Chapter 9 Daily Life in

Ancient EgyptHistory Alive! Pages 81 - 93

9.1 IntroductionEach year the Nile River flooded its banks,

all of Egypt celebrated the Opet Festival.Almost everyone in Egyptian society took

part in the festival.The Opet Festival brought all these groups

together.◦In everyday life, they belonged to very different

social classes.◦The social classes made up a social pyramid

with the pharaoh at the top and the peasants at the bottom.

9.2 Ancient Egypt’s Social Pyramid

Egyptian society was structured like a pyramid. The pharaoh, Egypt’s supreme ruler, was on the

top of the pyramid.Below the pharaoh were several layers of social

classes.Government officials and priests belonged to the

top two classes just below the pharaoh.◦Government officials were wealthy and carried out the

pharaohs orders.◦Priests were also very powerful. They were in charge of

the religious ceremonies.Next on the pyramid were the scribes.

◦Scribes were respected in society. It took many years of schooling to become a scribe.

9.2 Ancient Egypt’s Social Pyramid

Artisans occupied the next layer. ◦This group included craftspeople, painters,

sculptors and stone carvers.◦Highly skilled work force with very little social

status.The peasants were at the bottom.

◦They were the largest social class.

Life in Egypt’s Social ClassesPeople belonged to the same social class as

their parents.Egyptians in all social classes cherished

family life.◦Children were highly valued.

Men were the heads of their households.◦Fathers trained their sons from an early age to take

on their line of work.Women managed the home and raised the

children.◦Women enjoyed more freedoms and rights than

most women in the ancient world. Women could own land, run a business, divorce, and

manage legal matters.

Life in Egypt’s Social ClassesThe Egyptians believed that their class

system created a stable, well-ordered society.◦Each group had its own role to play.

9.3 Government OfficialsGovernment officials job was to assist

the pharaoh in his or her role.◦Most officials inherited their position.

An important official called the vizier had more power than anyone except the pharaoh.◦He advised the pharaoh and carried out his

commands.◦The vizier also served as chief judge.

He was expected to be fair.

9.3 Government Officials (continued)

The chief treasurer looked after the government wealth.◦People paid their taxes in grain, cows, cloth,

silver and even beer.After the pharaoh, the general of the

armies was the top military commander in Egypt.◦He helped the pharaoh make alliances with

other kingdoms. An alliance in an agreement between nations to

work together for common interests.

9.3 Government OfficialsLives of Luxury

High government officials led lives of luxury.◦Great wealth, fine homes and plenty of free

time to socialize.◦The officials enjoyed lavish banquets that

included a variety of food, music and entertainment.

9.4 PriestsPriests were powerful and highly

respected.◦The pharaoh was considered the highest

ranked priest of all. The High Priest advised the pharaoh.

◦Temple priests were in charge of individual temples. Other priests handled common concerns.

Women were allowed to be priestesses in Egypt.Every temple was home to an Egyptian god or

goddess.

9.4 Priests (continued)

A temple’s god was thought to live in a statue.◦The statue was housed in a holy room called a sanctuary.

◦Only a priest that purified/cleansed himself could enter the sanctuary. Cleansing included avoid certain foods, bath three

or four times, shave his body, and wear only linen clothes.

The Priests’ Role in Burial Practices

Egyptians believed in a life after death.The thought the spirits of the dead

needed their bodies in the afterlife.Priests oversaw the sacred work of

embalming.◦Embalming is to treat a dead body with

preservatives to prevent it from decaying.

How to Make an Egyptian MummyThe embalming process had many steps.1. The body organs were removed.

◦ The brain was pulled through the nostrils.◦ The heart was not removed – it was used to judge a

person’s soul.

2. The organs were packed in jars to preserve them.3. The organs and body were dried out with a special

salt called natron.4. After 70 days the body was washed and oiled.5. It was then wrapped in 100’s of yards of linen.6. Finally, they spread a black, gooey gum over the

body and wrapped it a final time.

The mummy was then ready for burial!

How to Make an Egyptian MummyThe mummy was placed in a wooden box

that was then placed in a stone coffin, called a sarcophagus.

Many items were buried along with the body including food, furniture, jewelry, clothes, games and mirrors.

Even the poor Egyptians wrapped their dead in cloth and buried them with many items they thought would be needed in the afterlife.

9.5 ScribesScribes were Egypt’s official writers and

record keepers.They were highly respected and highly

paid.They worked for the government, priests

and nobles.Only men could become scribes.Scribes came from all classes of society.

◦It was one of the few ways men could rise above their parents’ social classes.

9.5 Scribes (continued)

Scribe schools were run by priests.Students started at age 5.Scribe school lasted for 12 years.They learned the very complicated system

of writing called hieroglyphs.◦Hieroglyphs contains over 700 symbols.

Scribes spent many years practicing on a variety of objects before they were permitted to write on papyrus.

9.5 Scribes (continued)

Scribe school was not an easy life.◦Classes lasted from dawn until sunset.◦Beatings were common.◦Teachers frequently yelled at students for being

lazy or not paying attention.

9.5 Scribes (continued)

Scribes held a variety of jobs.They recorded the government census.

◦Census – an official count of the population or number of people living in an area.

Every scribes used the same tools.◦Sharpened reed, sheet of papyrus, two ink

wells (red and black) and a small container of water to wet the ink.

Papyrus was made from the inner part of the papyrus plant.

CORELL

RAMESES III

HATSHEPSUT

9.6 ArtisansEgypt’s artisans were highly skilled

laborers . They rarely got the respect they deserved.Artisans included:

◦Carpenters, jewelers, leatherworkers, metal-workers, painters, potters, sculptors, and weavers.

◦Most artisans were men.The most skilled artisans were the stone

carvers.◦They produced the statues, engravings and

reliefs found in temples, tombs and monuments.

9.6 Artisans - The Daily Life and Work of Artisans

Egyptian artisans were the middle of the classes in society.◦They lived in modest homes.◦They worked side by side in large workshops.◦They worked 10 days in a row before taking a day off.◦They depended on their employer for food.

Sometimes they went hungry.Upper classes often viewed them as little more

than common laborers.They were not permitted to sign their work.Occasionally, employers threw the artist a

banquet for their favorite artist. Or even let them portray themselves in a painting or engraving.

9.7 PeasantsPeasants made up the lowest and

largest class in Egypt’s social pyramid.◦They were considered unskilled labor.◦Egypt depended on their work.

They grew the crops and built the monuments.Peasant life revolved around the Nile and

its three seasons. Flood season – June to September

◦Peasants worked on royal projects like the pyramids and temples.

Planting season – Began in October ◦Biggest crops were wheat and barley

Harvest season – Began in March◦Everyone worked from dawn to dusk.

9.7 Peasants – The Daily Lives of Peasants

Peasants had the fewest comforts.◦Simple houses of mud bricks and no furniture.◦Their diet was simple – bread, vegetables, water and

beer. Rarely was meat available.◦Famine – a severe shortage of food.

Peasants spent most of their time working.◦They did occasionally have time for games.◦They took part in festivals honoring the Egyptian

gods.They were rewarded for a good harvest w/

extra food.However, they could be severely beaten if their

crops were short and/or they couldn’t pay their taxes.