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I was browsing through the library when I spotted this book. It is a small hardcover book filled with tons of facts about ancient Egypt. In this article I thought that I would incorporate interesting fact that I found and share them with you.
Famous Kings *Ramses the Great had 8 official wives and nearly 100 concubines. He was over 90 years old when he died in 1212 BC. *Thuthmosis III tried to destroy the memory of his predecessor, Queen Hatshepust, by building a wall around one of her oblisks. Ironically, this helped to preserve it for posterity. *Amenhotep III dug a pleasure lake for his wife, which was over 5,500 ft long, in only 15 days. One of Amenhotep's brides, a princess from the kingdom of Mitanni (northern Iraq), arrived in Egypt with 317 servantwemon. *Ankenaton's devotion to a single god has led people to call him the forerunner of Moses or Christ. Famous Queens *Hatshepust was refurred to as "His Majesty", despite being a woman. After her sucession she was depicted as a man, without breasts and wearing the costume of a ruling pharaoh, complete with false beard. *The tomb of Queen Nefertari -wife of Ramesses the Great- is the most beautifully painted of all the royal tombs and has been nicknamed "Egypt's Sistine Chapel." *Cleopatra seduced Julius Caesar and bore him a son. Later the "temptress of the East" married Mark Antony, by whom she had more than three children. Pyramids & Other Wonders *The pyramids were built not by slaves, but largely by peasant farmers conscripted during their "off-season," when their fields were flooded by the annual inundation of the Nile. *The true pyramid shape may have been inspired by the spreading rays of the sun. *The Great Sphinx at Giza is the largest freestanding sculpture that survives from the ancient world. Over 240 ft long, and 66 ft high, it is probably a colossal portrait of King Khafre, whose huge pyramid rises behind it. Food & Drink *The working man's packed lunch usually consisted of bread, beer and onions, with an occasional cucumber. *Baboons were trained to climb fig trees and pick the ripe friut for their owners. *In paintings of banquets a mandrake fruit is sometimes shown being held to the noses of guests for its hallucinatory properties. Magic, Myth & Mystery *The "Book of the Dead" was not an actual book but a collection of up to 200 chapters or spells Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Amazing Facts About Ancient Egypt in Ancient Egypt is owned by . Permission to republish Amazing Facts About Ancient Egypt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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