There isn’t enough information about human sacrifice in ancient Egypt, though there is some evidence that it could have been practiced in the Nile Valley during the 1st Dynasty and possibly the Predynastic period.
J. Kinnaer posits there were two types of human sacrifice possibly practiced in early ancient Egypt: the killing of human beings as offerings to the gods regularly, or on special occasions and the retainer sacrifice, the killing of servants who were buried with their master.
One form of human sacrifices to the gods may have been the slaying of criminals and prisoners of war. It was a custom, in Predynastic times, to slay slaves at the graves of kings and nobles in order that the souls of the slaughtered might protect them and keep away evil spirits.
Another form is cited in the Pyramid Texts known as the Cannibal Hymn, though not strictly an offering to the gods, the Cannibal Hymn of Unas and Teti talks of the pharaoh as a god who lives on his fathers and feeds on his mothers... Pharaoh is he who eats men and lives on gods.”
Though the Pyramid Texts seem to combine ritual cannibalism with sacrifices to the gods, archaeological evidence shows that in Predynastic & Dynastic times, cannibalism never became a traditional practice, but reemerged during famine, like the 7 year famine period.
The Retainer sacrifice, here slaves or even nobles or family members were thought to carry on their respective positions in the afterlife, for example the slaves and servants were killed so that they could continue to carry out their work for the Pharaoh or their master.
The earliest instances of retainer sacrifice from Egypt appear to date from the last phases of Egyptian prehistory, particularly the Naqada II c. 3500–3200 BC. It is usually supposed that the custom died out after the First Dynasty. J. Van Dijk, W. van den Dungen, B. Trigger
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Nefertari Merytmut (The Beautiful Companion, Beloved of Mut). At age of 13 she married the 15 year old Ramses II. Records say they were married before Ramses II ascended the throne, and Nefertiti was likely a noblewoman, but not a member of the royal family.
Nefertari played a vital role in King Ramses II reign by reading and writing Hieroglyphs, sending letters and messages, and managing successful diplomatic negotiations. Ramses II showed his great love to Nefertari in several paintings, statues, and temple he built for her.
The temple of Abu Simbel was dedicated to the goddess Hathor, god Abhishek, and Queen Nefertari, was the 1st temple built for a queen in Anc. Egypt (Hawass). Nefertari’s statues were always beside King Ramses II, as she was his main royal queen, and the closest one to his heart.
In ancient Egypt marriage was considered to be for a lifetime, however, divorces were fairly common. With an average lifespan of about 30 years, boys were usually married by the ages of 15-20 y/o and girls around 12 y/o. Incest and polygamy were disapproved, except for royalty.
While the primary considerations for partners were quality of lineage, integrity, and personal habits, many couples also looked for romantic love. Many ancient Egyptian tomb drawings depict affectionate gestures between man and wife, indicating the a value of romantic love.
Men and women set out to make their spouses happy because for them marriage would go beyond the grave. More emphasis was placed on the woman's happiness, a man was expected to provide for his wife in a manner that would please her and ensure her happiness.
Appearance was very important for ancient Egyptians, and they are known as a symbol of ancient beauty, vanity, and hygiene. The way they looked and their hair style represented their wealth, status, role in society, gender and age.
Slaves and lower class couldn’t have the same hairstyle as a free person or the upper class. Men usually wore their hair short, women wore their hair long or short and boys and girls had their hair shaved off with only a long lock of hair left on the side of the head.
Wigs were used for the daily life of the royals, but also at major festivals and events. Egyptian wigs usually were made in a structure similar to the helmet, like the Nubian style. Some of them were brightened blue, red or green, and decorated with precious stones and jewelry.
Compared with other ancient civilizations, Egyptian law, has left little evidence of its institutions. Law was believed to have been given to mankind by the gods on the First Occasion (moment of creation), and the gods were responsible for establishing and perpetuating the law.
For the ancient Egyptians, law was personified in the goddess Ma’at. She represented truth, righteousness, justice and maintained the correct balance and order of the universe. The king or pharaoh, as chief official of the judiciary, was a priest of Ma'at.
Since there was no formal law code, cases were decided on precedent. The laws were generally humane, more than those of other societies. Men and women of all classes were treated equally, and there was great emphasis on protection of the family within the society.
Ancient Egyptian’s two most common pigments seen on papyri are black and red. The black ink was mostly used for writing hieroglyphs or hieratic text, this ink was made by burning wood or oil, and then pulverizing the material before mixing it with water.
To avoid the particles from clumping together, the powder was mixed with a binder, probably a plant gum from the Acacia tree family. Besides keeping the carbon particles suspended in the water solution, the gum binder helped to keep the ink adhered to the papyrus surface.
This ink was stable, didn’t fade or deteriorate the papyrus. The red color on the papyrus, derived from the earth pigment iron oxide. Like most pigments used in ancient Egypt it was made from minerals, rather than from organic or living materials.
Ma’at was the goddes of truth, balance, cosmic order, justice and harmony. She was depicted with vulture wings, the ostrich feather of truth in her headdress and carrying the Ankh, the key of life. Ma’at’s worship can be traced to the Old Kingdom ca. 3200 BCE.
According to the Papyrus of Ani (The Book of Coming Forth or Book of the Dead) everyone would be judged before Ma’at to determine whether they were good and able to move on to the afterlife. The feather was weighed against the heart while they stated the 42 Negative Confessions.
Ma’at 42 Negative Confessions translated by E. A. Wallis Budge: 1 I have not committed sin. 2 I have not committed robbery with violence. 3 I have not stolen. 4 I have not slain men or women. 5 I have not stolen food. 6 I have not swindled offerings. 7 I have not stolen from God.