Pharaoh and priest

The pharaoh (king) was the absolute ruler of Egypt, whose power was believed to come from the gods. It was the pharaoh’s duty to build temples for the gods and make sure that offerings were made. The high priest, the most important person in each temple, carried out these duties for the pharaoh.

Pharaoh - Images, names and titles of the pharaoh were everywhere. Artists painted him (and occasionally her) on the walls of temples, fighting enemies and honouring the gods. Craftsmen made statues of the pharaoh, both smaller and larger than life size. The pharaoh could wear several different crowns, two of which represented Upper and Lower Egypt. Amulets (protective charms) in the shape of the two crowns would give a dead person royal privileges in the Afterlife.

Priest - The high priest was at the head of all levels of priests. Most of the lower-ranking priests worked part-time in the temple, and had another job as well. Stelae (inscribed slabs of stone or wood) and funerary cones (pottery cones, placed at the entrance to a tomb) have been found with all their job titles written on them. A priest on duty had to follow strict rules about what to wear and eat. He also had to bathe regularly and remove all body hair with a razor or tweezers. Music was an important part of the temple ritual, and it was often women who played instruments and sang.

Official, scribe and soldier

It took a huge number of civil servants to keep the state running smoothly. They worked in different government departments responsible for collecting taxes, keeping law and order, running the royal household and the army.

Official and scribe - The vizier was the pharaoh’s (king’s) chief minister and the most important official. There were many levels below him. A person’s job titles were recorded on objects made for their tomb, such as a stela (inscribed slab of stone or wood) or funerary cone (pottery cone, placed at the entrance to a tomb). Carved inscriptions gave job titles and career details, so we know that the man Hor-em-heb was head of the army about 3,300 years ago, and later became pharaoh. One important job was surveying land holdings and setting up boundary stones to work out the tax due from each estate. Officials marked property with seals as a sign of their authority. Scribes recorded everything on papyrus (paper made from reeds) or ostraca (pieces of broken stone or pottery) using pen and ink.

Soldier - The army had many different departments and ranks. It was a mix of full-time soldiers and men who were called up when needed. The army included foreign soldiers, such as the famous archers from Nubia (now southern Egypt and northern Sudan). Soldiers used axes, knives, maces and stabbing spears, for hand-to-hand fighting. They carried shields for protection and later wore quilted and metal-covered armour.

Farmworker and waterman

Most people in ancient Egypt worked on the land, growing food and tending animals, although few of them owned the land they worked on. Many men were employed on the river Nile as sailors and fishermen.

Farmworker - Farm labourers worked with hoes, mud rakes and sickles made from wood and stone. Farm work was seasonal. Many workers were needed for ploughing and planting. At harvest time, they were also needed to carry food to the warehouses where it was stored. For four months of the year, the River Nile flooded the fields so there was no farm work. At this time, the labourers worked on large projects for the government, such as maintaining the irrigation systems and building pyramids and temples.

Boatman - The River Nile was the main road in ancient Egypt. People travelled by boat up and down and across the river and transported goods the same way. It was hard work even for a large crew to row down river against the wind. Relatives put model boats in tombs for travel in the Afterlife.

Fisherman - Fishermen were employed by the state and by temples because fish was an important part of the poorer people’s diet. They caught the fish in traps or nets, weighted down with stone netsinkers. People also enjoyed going fishing themselves with hooks and lead weights, rather than nets.