WELCOME TO ANCIENT EGYPT

EGYPTIANS' DAILY LIFE

With all the pictures from ancient Egypt it seems like they constantly worried about death, but in fact they didn't. You see, they enjoyed their life here on the earth so much that they wanted to make sure that it would be the same in another life. Unlike Greeks, they didn't spend time thinking where they would go after they died. They put their possessions in the tombs just to make sure that in case they go somewhere, they will have all the necessities. They put the things they enjoyed the most on the earth, in their graves.


HIEROGLYPHICS

Hieroglyphic was an Egyptian's way of writing. The word itself in Greek means "sacred carved letters". What it actually is, is that Egyptians used picture-symbol sript, meaning that a picture stood for a whole word or a sentence. For example an "x" stood for an enemy. So, their written way of communications was through drawing pictures. And usually they read from right to left.


FOOD

Egyptians seemed to eat regular meals much like ours. For example, they grew corn crops, vegetables like onions, leeks, lettuces, radishes, gourds, melons, and beans. They have also produced oil, which they used for food, or medicine, or cosmetics. Some of the sweets that they had came from trees such as dom-palms, sycamore-fig, acacia, and vines. The sweetest of them all was honey. They raised animals for food and for sacrifices as well. These animals were oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, and donkeys, which were considered domestic animals. Some of the wild animals that they ate were antelope and oryx, as well as pelicans, flamingoes, ducks, and geese.


COSTUME

Usually, Egyptians' garments were made of linen, draped or pleated but not tailored. They were usually plain: men wore a loin cloth, a skirt, or sometimes an undershirt beneath a long flowing garment reaching from neck to feet. On the other hand, women wore a loosely fitting dress from shoulder level to below the knees. Men and women that were from the upper class wore wigs, sometimes very heavy. Women wore them over their own hair and men over shaven head. Egyptian men shaved their head in order to avoid getting lice. Egyptians wore sandals that were made of papyrus and palm-fibre, and sometimes of goat or gazelle's skin.


DREAMS

Dreams were very important to Egyptians. I'm talking about dreams that they saw in their sleep. They were important because it told them what will happen, what should they do or not do. Mostly these dreams were about luck, loss, or gain. For example, if a man sees himself in a dream dead, it is good, meaning he will have a long life in front of him. If he sees himself eating crocodile flesh, it's good, meaning he will be acting as an official amongst his people, usually becoming a tax-collector. If he sees his face in the mirror, it means a new life, in other words death. So, Egyptians gave a lot of attention and meaning to their dreams.


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