Seven Interesting Facts about Ancient Egypt (Part II)

The history of Egypt has always fascinated many for hundreds of years and many excavations and research were done by scholars and archeologists to know more about them. In the first part of the story, we have discussed about a few interesting facts about ancient Egypt and continuing so in this article with a few more facts about ancient Egypt.

Many Animals were Considered Divine

In ancient Egypt, many animals were seen as incarnations of the Gods and held a special place in their rituals and religion.

Animals like hawks, lions, dogs, and baboons were very famous among ancient Egyptians and some of them are believed to be divine also. Animals were mummified and buried along with their owners so that they can accompany their masters in the afterlife. Many Gods in ancient Egypt were depicted as half animals and half humans and in a few instances, they are fully animals. Anubis, the ancient God of death in Egypt is portrayed as a jackal, a ferocious predator.

Used Make Up

It’s interesting to know that people in ancient Egypt loved to make- up and both men and women wore make-up. 

In ancient Egypt both men and women liked to dress up, wear ornaments and make-up. They used copper to make green eye paint and lead to make black eye paint. Eye paint was also useful to protect their eyes from sunlight and they also believed that make-up has magical powers to heal. They also used perfume and most of them took great pride in their appearance. Women used red ochre as lip colour and henna was used to decorate fingertips and toes.

Two Forms of Writing

Ancient Egyptians used two forms of writing known as Hieroglyphs and Hieratic writing. 

Ancient Egyptians were quite proficient in reading and writing with their own script. Unlike other civilizations, ancient Egyptians used two forms of writing- Hieroglyphs and Hieratic. Hieroglyphs was mainly a decorative form of writing displayed on monuments and tombs while the Hieratic form of writing is a cursive form used in daily lives. Priests used Hieratic script to write religious texts for centuries.

Pharaohs were Both Political and Religious Heads

In ancient Egypt, Pharaos were considered of divine origins and they were both political and religious heads.

Pharaohs in ancient Egypt hold two very important positions termed as ‘Lord of the Two Lands,’ and ‘High Priest of the Temple'. They were both state and religious heads and commanded high respect in society. They saw themselves of divine origins and they are regarded as God’s representatives on earth. Pharaos built temples and they are also the high priests of the temples.