Way of life

Social classes:

The social classes were classified in a pyramidal structure according to the professions. That structure was called the "social pyramid". In the top of that pyramid was the pharaoh who was not only the ruler of Egypt but he represented the gods on earth. He was given two titles which were "lord of two lands" and "high priest of every temple". And after that we have the vizier who was the pharaoh's closest advisor. Then the high priests and nobles. The next class consists of the priests, engineers and doctors: the priests had religious duties in the temples for three months minimum every year and at that time they couldn't leave the temple. The engineers were responsible for building the temples and monuments. The ancient doctors used herbal remedies and surgical techniques as methods of curing. And then there was the class of the scribes who were the only people who knew how to read and write. They had many jobs like writing letters, recording harvests, keeping accounts for the Egyptian army. The next class is the craftsmen such as the artists. The last class is the soldiers, farmers and tomb builders.

Society:

The ancient Egyptian man was the one responsible for his family, he could have more than one wife. The Egyptian society considered the man as a hero but it considered the woman spiteful. But on the other hand Egyptian woman shared with the man important legal rights such as owning lands, operating businesses as well as testifying in court. She also enjoyed more rights and privileges than the other societies at that time. This could be traced through the different pictures which showed the important role of the house wives.

Egyptian Houses:

The lower classes lived in small villages with narrow streets. They used mud bricks that have been dried in the sun to build their houses but it didn't last for a long time. There was a little furniture in those houses which was a bed and small chests to keep clothes in it. There are different examples for those villages such as El-Amarna and Deir el-Medina.

But the wealthy people used to live in the countryside or on the outskirts of the town. They had estates and lived in big houses with high ceiling, pools and gardens. But those houses also had small furniture such as a low square stool with a leather seat on it. The chairs were very rare only very wealthy people had it. The beds were made of woven mat, and small tables were made of wood. There were also chests which were used to put in it domestic possessions such as jewelry and clothes.

Garments and jewelries:

The men and women wore light clothes made of linen due to the hot weather. The men wore aprons; some of the aprons were above the knee and some were below. And the women wore long dresses that reached the ankle. The wealthy people wore sandals made of leather, collars made of gold and precious stones and pairs of bracelets around the wrist or above the elbow as well as rings, anklets and earrings. The ordinary people wore necklaces made of colored pottery beads. The ancient Egyptian women used make up like the black dye that was used to line their eyes and eyebrows and they also used perfumes. They also put natural oils on their skin and hair.

Food:

The Egyptian basic food and drink is bread and beer made from wheet and barley and the rich people made the wine from their grapes. They were the first people to make soft light bread and filled with air. They also were the first to make ovens which they used in baking bread. The ancient Egyptian didn't have sugar, the rich people used honey to make food sweet while the poor people used dates and fruit juices. They also liked the strong tasting vegetables like garlic and onions because they thought that they were useful, and they served the vegetables with oil and vinegar. They also ate peas and beans. The meat was expensive so they ate it on occasions. In the ordinary families the housewives cooked the food, but in rich families they had servants who cooked for them.

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