Leaders of their land

A Pharaoh was the king or the queen of Egypt. Though the majority of Pharaohs were male, it was not a male-only role as there were female Pharaohs such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. A Pharaoh was the most powerful and important person in their kingdom and was always the head of government. They were even considered half-gods until 1640-1550 B.C when they were instead believed to be the representatives of God.

Pharaohs were considered 'High Priest of Every Temple’, meaning that only they were able to make offerings to gods. It was believed that they could communicate with spirits which further developed their role as messengers of God.

All dolled up

For Pharaohs, make-up was mandatory. Both males and females wore it, the main reason being to bear resemblance to the god Horus who was believed to be what Pharaohs represented. The most popular make-up worn by Pharaohs was black kohl around the eyes which was for spiritual cause. Though just like today, it was also used cosmetically.

Humble? What’s that?

A Pharaoh’s image was very important to them and because of this, they would often have reliefs or painted scenes on temple walls made of them where they would kill an army of enemies single-handedly to depict just how powerful they were - even if it wasn’t true.

This was a common trend among Pharaohs and it even lead to two Pharaohs having an almost identical depiction created of them. Images of Rameses III at Karnak are identical to those of Rameses II.

Royal incest

Just like plenty of other royals throughout history, Egyptian Pharaohs were no strangers to incest. Pharaohs had occasionally married either their siblings or even their offspring. This, to no surprise, lead to quite a few issues within the bloodline.

The most notable product of incest within Ancient Egypt history was Tutankhamun. The study of his body revealed that he was born from incest, and had many deformities because of this. It is also believed that his early death at only 19 years of age was because of him being a product of incest.

Catfishes?

Despite appearing quite slim in all of their paintings and carvings, many Pharaohs were actually overweight. Egyptians often ate bread and honey, which was then washed down with wine - both of which were high in sugar. Studies of mummies revealed that many Pharaohs even had diabetes.

The most notable case of a Pharaoh being overweight but being depicted as very slender was Queen Hatshepsut, who according to studies, was actually overweight and going bald.

Many Pharaohs had ruled Egypt over time, if you’re looking for facts on specific Pharaohs, check out 10 Famous Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs

Spela Sraka

Spela is a second-year student in the Professional Writing program at Algonquin College. She enjoys writing very much, however, she also finds amusement in drawing, video editing, and gaming.