r$
f
livesof Luxury
Highgovernmentofficials led lives of luxury. Most were
nobles
who had great wealth, fine homes,and plenty of time to
socialize.
Thelavishbanquetsenjoyedby thesewealthy Egyptiansillusftatetheirluxurious lifestyle. A good host made every effort to
provide
thebestfood. Cooks roastedducks,geese,pigeons,quail,
antelope,
wild sheep,and goats.Disheswere piled high with figs,
grapes,and coconuts.Bread,cakes,honey,and plenty of
dates,
beerandwine completedthe meal.
Guests
at banquetsdressedin fine linen clothing. Both men
andwomenwore perfume.The women often wore ropesof
beads.
Theypaintedtheir nails, lined their eyeswith makeup,
andworelipstick.
At thestartof a banquet,the guestsusually offered the host
longblessings.
They wished the host many riches,greathappircss,a long life, and good health.The host often simply responddwith "Welcome,welcome," or "Brgad and beer." as a wav of
saying,
"Come and eat!"
Thefeastbeganwith men and women sitting on oppositesides
theroom.Importantguestswere given chairs with high backs.
elsesat on stoolsor cushions.Servants,who were
y all women,waited on the guests.There were no forks
spoons,
so peopleate with their fingers.
Whilethe guestsate, musicians,dancers,and acrobatsproentertainment.
Most of the musicianswere women.Thev
flutes,harps,rattles,and lutes (a guitarlike instrument).
oftenclappedalong with the music.
Thispainting
showswomen
at a banquet.
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
85
9.4 Priests
Like government
officials,
priestswere powerful and highly re s p c c t ein
d E g y p ti a ns o c i e ty. A largenetworkof priests
servedunderthe pharaoh,who
was considered
the hiehestrankedpriestof all.
Pr i ests
sh aved
theirheadsasan
acto f cl eanliness
andto show
purity.
the irr e lig ious
86
Chapter'9
The Duties of Priests
Priestshad diffbrentjobs.
The High Priestadvisedthe
pharaohand oversawall religiouscerernonies.
Temple
priestswere in chargeof
the manytemplesscattered
throu-ehout
Egypt.Otherpriests
handledmorecommonconcernsand reqLrests.
They gave
adviceand perforrnedhealings.
Womenwere allowedto
in E-eypt.
be priestesses
They
weregenerallyconsidered
to
be eqr-ral
to male priests.Their
rnainduty was to overseetemplesthat weredevotedto music
and dancin-e.
Ternplepriestsplayedan
irnportantrole in Egyptianreligion.Every templewas
especially
hometo an Egyptiangod or sods.A templepriest'smainjob was
to takecareof the
-sod.
A tenrple'sgod was thou_uht
to live in a statue.The statuewas
housedin a holy room calleda son(tuor\'.Only a priestwho had
purified(cleansed)
himselfcouldenterthe sanctlrary.
Therewere
many thingsa priesthad to do in orderto be purified.He hadto
avoidcertainlbods.suchas fish. thatwereassociated
with the
lower classes.He had to cleansehis body by bathin_e
threeor four
times a day in holy pools.He also had to shaveoff his body hair.
And he hadto wearclothesmadeof linencloth.because
animal
productslike leatherand wool wereconsidered
unclean.Oncehe
was pr.rrified.
the priestcouldperformhis sacredduties.
T
B
to
E
at
sI
rh
F(
SC
rh
Pr
W(
ha
en
bo
bri
USI
ou
Eg
pe
an
bo
de
ter
rh,
fir
pl
CC
be
b(
fc
AI
e\
w
w
'ls,
highrcielts
who
t-
)s .
le
eli-
d
lriests
)ngave
rlings.
to
'hey
lto
Iheir
temmusic
an
) was
'b was
3 Was
o had
,W e f O
ad to
the
or four
y hair.
rimal
rce he
ThePriests'Rolein
Budal
Practices
Priests
had a specialrole
toplayin burial practices.
Egyptians
believedin a life
afterdeath.They thoughtthe
spiritsof the deadneeded
theirbodiesin the afterlife.
Forthisreason,they pre'served
bodiesfrom decay
through
embalming.
hiestsoversawthis sacred
work.
