How many of us know that apart from a fascinating civilization, ancient Egypt was full of mysteries and weird facts that continue to puzzle us today?
Ancient Egypt is known worldwide for its majestic pyramids, the enigmatic pharaohs and the awe-inspiring, millennia-old monuments. However, a culture full of peculiar and lesser-known facts lies beneath this wealthy and captivating history.
Here are some weird yet fascinating facts about ancient Egypt—a magnificent culture that continues to shape our world today—that might surprise you.
Cats were sacred (and mummified)
The ancient Egyptians are known for their love of cats. They revered these feline companions to an extraordinary degree. They associated cats with the goddess Bastet, who, according to Egyptian mythology, symbolized home, fertility and protection.
Killing a cat was considered a grave crime punishable by death.
When a family cat died, the household would mourn by shaving their eyebrows, showing the gods and their world their sorrow for their loss. Cats were occasionally mummified and buried with their owners to accompany them into the afterlife.
Archaeologists have discovered cemeteries dedicated to cats, revealing how important the Egyptians considered their felines.
Cleopatra wasn’t Egyptian
Despite being one of ancient Egypt’s most iconic figures, and quite literally a synonym of ancient Egypt’s grandeur, Cleopatra was not Egyptian by birth.
She was a descendant of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek-Macedonian family that ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great.
Cleopatra was the first in her Greek lineage to learn the Egyptian language, which made her very popular among the local population. They saw her not as a foreign conqueror, but as a ruler who was one of them.
Ancient Egyptians loved board games
The ancient Egyptians were people who loved having a good time, thus, they were avid gamers.
According to archaeological evidence, one of their favorite pastimes was a board game called “Senet“. This game, which dates back more than 5,000 years to around 3100 BC, involved strategic thinking and a little luck. To play “Senet,” players had to move pieces across a grid and try to outsmart their opponent.
This game was so popular that it was often buried with the dead, so that they could entertain themselves with it in the afterlife.
Another weird fact about ancient Egypt: Make-up products
We are all aware of the extravagant makeup that most pharaohs are depicted wearing.
Both men and women in ancient Egypt wore makeup, but this wasn’t just for aesthetics or to make them look wealthier than they were.
A fascinating fact about ancient Egypt and its inhabitants is the belief that kohl eyeliner, made from ground minerals, had protective properties against eye infections because it reduced sun glare. They also thought that wearing such makeup products would protect them from negative energy.
Dark makeup to combat the glare of the sun was a much-needed element in their everyday life because of Egypt’s fiercely hot summers.
Egyptian bread was unhealthy
Bread was the cornerstone of the ancient Egyptian diet, but it came with a surprising risk that few people know about.
The grinding process for making bread often mixed sand and stone into the flour. The reason for this was most likely economic, as it reduced production costs.
However, this led to significant wearing down of the teeth of those who consumed a substantial amount of this gritty bread.
Archaeologists have found mummies with severely eroded teeth, proving that their diets contained an alimentary element that slowly but surely ruined their teeth.
Priests and the Onion Ban in Ancient Egypt
While onions were commonly eaten by the general population for their nutritional and medicinal properties, the Egyptian priests held a different view.
According to Diodorus Siculus in Bibliotheca Historica (Book 1, Chapter 79), the priests refrained from eating onions due to their belief in the moon’s influence on the vegetable’s growth. He writes, “The priests of Egypt, on account of their religious observances, refrain from eating certain foods. Among them are onions, which they hold in abhorrence, for they grow under the influence of the moon, and they believe that this makes them unsuitable for consumption.”
Pharaohs’ obsession with baldness
Pharaohs were known for their beautifully elaborate headdresses, but they also had unique hair care practices that few ordinary people could afford.
One weird fact about ancient Egypt is that many rulers shaved their heads to maintain cleanliness and wore wigs for ceremonial purposes.
These wigs were often scented with aromatic oils and adorned with gold threads. This practice ensured that the pharaohs would stay clean and look beautiful.