Reference: Iselin, L., & Harris, P. (2004). Heinemann Ancient and medieval history: Everyday Lives. Heinemann.

Reference: Hurley, T., & Murray, C. (2008). Antiquity 1 : past perspectives. Oxford University Press.

Scene from daily life, Tomb of Nakht, Luxor, TT52. It depicts some things that women did- this includes mainly house duties.

Reference:

Hansen, N. (2020, March 22). The Role of Women in Ancient Egyptian Civilization. TheCollector. https://www.thecollector.com/ancient-egyptian-civilization/

Egyptian Women

The mighty ‘warrior pharaoh’ is one of the most enduring images of ancient Egypt and dates to the beginnings of Egyptian civilisation around 3000 BC. It was both a political and a religious statement and emphasised the king’s role as the divine upholder of maat, the Egyptian concept of order. The king is shown triumphing over the forces of chaos, represented by foreign enemies and bound captives. In earlier times, the king, a distant and mysterious being, was held in godlike awe by his subjects. However, by New Kingdom times he was a more earthly, vulnerable figure who fought alongside his troops in battle. The militarism of the New Kingdom gave birth to a new heroic age… Another aspect of the warrior pharaoh image that developed over time was the pharaoh as elite athlete and sportsman, a perfect physical specimen.

Reference: Hurley, T. (2008). Antiquity 2: interpreting the past. Oxford University Press, pp. 47-48.

In the midst of many peoples, all unknown,

Unnumbered as the sand,

Here I stand,

All Alone;

There is no-one at my side;

My warriors and chariots afeared [frightened],

Have deserted me…

… two thousand and five hundred pairs of horses were around,

And I flew into the middle of their ring,

By my horse-hoods they were dashed

Until the invasion of Hykos in the Second Intermediate Period, a proper army remained absent in ancient Egypt. Prior to it, there were only palace guards and trade escorts. When Egypt established a well-built army, the need for Egyptian Soldiers emerged. The Ancient Egyptian soldier had either decided that this was a good career choice and could lead to security and advancement or the other type of soldier was the conscript who joined the armed forces of Egypt against his will. This was because people were often forced to join the military.

Reference: Vaijayanti Joshi, Prasad Mahabal and Debajit Ghosh (2024), Ancient Egyptian Facts https://ancientegyptianfacts.com/ancient-egyptian-soldiers.html

The Ancient Egyptian soldier was expected to achieve a high level of fitness and was under the authority of the drill master.

Wrestling, Sand-bag lifting, Archery, Knife-throwing, Stick-fighting- all formed a part of the training. An Ancient Egyptian soldier was expected to be able to cover 32 kilometres in one day. Discipline was strict and punishments, by beatings, were severe.

The role of the Ancient Egyptian soldier was to either defend the country or be prepared to make pre-emptive strikes against their enemies. A series of fortresses were built on strategic locations on each of the borders of Egypt.

Many of the Egyptian Soldiers were sent to these forts, a boring, monotonous but relatively safe role which brought little reward. The rewards to a brave soldier included not only promotion and medals but also goods, grants of lands, pensions on retirement and even slaves.As the economy of Ancient Egypt was based on a barter system, a low-ranked Egyptian soldier was paid ten loaves of bread and jugs of beer a day. Wages increased with the higher rank of the soldier. Egyptian Soldiers were allowed to plunder the enemy when they won a battle.

The soldier was equipped with a variety of different weapons which, by the period of the New Kingdom included the clubs and maces, as well as axes, knives, and swords; they were also handy with projectile weapons such as spears, bows and arrows, and javelins.

Reference: Vaijayanti Joshi, Prasad Mahabal and Debajit Ghosh (2024), Ancient Egyptian Facts https://ancientegyptianfacts.com/ancient-egyptian-soldiers.html

If you are excellent, you shall establish your household and love your wife according to her standard:

Fill her belly, clothe her back;

Perfume is a prescription for her limbs.

Make her happy as long as you live!

She is a field, good for her lord.

You shall not pass judgement on her, remove her from power, supress her.

Her eye when she sees anything is her stormwind.