Theembalmingprocess
hadmanysteps.First, the
embalmers
removedthe
body's
organs,suchas the
brain,lungs,
andliver. They
used
hooksto pull the brain
outthroughthe nostrils.Only the heart was left in the body.
Egyptians
believedthat the gods usedthe heartto judge a dead
person's
soul.
Theorganswere packedin jars to preservethem. The organs
andbodyweredried out with a specialsalt called natron.
Afterabout70 days,the embalmerswashedand oiled the
body.
Thenthey wrappedit in hundredsof yards of linen. They
decorated
the wrappedbody, or mummy, with jewelry and protective
charms.Often they placeda mask over the head.Finally,
theyspread
a black, gooey gum over the body and wrappedit a
finaltime.
Themummywas then ready for burial. The mummy was
placed
in a woodenbox which was then put inside a large stone
coffin,
calleda sarcophagus. Becausethe ancientEgyptians
believed
thatthe afterlife was much like life in this world, the
boxor coffin was buried along with other items.Theseincluded
foodanddrink, furniture, statues,gold, jewelry, clothes,games,
andminors.
Notall Egyptianscould afford suchcomplicatedburials.But
poorEgyptianswrappedtheir deadin cloth and buried them
even
withjarsof beer,loavesof bread,and other items they thought
wouldbe neededin the afterlife.
T h ep ro c e sosf e mb a lm i nagb o d y
p ro d u c eadmu mmys,u c ha s
thoseshownhere.
embalm to treata deadbody
with preservatives
to preventit
fromdecaying
sarcophagus a largestone
coffin
Dailv Life in Ancient Esvnt
R7
9.5 Scribes
Fr i * r CIgiyprh
a symbol
used
i n h ie r o g lyphics,
a system
of
wr iti ngd e veloped
in about
3 0 0 0s.c.r .
Scribes\\'ercone ler cl below priestsin the social p)'r'arnicl.
T he I
Ar
Scribcsr."crcEgvpt's ofl'icial r.l,'riters
and rccorclkeepers.Thev
ri iclc
wcre hishlv resl'rcctccl
and wcll paid. Most scrihesworked lirr the
plv'.\
govenrlent. Othersworked lirr priestsur noblcs.
E-uy 1
Only rncn u'cre alloucd to be scril-rcs.
They canrefrorr all
collcr
classcsof socictr'.Bccorlin-ua scribe was one of the f'e'uv
wavs
cnfot'
thut nrcn coulclrise abovc thcir parents'social class.
ancl l'
Er
Scribe Schools
Bovs u,l-rowanted to bccome
shara uri
scriheshad to attendscribe
tablc
school.Thc schoolswerc run
,\ snA
by priests.Most st.r-rclcnts
car.ue
ai
*
.r,'--
*+ { t
-
, r' \ :
tablc
lics. A vcry I'cw curnc fiorn the
cilses
St
peasiintclass.
' 't ' .
\t
fronr artislrnor nrerchantfami-
Schoolirrgstartedaround the
I
.gr
f
ii/
,&
T
able
age of f ive. StLrdents
tl,picallr,
inner
spent l? ycars or filore lcarning
in ul
: t ii r i j j i i , l {t,l , , J l . r i t r . t h e S y f n h<tl S
stnp:
systemof
uscclin the E_ey'ptian
pap)
uriting. Thc svstemwas \rerv
all th
cornplicatecl.
Most students
tinre
first rnasterccl
a sirnplerfbrm
o1'r,r,ritin_s
lnd then u'orked
.2(
their rval' Lrpto hieroglyphs.
Studcntshad to nrer ntlrize
over 7(X)hieroglyphs.Tliey
spcnt i.lsmar.lvils four y'ears
'',...'J
copvinu the si-tnsol'er and
ovcr. They practicecltheir writing on piecesof wood. flakes
Thrsengravrng
showsstudents
ot'stone.ancleren brokcn bits of pottery.When they u'ere good
rn a scrrbesciroolt",orl<
lg at
cnor-rsh.
thcv rrcre allon'ed to u'rite on papvnls. a type of paper
theirlvritinq
nlrde from thc papvrusplant.
