by Julia Herdman | May 6, 2021 | Ancient Rome, Blog, Egypt, History & People
Why Did Cleopatra Kill Herself?
Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta Public Domain.
Did Cleopatra wish to be noble in death, or did she fear public humiliation at the hands of Octavius Augustus?
The Death of Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, took place on the 10th or 12th August, 30 BC, in Alexandria. Cleopatra was just 39 years old. The closest contemporary accounts of her death are given by theGreek and Roman historians Strabo, Horace, Plutarch, Livy and Cassius Dio.
According to American art historian Robert Bianchi, conflicting accounts of Cleopatra’s suicide were in circulation almost immediately after her death. He also claims Octavian would have savoured the thought of parading the defeated Cleopatra through the streets of Rome. [1]
Suicide, i.e. deliberately killing one’s self, was practically unheard of in ancient Egypt. This makes the story told about the end of Cleopatra’s life all the more intriguing. Egyptians generally did not see suicide as a violation of their religious or legal codes, and there is no archaeological evidence of suicides in the ancient Egyptian civilization. However, literary texts such as ‘Desperate from Life’, an intellectual dialogue on despair, injustice, and corruption in the world, suggest some people certainly thought about ending their own lives. [2]
The Death of Cleopatra, Guido Cagnacci, Met Museum, Public Domain.
The famous judicial papyrus of Turin records the so-called Harem Conspiracy, a plot to murder Ramses III. The conspirators were given punishments ranging from execution, suicide, flogging, imprisonment, and severing of the nose, for their respective roles in the crime. Although we do not know precisely how individual conspirators were punished, it is likely members of the royal family were offered the dignity of suicide as an alternative to execution.
Suicide was, however, a regular feature of elite Roman life. Romans promoted the idea of”patriotic suicide.” In other words, death was preferable to dishonour. Suicide was explicitly illegal for soldiers, slaves, and people accused of capital crimes.
Plutarch’s account of Cleopatra’s Death [3]
John Collier, Prado, Madrid. Public Domain.
On hearing of Antony’s defeat at Alexandria, Cleopatra took off to her tomb. ‘It is said that the asp was brought with those figs and leaves and lay hidden beneath them, for thus Cleopatra had given orders, that the reptile might fasten itself upon her body without her being aware of it. But when she took away some of the figs and saw it, she said: ‘There it is, you see,’ and baring her arm she held it out for the bite. But others say that the asp was kept carefully shut up in a water jar and that while Cleopatra was stirring it up and irritating it with a golden distaff it sprang and fastened itself upon her arm. But the truth of the matter no one knows; for it was also said that she carried about poison in a hollow comb and kept the comb hidden in her hair, and yet neither spot nor other sign of poison broke out upon her body.’
‘When they opened the doors of the tomb they found Cleopatra lying dead upon a golden couch, arrayed in royal state. And of her two women, the one called Iras was dying at her feet, while Charmion, already tottering and heavy-headed, was trying to arrange the diadem which encircled the queen’s brow. Then somebody said in anger: ‘A fine deed, this, Charmion!’ ‘It is indeed most fine,’ she said, ‘and befitting the descendant of so many kings.’ Not a word more did she speak, but fell there by the side of the couch.’
‘Moreover, not even was the reptile seen within the chamber, though people said they saw some traces of it near the sea, where the chamber looked out upon it with its windows. And some also say that Cleopatra’s arm was seen to have two slight and indistinct punctures; and this Caesar also seems to have believed. For in his triumph an image of Cleopatra herself with the asp clinging to her was carried in the procession. These, then, are the various accounts of what happened.’
‘But Caesar, although vexed at the death of the woman, admired her lofty spirit; and he gave orders that her body should be buried with that of Antony in splendid and regal fashion. Her women also received honourable interment by his orders. When Cleopatra died she was forty years of age save one, had been queen for two and twenty of these, and had shared her power with Antony more than fourteen. Antony was fifty-six years of age, according to some, according to others, fifty-three. Now, the statues of Antony were torn down, but those of Cleopatra were left standing, because Archibius, one of her friends, gave Caesar two thousand talents, in order that they might not suffer the same fate as Antony’s.’
