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Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

You wake up, yawn and stretch, on an old sack full of hay, lying in a dark room.  After getting dressed in darkness, you step out and have a breakfast of bread and fish.  Then you step out onto the old dusty road, sniffing the scent of horses walking past.  Another day in ancient Egypt has begun.

In ancient Egypt, the highest percentage of people were peasants or the lower class.  Early on in Egyptian history, peasants were treated much as we would think of slaves being treated, and they were even branded.  However, throughout most of Egyptian history, peasants were simply a group of not-so-rich farmers whose diet consisted of bread, beer, vegetables and fish (the rich, by contrast, ate dates, pomegranates, figs, beef and goose, with even some wine and cakes).  The peasants usually only wore loincloths and lived in small mud brick huts without much furniture.  The rich often wore long garments of white linen, make-up on men and women alike, wigs, jewelry, and perfume. The rich lived in large townhouses or mansions with small shrines, gardens, pools, kitchens, bedrooms, common rooms, and rooms made strictly for the accommodations of visitors.  To keep these large houses cool during the hot days, servants would dampen mats with cold water and place them on the floors of the house so that, as the sun beat down, it would cool the house.  Despite the many differences between the two social classes, neither had much furniture.  The rich slept on mats, the poor on sacks full of hay.  The rich ate on small tables, sitting on stools.  The poor ate on the floor.  Although ancient Egyptian life was far from equal, it was the everyday routine of that culture.

Above all of the social classes was the royal court.  The court often wore the fanciest clothing, makeup and jewelry.  They had much power over the common people and richer craftsmen alike. Whenever one of the royal court approached the pharaoh, they had to fall down and kiss the ground at his feet.  Very few people could read or write.  However, scribes were professional writers and readers and spent their whole lives writing down or reading information for higher-ranking people.

Women in ancient Egypt were not the weak housewives often seen in ancient societies, but rather had a much more active role.  Besides bringing up the children and doing the cooking, they often had to help with the family profession.

Life in ancient Egypt was actually quite similar to life today.   People still kept pets, usually sacred cats or monkeys.  Kids played with toys, like small stone lions that could open or close their mouths by pulling a string.   All sorts of people enjoyed playing board games.

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