Studentsin scribe schoolsdicl not hal'c iin casy lif-e.Classes
sontetimeslasteclfror"nclaun r-rntilsunset.Teachersu'ere strict
yclled
anclot'tentleatcclthcir stuclcntsharshlv.Thev fi'eclLrently
at str-rclcnts
fbr bcing lazv or not paving atlcntion. Beatingswere
comlnon. One stern schoolnraster
wrote. "A youngsters ear ls
on l-tisback: hc onlv listensto the rlan r,r'l-to
bcats hirn."
88
Chapter(.)
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I : r rpt . ihc r lc eo rtl c rl tl rc l c s rrl t:. So rn c s el i hcs e l rl t' i rl l rtctl l ntl
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c t t lir t ee
lr r us \ l i l i tl rrr :c ri h c s k c p t 1 r' l re
k ol {ht' l rl nrr' : sol tl i crs
an officialcountof
the population
or numberof
peoplelivingin an area
, r ntlir
l ot ls r r I plr .l rrrrl th c n u n rb c r o l c rrc rries ki l l crl i n bl ttl c.
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o n c l i l r b l l rek i nk l rntl onc l i l r l crl i nk.
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9.6 Artisans
Bekrw the scribeson the social
pyrunritl wcre thc lrrlisirns.
F
Egypt's artisanswere highly
il
skilled laborcrswho createdsome
tt
{
T
I
ti "
of the nrost beautiful art objects
in tl-rcancientworld. Yet. unlike
scribes.they rarcly got the
respectthey descrved.Only the
selcct l-cw who becarnernaster
u cre sorrrctirrres
erlrl'lsrrrcrr
honoredfirr their work.
Typesof Artisans
specialized
in anyone
Artisans
Sto n eca r vers
weresomeof
them ostsk illed
workers
in the
a r tr san
cla ss.
90
Chapter9
of a nunrberof crafis.Workersin
this classincludedcarpenters.
jewelers.leatherworkers.
metalworkers,painters.potters,sculptors.anclwcavers.Artisansmade
manybeautifulobjects.inclr-rding
stunningje welry and ele_eant
furnitLrre.
Paintersportrayedscenes
of Egyptiandaily lif'e.Most artisanswerenren.but solnewomen
wove fabric.beadedclothing.and
madeperfurne.
The rnostskilledartisanswerethe stonecarvers.They produced
the statues.
engravings,
and reliefsfoundin Egyptiantemples.
tornbs.and monuments.
The
Stonecarversplayedan importantrole in tornbbLrilding.
belief in an afierlif'einspiredwealthyEgyptiansto orderelaborate
tombsfor themselves.
StonecarvershelpedeqLripthe tombswith
artwurkto honor and preservethe dead.They createdstatuesof
the cleceased.
highlydetailedwall en-eravin-us.
and stonccoffins.
work. The carvers
Stonecarvingwas hard.time-consurning
often workedwith very hard rock. suchas granite.They useda
hardtype of rock calledtloleriteto por,rnd
out the object'sinitial
shape.Next,theyrefinedthe sliapeanclcarl'edin detailsusing
stonetoolsandcopperchisels.Thenthey smoothedand polished
ofien addedcolor to the
the objectusingqr-rartz
sand.Painters
finishedproch-rct.
T he
A
and
ally
fron
or tc
was
time
A
The'
off.
Inh
hunl
P
on r,
cov(
worl
hier,
t
viev
taler
som
aba
artis
showsdifThispainting
ferentkindsof artisans
at work.Lookcarefully.
Wh a td oy o us e e ?
t
g
D
I
n
1d
ed
TheDaily Life and Work of Artisans
were a classin the middle of Egyptian society.They
Artisans
andtheirfamilieslived in modesthomes.Their houseswere usuand barely 10 yards long. Threerooms stretched
allyrectangular
fromfrontto back. The first room was usedeither as a workroom
ortohouseanimals.The living room camenext. The final room
wasdividedinto a kitchen and a bedroom.The roof was someusedas a place to work or sleep.
times
Artisans
typically worked side by side in large workshops.
Theyusuallyworked for 10 days at a stretch before taking time
0ff.Theworkersdependedentirely on their employers for food.
Inhardtimeswhen food was in short supply, artisansoften went
hungry.