Livy’s Account [4]
The Death of Cleopatra, Arthur Reginald Smith, Public Domain.
‘After Caesar had reduced Alexandria, and Cleopatra, to avoid falling in the victor’s hands, had died by her own hand, he returned to the city to celebrate three triumphs: one over Illyricum, a second for the victory at Actium, and a third one over Cleopatra; this was the end of the civil wars, in their twenty-second year.’
Livy wrote that when Octavian met Cleopatra, she told him frankly that “I will not be taken as an achievement.’ Octavian only gave the cryptic answer that her life would be spared. He did not offer specific details about his plans for Egypt or his royal family. When a spy informed Cleopatra that Octavian intended to take her to Rome to be presented as a prisoner in her Roman triumph, she decided to avoid this humiliation and took her own life at the age of 39; on August 30. Plutarch elaborates how Cleopatra approached his suicide in an almost ritual process that involved bathing and then a good meal that included figs brought in a basket. [ Book 133].
Strabo’s Account and Horace’s Ode [5]
“Nunc est bibendum” or “Now is the time for drinking”, sometimes known as the “Cleopatra Ode”, is one of the most famous of the odes of the Roman lyric poet Horace. Published in 23 BCE, it appeared as Poem 37 in the first book of Horace’s collected “Odes” or “Carmina.”
The poem tells to story of Octavian’s defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Neither Cleopatra nor Mark Anthony is named in the poem. Some commentators say this is because loyal Horace prefers to describe the war as one between Egypt and Rome and not between two Roman families or civil war. Horace repeats the notion that Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves.
Horace concurs with Plutarch and Livy that Cleopatra died by her own hand as does Strabo.
Cassius Dio Account[6]
Cleopatra Meet Julius Caesar, Falkner: Public Domain
Cleopatra, on her part, unknown to Antony, sent to him (Octavian) a golden sceptre and a golden crown together with the royal throne, signifying that through them she offered him the kingdom as well; for she hoped that even if he did hate Antony, he would yet take pity on her at least. Caesar accepted her gifts as a good omen, but made no answer to Antony; to Cleopatra, however, although he publicly sent threatening messages, including the announcement that, if she would give up her armed forces and renounce her sovereignty, he would consider what ought to be done in her case, he secretly sent word that, if she would kill Antony, he would grant her pardon and leave her realm inviolate.
‘Upon hearing from the envoys the demands which Caesar made of them, sent to him again. Cleopatra promised to give him large amounts of money. Antony reminded him of their friendship and kinship, made a defence also of his connexion with the Egyptian woman, and recounted all the amorous adventures and youthful pranks which they had shared together. Finally, he surrendered to him Publius Turullius, who was a senator and one of the assassins of Caesar and was then living with Antony as a friend; and he offered to take his own life if in that way Cleopatra might be saved.
Caesar put Turullius to death, but this time also he gave no answer to Antony. So Antony despatched the third embassy, sending him his son Antyllus with much gold. Caesar accepted the money but sent the boy back empty-handed, giving him no answer. To Cleopatra, Octavian sent many threats and promises of love and loyalty alike, hoping to prevent her from destroying or absconding with the mountain of money she had stacked up in her tomb.
In the meantime, Octavian’s army proceeded to take the city of Pelusium in the delta. But believing Octavian’s protestations of affection, Cleopatra forbade the Alexandrians to rise against him, and so he took Alexandria as well. She clearly expected forgiveness, according to Cassius.
Antony, we are told, took refuge in his fleet and was preparing to give battle on the sea or, at any rate, to sail to Spain. When Cleopatra heard he was taking her ships, she ordered her sailors to desert and moved into her tomb, saying she feared Caesar and would thus take her own life. Cassius interprets this move as an act of betrayal to Antony. According to Cassius, Cleopatra’s cry for help would either make Antony rush to her side where she would kill him, or he would kill himself if he heard she had taken her own life. Either way, the wicked Cleopatra would ensure the end of the once noble Antony.