This is how to make her endure in your house:

You shall restrain her. A female who is in her own hands is like rainwater: she is sought, and she has flown away

Reference: Gill, A (2004). Ancient Egyptians: The Kingdom of the Pharaohs Brought to Life.

‘My heart sickens when I see the work of their hands ... I have seen scandal, they are no scribes such as Thoth has enlightened...’.

Reference: https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/international-collection/ancient-egyptian/the-scribe-and-heiroglyphs/

Ancient Egyptians, like modern Egyptians, loved children, and took good care of them. Mothers nursed their babies for three or four years. Little ones were carried by their mothers in a soft sling, so that they felt her body's warmth and her presence always. There are many images of mothers taking their babies with them to work... Even after they began to eat solid food, young children ate with their mothers, who looked after them constantly.

The names given to children also tell us of the affection parents had for their little ones: Nakht, which means strong, and Nefer, which means beautiful, were common names. Merit, which means beloved, was popular, too...

Reference: Royal Ontario Museum. (n.d.). Childhood. Royal Ontario Museum. https://www.rom.on.ca/en/learning/activities-resources/online-activities/ancient-egypt/life-in-ancient-egypt/childhood#:~:text=In%20the%20warm%2C%20dry%20climate

There was no standing army for much of Ancient Egypt's history, though from early on the king was surrounded by a small, elite professional troop of bodyguard. At times of war, armies were levied from the population and young men from the villages were preassigned into service.

Prior to Egyptian armies becoming a known occupation in Ancient Egypt, professional soldiers were very often of foreign origin, either slaves who had been enabled to buy their freedom by enlisting, or mercenaries who, attracted by the high standard of living in Egypt, wished to remain there. In the Late Period, the Egyptian army and navy depended very much on Greek and Phoenician soldiers and sailors.

Women in Ancient Egypt did not have the same rights as men. In all lower-class families, women were responsible for preparing food, including making bread and beer, and caring for children. In peasant families, they also worked in the fields. They were usually not taught to read and write. Apart from work as singers, dancers, musicians, servants, nurses and funeral mourners (people paid to weep and wail at a funeral), few careers were open to women. Despite this, they had more freedom than in most other ancient societies, where women were treated as the property of men.

Reference: Hill, J. (2010). Scribes in ancient Egypt | Ancient Egypt Online. Ancientegyptonline.co.uk. https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/scribe/

Reference: Hill, J. (2010). Scribes in ancient Egypt | Ancient Egypt Online. Ancientegyptonline.co.uk. https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/scribe/

Reference: Greer, V., Iselin, L., & Zarmati, L. (2004). Heinemann ancient and medieval history. Heinemann, ≪&Gt.

Reference: Conti, L., Saldais, M., Easton, M., Kostecki, R., & Dumovic, V. (2017). Oxford Big Ideas Humanities Western Australia 7. Oxford University Press.

Reference: Conti, L., Saldais, M., Easton, M., Kostecki, R., & Dumovic, V. (2017). Oxford Big Ideas Humanities Western Australia 7. Oxford University Press.

Reference: Conti, L., Saldais, M., Easton, M., Kostecki, R., & Dumovic, V. (2017). Oxford Big Ideas Humanities Western Australia 7. Oxford University Press.

Reference: Conti, L., Saldais, M., Easton, M., Kostecki, R., & Dumovic, V. (2017). Oxford Big Ideas Humanities Western Australia 7. Oxford University Press.

Artisans specialized in any one of a number of crafts. Workers in this class included carpenters, jewelers, leatherworkers, metalworkers, painters, potters, sculptors, and weavers. Artisans made many beautiful objects, including stunning jewelry and elegant furniture. Painters portrayed scenes of Egyptian daily life. Most artisans were men, but some women wove fabric, beaded clothing, and made perfume. The most skilled artisans were the stone carvers. They produced the statues, engravings, and reliefs found in Egyptian temples, tombs, and monuments. Stone carvers played an important role in tomb building... Stone carvers helped equip the tombs with artwork to honor and preserve the dead... Stone carving was hard, time-consuming work. The carvers often worked with very hard rock, such as granite...

