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50 Essential Facts About Ancient Egypt

The 50 facts that you MUST know on your way to becoming an expert Egyptologist!

Ra was the most important god to the Ancient Egyptians. He was the sun godGods
Isis was a mother goddess worshipped for her devotion to her family
Osiris was the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld
Horus, god of the sky, was also important to the ancient Egyptians
Thoth was the god of wisdom. He was often depicted as a baboon
Egypt’s first laws were written under King Menes around 2950 BCELaws
Pharaohs were in charge of settling disputes. They often delegated to others
Ma'at was the goddess of justice and laws followed her teachings
Crimes came in two categories: against the state or against individuals
Justice was also given by oracles who proclaimed the will of dead pharaohs
Mummification was necessary if you wanted to get into the afterlifeMummies
Animals were mummified too: crocodiles, falcons, and lots of cats
Internal organs were removed and put inside canopic jars
A finished mummy was placed inside a stone coffin called a sarcophagus
It took seventy days to create a mummy
The Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics: pictures representing wordsWriting
Hieroglyphics were first used around 3200 BCE
Hieroglyphics were written in any direction. The reader had to figure out which
The ancient Egyptians invented and wrote on a type of paper called papyrus
Hieroglyphic writing was seen as art as well as words
The Rosetta Stone is one of the most important artifacts ever foundArtefacts
The Ankh symbol of life was put on the mouths of dead pharaohs
Pharaohs carried a crook and a flail, symbols of the god Osiris
Amulets in the shape of scarabs (dung beetles) were popular
Many artefacts have been found at Saqqara, cemetery of Egypt's capital
The word “pharaoh” means “Great House". It refers to their palacePharaohs
During ancient Egypt's 3,000 year history there were 32 pharaoh dynasties
Tutankhamun became the most famous pharaoh when his tomb was found
Hatshepsut was a lady who became pharaoh after the death of her husband
The last pharaoh was Cleopatra VII. She died in 30 BCE
The word "barge" comes from ancient Egyptian "bꜣjr": a cargo shipLanguage
The word "ivory" comes indirectly for the Egyptian word for "elephant": ꜣbw
The word "migraine" comes from the Egyptian for "half-head" or "headache"
The word "oasis comes" from Egyptian "wḥꜣt": cauldron
The word "pyramid" is not Egyptian. It is Greek for "wheat cake"
The Pyramid of Giza was the world's tallest building for more than 6,000 years!Pyramids
Despite what the Bible says, the pyramids were not built by slaves
Ancient Egyptian astronomers aligned the pyramids with the stars
When first built the pyramids were covered with polished limestone
The earliest Egyptian pyramids were not smooth - they had steps
The drink of choice was beer. Ancient Egyptians drank it every dayFoods
The staple food in ancient Egypt was bread. It's a staple in modern society too
The wealthy in ancient Egypt drank wine
Priests ate very well - and this shortened their lives
Eggs were also eaten - including ostrich eggs
Music was important to the ancient EgyptiansPastimes
They liked to play "senet", one of the oldest known board games
Another popular board game was "mehen"
The Egyptians used chariots in war. It appears that they raced them too
They also liked to listen to stories. Most of these were about their gods

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