Pharaohs
calledupon hundredsof artisansat a time to work
royalprojects.Artisans createdthe fine artwork that often
temples,royal tombs, and other monuments.They
in largegroupsto completeengravings,paintings,and
ieroglyphics.
il
)d
Despite
artisans'skill and creativity,the upper classesoften
themas little more than common laborers.Even the most
artistswere almost never allowed to sign their work. But
artistsdid receiverecognition.Employerssometimesthrew
for their favorite artist. Occasionallythey honoredan
banquet
istby lettinghim portray himself in a painting or an engraving.
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
91
9.7 Peasants
Peasantsmade up the lowest
and largestclassin Egypt's
social pyramid. They were
generallyconsideredunskilled
laborers.Yet Egyptian society
dependedon their work.
Peasantsgrew the crops that
suppliedeveryonewith food.
When they weren't busy working the fields, they helped bui
monumentslike the pyramids.
TheThree Seasons
of the Nile
Peasantlife revolved
the Nile River and its three
sons:the flooding season,the
painting
This
showstwo peasant planting season,and the harvestseason.
farmers
sowingtheirland.
The flooding seasonlasted from June to September.During
Peasants
workedhardto supply this time, the Nile overran its banks and fertilized the fields.
Egyptians
withfood.
Farmers had to wait for the waters to go down before they could
work the fields. In the meantime, they labored on royal projects,
such as building pyramidsand temples.
In October,the planting seasonbegan and farmers sowed thei
fields with seeds.The biggestcrops were wheat and barley,
were used to make bread and beer.
Peasantsworked in pairs to sow the fields. The farmer softenedthe earth with a plow pulled by cattle.A secondperson,
often the farmer's wife, followed behind to scatterthe seeds.
Throughout the season,farmers carefully irrigated the land.
The harvestseasonbeganin March. Usually the farmer's
entire family helped with the harvest.The men cut down the
plantswith sickles(metal bladeswith short wooden handles).
Then the women and children gatheredthe tall stalks of grain.
During harvesttime,everyoneworked from dawn to dusk.
Peasantsoften sangsongsto make the long hours of labor go
more quickly. Sometimesmusiciansplayed in the fields while
the workers sans.
92 Chapter9
TheDailyLivesof Peasants
west
;
lled
ety
rt
rd.
ork)uild
ids.
lund
seahe
o
uld
ItS,
heir
hich
Peasants
had the fewestcomfortsof any of the social
classes.
Theylived in simplehousesmadeof mud bricks.
Their
furniturewas usuallylimited to woven mats.
Thepeasants'
diet was simple.A typicalmealmight include
onions,
cucumbers,
fish, homemadebread,and wateror beer.
Peas
andlentilswerealsocommon.Unlikethe upperclasses,
peasants
rarelyatemeat.In timesof famine" they ofien had to
papyrusplantsfor food.
boiltough
Peasants
spentmost of their lives working,but they did
have
sometime fbr fun. Men enjoyeda river gamethat
involved
knockingeachother
offpapyrus
rafis.Holidays
were
celebrated
beforeplanting
andafterthe harvest.Peasants
also
tookpartin f'estivalshonoringtheEgyptiangods.
Animportant
time of year
forpeasants
was the end of the
harvest
As a reward
season.
fortheirhardwork, they were
allowed
to gatherup as much
grainas they could and
leftover
keep
it for food.But they could
also
bepunishedfor a poor
harvest.
Farmers
hadto pay taxesin
theformof crops.If a farmer's
harvest
cameup short and he
paytherequiredtax,
couldn't
hewasbrutallybeaten.
f a min e a s e v e re
s h o rt au e
of food
T h isp a in t insgh o wsp e a s a n t s
c u t t in g
a n dg a t h e rint g
h ewh e a t
narvest.
ii:
{,.1
9.8GhapterSummary
In thischapter,you learnedaboutEgypt's socialpyramid.
Each
socialclasshad its own role to play in society.You
learned
aboutthe work and daily lives of governmentofficials,
prie$s,
scribes,artisans,and peasants.In the next chapter,you
willtravelsouthalong the Nile and explorethe civilization
ofKush.
Daily Life in AncientEgypt 93