Artisans were a class in the middle of Egyptian society. They and their families lived in modest homes... Artisans typically worked side by side in large workshops. They usually worked for 10 days at a stretch before taking time off. The workers depended entirely on their employers for food. In hard times when food was in short supply, artisans often went hungry. Pharaohs called upon hundreds of artisans at a time to work on royal projects. Artisans created the fine artwork that often covered temples, royal tombs, and other monuments. They worked in large groups to complete engravings, paintings, and hieroglyphics. Despite artisans' skill and creativity, the upper classes often viewed them as little more than common laborers. Even the most talented artists were almost never allowed to sign their work. But some artists did receive recognition. Employers sometimes threw a banquet for their favorite artist. Occasionally they honored an artist by letting him portray himself in a painting or an engraving.

Reference: Frey, W., Hart, D., & Teachers' Curriculum Institute. (2017). History alive! Tci.

Reference: Frey, W., Hart, D., & Teachers' Curriculum Institute. (2017). History alive! Tci.

The scribe Amennakht is the author of this papyrus in the hieratic script. It is a report concerning a strike held during the reign of King Ramesses III in the village of Deir el-Medina. The workers protested because they had not received their regular food rations, which constituted payment for their work in the Valley of the kings.
“Year 29, secondo month of the Inundation, day 10. Today the work squadron passed the control post shouting “we are hungry!” It is 18 days this month that (the men) go and sit at the back of the funerary temple of Tuthmosis III”. Despite various attempt at conciliation, the protest lasted a number of days. To the officials who tried to persuade them to return to work, the workers replied: “We are here because of the famine and thirst. We are not accustomed to not having unguents, fish, and greens. Write to the pharaoh our perfect lord, take note of our words, and write to the vizier, our superior, because we are in need of our provisions”

"We have gone on strike not from hunger but because we have a serious accusation to make: bad things have been done in this place of Pharaoh."

Reference: Museo Egizio. (n.d.). Collection online - The so-called “Strike Papyrus” written by Amunnakht. Collezioni.museoegizio.it. https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/Cat_1880

The defining feature of an ancient Egyptian priest was his one single duty: To take care of the god of their temple. Compared to priests from other faiths, priests in ancient Egypt did not perform any functions or preach, nor did they convert the unfaithful.

The high priest was always assigned by the pharaoh. He would perform the most important rituals, was seen as the prime mediator between men and gods, and managed the business of the temple. Consequently, high priests were seen as figures of both political and religious authority…Priests play a vital role by honouring and caring for the gods daily.

What Types of Priest Were There?

The priests who had medical training were known as the swnw (general practitioner) and sau (magical practitioner),trained in both the ways of magic and medicine. A priest paid by a family to perform the daily offerings at the tomb of a deceased relative was known as a Ka-priest (or ka-servant). Sem priests were tasked to preside over mortuary rituals and conducted funeral services. They were the embalmers who performed the mummification of a corpse and recited magic incantations while wrapping the deceased. They were held in high esteem for their service and spells, which would guarantee eternal life to the dead.

Reference: Radu, C. (2024). How Did a Priest’s Day at the Temple of Ra Look? [online] TheCollector. Available at: https://www.thecollector.com/priest-day-temple-of-ra/.

…their sole responsibility was to care for the god in the temple. Men and women could be clergy, performed the same functions, and received the same pay. Women were more often priestesses of female deities while men served males…

High priests were chosen by the king, who was considered the high priest of Egypt, the mediator between the people and their gods, and so this position had political as well as religious authority…

Throughout Egypt's history, the priesthood would serve a vital role in maintaining religious belief and tradition while, at the same time, consistently challenge the authority of the king by amassing wealth and power which at times rivalled that of the crown.

Reference: Mark, J.J. (2017). Clergy, Priests & Priestesses in Ancient Egypt. [online] World History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1026/clergy-priests--priestesses-in-ancient-egypt/.

Priests played an important role in ancient Egypt. The priesthood was responsible for ensuring the earth and heavens remained as the gods created them. Priests accomplished this through a series of rituals they performed each day in the temple. Members of the priesthood performed these ceremonies in the name of the King.

