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The society guests of Egypt were served at little tables, or as they sat in rows according to rank, by the nude
or scantily attired servants, who handed round the dishes and napkins. All the guests ate with their fingers;
they used knives for cutting and spoons for liquids; they washed before and after meals.
Ere wine drinking was resumed, the model of a mummy, or perhaps a real mummy, was drawn round the
feasting hall, while the musicians chanted "The Lay of the Harper". (Chapter XVIII.) Then came a round of
amusements. Jugglers and acrobats performed feats, nude girls danced, and songs were sung; again and again
the drinking cups were replenished with wine. Many drank heavily. It was no uncommon thing in ancient
Egypt to see intoxicated people. Even in the Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hassan there are evidences that
the priestly exhortations to live temperate lives were necessitated by the habits of the time; servants are
depicted carrying home their masters in various stages of intoxication. Nor were the women guiltless in this
respect. In the Empire tomb scenes at Thebes tipsy ladies are seen supported by servants or attended with
bowls when they turn sick and their embroidered robes slip from their shoulders.
A temperance advocate in ancient Egypt, who lamented the customs of his age, addressed his friends as
follows: "Do not drink beer to excess. . . . When you are intoxicated you say things which you are unable to
recall; you may trip and break your limbs, but no one goes to your assistance, and your friends who continue
to drink despise you and call out: 'Put this fellow away; he is drunk!' If, perchance, someone desires to ask
your advice when you are intoxicated, you are found lying in the dust like a senseless child."
A teacher once wrote to his pupil, saying: "I am told that you are neglecting your studies, and that you are
giving yourself up to enjoyment. It is said that you wander about through the streets of an evening smelling of
wine. The smell of wine will make men avoid you. Wine will destroy your soul; you will become like a
broken oar which cannot steer on either side; like a temple in which there is no god, or like a house without
bread. Wine is an abomination."
In sharp contrast to the merrymakers of the Empire period are the stern and just administrators of the law.
Judges were expected to make no distinction between rich and poor, and exemplary punishments were meted
out to those who, by showing favour or accepting bribes, were found to be unworthy stewards. Daily courts
were held, at which the evidence was taken down by scribes; cases were debated, the forty law rolls were
always referred to and consulted, and decisions were enforced by the officers of the court. The king boasted
not only of the victories he achieved on foreign campaigns; he desired also to have his memory revered as
CHAPTER XXIV. Changes in Social and Religious Life 146
 EGYPTIAN MYTH AND LEGEND
"the establisher of law"; when ineffectual appeal was made to him as the supreme judge, he "spoke not; the
law remained".
But although Egypt was being governed by men of high ideals, influences were at work which were sapping
the vitality of the nation. The accumulation of wealth and the increasing love of luxury made men less prone
to undertake severe and exacting duties. It was ultimately found impossible to recruit a large army in Egypt.
The pleasure-loving gentlemen preferred the excitement of the chase to the perils of the battlefield, and the
pleasures of cities to the monotony of the garrison life and the long and arduous marches on foreign
campaigns. "Soldiers of fortune" were accordingly enlisted, so that a strong standing army might be
maintained. The archers known as the "Nine-bow Barbarians" came from Nubia, and from Europe were
obtained the fierce "Shardana", the Mycenæan people who gave their name to Sardinia. Ultimately Libyans,
and even Asiatics, were recruited; one of the regiments which followed Rameses II in his Syrian campaign
was named after the alien god Sutekh. The foreign section of the Egyptian army was acknowledged to be the
best. Its loyalty, however, depended on the condition of the Imperial exchequer, andit ultimately became a
menace instead of a support to the empire.
Foreign traders were also being attracted to Egypt, while the kings and the noblemen showed such a decided
preference for handsome alien wives that a new type of face appeared in society, as may be seen in the
pictures and statuary of the times. Instead of the severe and energetic faces of the Old and Middle Kingdoms,
we find among the upper classes effeminate-looking noblemen with somewhat languid expressions, and
refined ladies with delicately cut features, languorous eyes, and sensitive lips. Occasionally, however, a
non-Egyptian face is at once cultured and vigorous.
The foreign elements in society exercised a marked influence on the religious beliefs of the age. Strange gods
were imported, and the voluptuous worship of the goddesses of love and war became increasingly popular;
the former included Baal, Sutekh, and Reshep, and the latter Astarte, Anath, and Kadesh. Ere we deal with
the changes which were effected by foreign influence in the Egyptian religion, we will pass these deities
briefly under review.
Baal signifies "the god the lord", or "the owner and was a term applied to the chief or ruler of one of the
primitive groups of nameless deities ; his spouse was called "Baalath", "the lady". The Baal of Tyre was
Melkarth; the Baal of Harran was Sin, the moon god; the Baal of Tarsus was an atmospheric or wind god; the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]