30 Facts About Ancient Egypt

30 Facts About Ancient Egypt

1. For the first time, antibiotics began to be used massively only in the last century. At the same time, ancient Egyptian doctors knew perfectly well what it was about four thousand years ago. In the treatment of infectious diseases, they used any moldy products, as well as soil.
2. Egyptians from wealthy classes wore wigs, as they cut their hair. The same procedure was done with the children, only leaving them a long braid. And it's not in fashion, so the Egyptians got rid of lice and fleas. But the poor had to go hard, they went with long hair.
3. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the soldiers of Napoleon who "broke off" the nose of the Sphinx. Yes, they did shoot it with cannon, but by that time the statue had already been damaged. Since there is an image of the Sphinx in 1737 (a few decades before the French were in Egypt), on which he was already without a nose. In history, there was only one name of the vandal - Saim al-Dahr. An Islamic fanatic tried to destroy the statue in 1378. But it is not known what damage it did to her.
4. The very first pyramid, built on the territory of Egypt, is the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser. It was erected tentatively in the 2600s BC. And unlike the famous pyramid of Cheops, it is stepped. At the same time, at first it was surrounded by a wall with fifteen doors, only one was opened.
5. In Egypt, piously believed that all the pharaohs - this is the earthly embodiment of the god Horus. And so the supreme power in the country belonged only to men. But once there was a chance - on the throne was a woman. That among the people there was no excitement, the priests invented a legend, they say, she is the daughter of the god Amun. But at various official ceremonies Hatshepsut was still present in men's clothes and with an artificial beard.
6. Egyptians were the first to come up with wheels with spokes. Therefore, their two-wheeled chariots were light and maneuverable. And their main at that time opponents (Hittites) continued to use slow and heavy four-wheeled vehicles. The wheels were completely wooden.
7. The first on earth people who wore engagement rings on an unnamed finger, are exactly the Egyptians. This custom they then borrowed from the Greeks and Romans.
8. Before killing herself, Cleopatra on slaves experienced the actions of several poisons. She wanted to find the fastest and painless.
9. Mother in Ancient Egypt was the head of the family. Moreover, even the pedigree was conducted only on the maternal line.
10. For a long time in Egypt, among the wealthy women was the fashion for transparent dresses.
11. In ancient Egypt, you could not go into the house (even your own) in shoes.
12. Pharaohs near him always kept special servants - porters of sandals. Although the rulers preferred to walk barefoot, but shoes were an indispensable attribute of wealth.
13. During any large feast, the Egyptians considered it perfectly normal to rub themselves and others with incense or to start changing clothes for everyone.
14. That men, that women in Egypt used makeups of green (from copper) and black (from lead) colors. The conventional opinion about the fashion or the healing properties of such a "coloring" is erroneous. In fact, makeup protected people's faces from the sun's rays.
15. The Egyptians had developed a postal service. They sent letters to the right address with the help of domesticated pigeons.
16. It was in Ancient Egypt that the first official testament was made in the world. Its author is one of the sons of Pharaoh Hafre. A document was written about 2601 BC.
17. The ancient Egyptians never celebrated their birthdays. With what it is connected - it is not known till now.
18. Egyptian doctors were "advanced" not only by the standards of that time, but even by modern ones. They could conduct complex operations and knew the human body perfectly. Organ transplantation, heart bypass, as studies of Egyptologists have shown, all this for the ancient doctors was not a problem. All this knowledge, unfortunately, burned down with the library of Alexandria.
19. In life, the Egyptians used three different calendars. At their disposal were: daily agricultural, astronomical and lunar. The first consisted of 365 days and included three seasons for four months. The astronomical was based on observations of Sirius, which "became available" every year at the beginning of the rainy season. And the lunar calendar was led by the priests, where they indicated the dates of various religious ceremonies.
20. The main meal of the Egyptians was bread, and a drink - beer. In the shrines of rich people, mock breweries were always placed so that they did not lack this drink.
21. As a fly agarist, the Egyptians used special lashes made from the tails of giraffes.
22. The beginning of Egyptian history is considered to be 3200 BC. At this time, the ruler of Menes (sometimes called Narmer) was able to unite the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. In 341 BC. the Egyptian pharaohs were first displaced by the Persian governors, and then by the Greeks from the Ptolemaic dynasty. For example, the same Cleopatra by "passport" was a Greek and did not know the Egyptian language.
23. The approximate date of the appearance of the hieroglyphs is 3000 BC. In total there are about 700 unique hieroglyphs that could be just a letter, a word and even a sentence.
24. The main god in the pantheon of the Egyptians was Ra. But while they worshiped more than a thousand different gods, spirits. For example, the hippopotamus, like the crocodile, was considered a divine creature. Not to mention cats.
25. It is interesting that not only people or cats but also other animals were mummified. Archaeologists managed to find a crocodile mummy, whose length exceeded four meters.
26. In Egyptian society, although there was no matriarchy, but the woman had a large body of rights. For example, the Egyptians could be the first to file for divorce.
27. It was in Egypt for the first time invented soap, tooth powder, deodorants, combs, as well as shoes with high heels.
28. The Egyptians were the first to learn how to make concrete. To do this, they crushed minerals mixed with silt.
29. One of the Egyptian pharaohs acted as a "sponsor" during the Phoenicians' voyage around Africa.
30. One of the most famous pharaohs - Ramses II - ruled the country for almost seventy years (1279-1213 BC). During this time several generations of Egyptians succeeded. Therefore, they sincerely believed that their ruler was an immortal deity.

Reference:

1. https://fishki.net/1999512-30-faktov-o-drevnem-egipte-o-kotoryh-vy-navernjaka-ne-znali.html