Many people served as part-time priests in their local temples and were rewarded for their service with a share of the food and drink offered to the gods. The king may have been involved in the naming of some high-ranking priests, especially to politically powerful positions. Many priestly positions were passed down from father to son…

The most powerful priests in a temple complex were attached to the cult of the god. These priests served the deity’s physical needs, like food and dress. They often held powerful non-religious positions as well.

In large temples, a hierarchy sometimes developed among the priests. Many of the upper level priests came up through the ranks, but sometimes they were appointed by the king as a means of keeping a check on priestly political power. For instance, during the Third Intermediate Period, the high priest of Amun in Thebes was often one of the king’s sons.

Other priests had technical roles in temple, such as caring for clothing on the gods’ statues and other cult objects. Some were responsible for reading the ritual texts aloud on a daily basis. They were masters of hieroglyphs and other forms of Egyptian writing. They worked in the temple library and cared for books on medicine herbs, magic, and theology.

Reference: Albany Institute of History and Art (n.d.). Priests in Ancient Egypt. [online] Available at: https://www.albanyinstitute.org/ [Accessed 17 May 2025].

Reference: TCI Advisory Board (2016). History Alive! the Ancient World. Teachers; Curriculum Institute.

Egyptian scribes regularly appear in tomb depictions of everyday activities; recording the biennial cattle census, measuring the fields for taxation purposes, checking deliveries of harvested grain, weighing precious metals. The ancient Egyptians placed huge significance on the written word. They believed that committing speech to writing made the words real and true, a belief shared by all Egyptians, literate or not. Those unable to read themselves employed scribes to draw up contracts, letters, inventories and wills. Scribes were required to make agreements and intentions permanent and binding. When the scribe read back his work, his client trusted him to honestly recite the words he had written, trusting he would not abuse his calling. Unsurprisingly, every father hoped to see his son become a scribe: they were highly respected members of society.

Reference: Wilson, H. (2019). Scribe Like an Ancient Egyptian | History Today. [online] www.historytoday.com. Available at: https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/scribe-ancient-egyptian.

In ancient Egypt, scribes held one of the most desired professions. These literate men—rare in a society with low literacy—spent their lives putting pen to papyrus.

Reference: Anderson, S. (2024). Ancient Egyptian Scribes Were Worked to the Bone. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-egyptian-scribes-were-worked-to-the-bone-180984628/.

Scribes, along with the foremen, were captains over workers in a village and were the liaison between the community and the higher authorities. Their duties included recording the activities of the village, overseeing the use of material from the royal storehouses, receiving and distributing wages, recommending candidates for vacancies in the workforce, as well as being chief magistrates in the local court and chief witnesses for any oaths.

Reference: The Australian Museum (2023). The Scribe and Hieroglyphs. [online] The Australian Museum. Available at: https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/international-collection/ancient-egyptian/the-scribe-and-heiroglyphs/.

Scribes in ancient Egypt were much more than mere recorders of numbers and transactions. They were the backbone of administrative processes, ensuring the accurate maintenance of financial records, the smooth operation of governmental functions, and the prevention of corruption. Their expertise in writing and knowledge of hieroglyphics made them indispensable in a society that valued precision and accountability…One of the primary responsibilities of scribes was meticulous record-keeping. This included documenting transactions, inventories, and tax collections.

Reference: Suntharanurak, S. (2024). Auditing in Ancient Egypt and the Role of Scribes. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@sutthisun/auditing-in-ancient-egypt-and-the-role-of-scribes-037620d2830a.

Just 1 percent of the population was literate when the nation’s pyramids were being built, researchers say. Scribes in ancient Egypt were privileged members of society who often performed a range of administrative roles and secretarial tasks, such as keeping official records, managing households and recording taxes. Art and writing from the time suggest that scribes often sat cross-legged or in a kneeling position for extended periods while they wrote with thin, brushlike rush pens (and later reed pens), recording important notes on sheets of papyrus, pottery notepads called ostraca or wooden boards…

Although this work was not considered physically demanding—and was likely a sought-after job at the time…

Reference: Graham-Shaw, K. (2024). Ancient Egyptian Scribes Suffered Back Pain, Too. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-egyptian-scribes-suffered-back-pain-too/.

Reference: Nweke, B. (2021, May 6). The First-Ever Labour Strike in History. Lessons from History. https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-first-ever-labour-strike-in-history-2a87df5bb7dc

Ancient Egyptian artists talents were highly regarded, as evidenced by the images on the walls of many tombs depicting artists and craftsmen sculpting and polishing statues, producing intricate jewellery, and carving wooden furniture, among other artistic pursuits. The artworks they produced served a range of functions—given as gifts to their gods as acts of worship, placed in tombs to aid the dead in the afterlife, and used in daily life.

Draftsmen, sculptors, and painters usually worked in teams attached to the royal court or one of Egypt’s many temples. They sometimes lived in distinct workmen’s villages, such as Deir el-Medina in modern Luxor.

Reference: The Art Institute of Chicago (n.d.). Ancient Egyptian. [online] The Art Institute of Chicago. Available at: https://www.artic.edu/artists/37541/ancient-egyptian?page=36 [Accessed 17 May 2025].

‘We are impoverished*. All the supplies for us that are from the treasury, the granary, and the storehouse have been allowed to be exhausted… One and a half hundredweight of grain has been taken away from us… [i.e. is missing from the ration**]… we are dying, we do not live at all.’

…’This day… twenty days have elapsed in the month and rations have not been given to us.’

…’We are hungry,… eighteen days have passed this month’ and they had still not received their proper rations.

‘I will go to Thebes and to the High Priest of Amun and there accuse the Mayor of Thebes of not giving us the bread of the divine offerings from the temple of Ramesses II. He has committed a great crime!’

very poor
*an amount of something (e.g. food) allowed to each person during a time of shortage

Reference: McCorquodale, K. (2010). Ancient and Medieval History: Egypt. Heinemann, p. 34.

Reference: Egypt Museum (2022). Relief of a carpenter at work on a scaffolding - Egypt Museum. [online] Egypt Museum. Available at: https://egypt-museum.com/carpenter-at-work/ [Accessed 17 May 2025].

Artists in ancient Egypt were not celebrated in the way they are today. Artists would work in assembly-line situations, just like the tomb builders, and most of the artwork that decorated the Valley of Kings was attributed to the person who commissioned the work, not the artist.

Most artists were high-ranking workers or artists’ sons and they collaborated with sculptors to complete specific designs.

Reference: Hansen, N. (2019). How Ancient Egyptians Lived and Worked in the Valley of Kings. [online] TheCollector. Available at: https://www.thecollector.com/how-ancient-egyptians-lived-and-worked-in-the-valley-of-kings/.

Artisans in ancient Egypt were highly respected and held a vital place in society. Unlike many contemporary societies where craftsmen might be viewed as lower-class laborers, Egyptian artisans enjoyed a degree of social status. Their work was often commissioned by the elite, including pharaohs and nobles, for whom they created intricate goods intended for both daily use and burial with the deceased. This respect was reflected in the meticulous care artisans took in their work, as their creations were not just functional items but also served religious and ceremonial purposes. For instance, the construction of elaborate burial goods—such as canopic jars, decorated chests, and exquisite jewelry—demonstrated the artisans' skill and the value placed on their craftsmanship in ensuring a successful afterlife for the elite.

Reference: Jenniejohnson.com. (2025). Ancient Egyptian Artisans and Their Economic Influence. [online] Available at: https://jenniejohnson.com/bestjobs/the-art-of-craftsmanship-ancient-egyptian [Accessed 17 May 2025].

Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2024). Nina de Garis Davies | Scene of Metal Workers, Tomb of Rekhmire | New Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [online] Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544645 [Accessed 17 May 2025].

Reference: The tomb-chapel of Rekhmire TT100. (n.d.). Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/manna4u/31854363713 [Accessed 17 May 2025].

Reference: TCI Advisory Board (2016). History Alive! the Ancient World. Teachers; Curriculum Institute.