Cassius tells us that Antony went to the tomb dripping with blood because he had stabbed himself in the stomach when a friend refused to kill him. An implausible scenario, if you ask me. Why stab yourself before you go to rescue your wife and the mother of your children? Nevertheless, Cassius asks us to believe this and also that Antony died in Cleopatra’s arms in her tomb while she waited for Octavius to forgive her.
She embalmed Antony’s body and buried him. Then we are told Octavius removed anything she could use to kill herself from her apartment because he wanted her alive. A couple of sentences later, Cassius describes how Cleopatra redecorated the apartment, added a golden couch and draped herself upon it invitingly, thus ignoring her duty of mourning her dead husband, Antony. In Cassius’ eyes, Cleopatra was a fully paid up scheming slut.
Cleopatra, we are told, convinced Octavius she would travel to Rome with him while she planned her own demise. Her plan was to die as painlessly as possible. Cassius clearly thought she was a coward too. After putting on her best clothes and draping herself in symbols of royalty, she lay on her golden coach and killed herself.
Conclusions
The balance of evidence from the texts suggests Cleopatra died by her own hand. Such as death would have been perfectly acceptable and even honourable for a defeated queen in Egypt and in Rome.
In Doi’s version of her death, which is the most detailed, all the men are portrayed more honourably than her. This is the same Roman attitude to women who were considered to have transgressed sexually and betrayed their Imperial husbands as we see applied to Empress Messalina. It is straight forward misogyny.
A respectable woman in ancient Rome was required to keep a low profile. Women were supposed to be defined by their husbands, fathers, and sons. They were required to live faithful uncomplaining lives. Modesty and fidelity were the foremost virtues of a Roman woman – virtues Cleopatra clearly did not believe in either because she was not Roman or most probably because she was a queen in her own right and not a consort.
Whenever a Roman woman went out, assuming she was of noble birth, she would be chaperoned by slaves. She had to cover her body in a long gown called a stola, including her face. Over it, she wore a ‘palla’ or cloak. Indeed until the reign of Octavius Augustus, there were no statues of women at all. A noblewoman’s body was no business of anyone else except her husband. And, no respectable Roman woman would dare to be found lying around half-dress on a golden couch, especially when she was supposed to be mourning for her dead husband!
Valerius Maximus, writing in the century after Cleopatra’s death, gives several examples of errant women being ‘punished’ by their husbands. Egnatius Metellus, he tells us, bludgeoned his wife to death merely for drinking wine. Valerius tells his readers that far from being charged with murder, he received no public censure. According to Valerius, women needed to be kept under male control to stop them from scheming, as did Marcus Porcius Cato, otherwise known as Cato the Censor. [7]
It is possible Octavius might have paraded her at his triumph but unlikely. Working on the basis Cleopatra was not a ‘savage’ Gaul like Vertingeterex; and that she was the vanquished queen of the most culturally advanced nation on earth when she died, it is unlikely Augustus would have humiliated her. However, she was not a good example, so it was open season on her reputation for authors like Dio, whether she had died at her own hand or from a gnat bite.
Cleopatra - Waterhouse, Public Domain.
Sources
[1] LA Times, MIMI MANN, MARCH 15, 1992 12 AM PT
[2] Attitudes Toward Death and Suicide, HANKOFF L D, 1975, Pharos of Alpha Omega Alpha, v.38, no.2, (April 1975), p.60-64,75, SIEC No: 19840001
[3] Plutarch’s Lives, Tufts University.
[4] Livy, Periochae Book 133
[5] https://www.ancient-literature.com/rome_horace_odes_1_37.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNunc%20est%20bibendum%E2%80%9D%20(%E2%80%9C,Odes%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9CCarmina%E2%80%9D.
[6] DIO’S ROMAN HISTORY, Book 51, THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY VI.
[7] Robert Garland, PhD, Colgate University, The Other Side of History: The Ideal Roman Woman, Great Courses Daily, 2021.
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Ancient Egypt - Cheapskate Coffin Makers
by Julia Herdman | May 4, 2021 | Egypt
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Did the Ancient Egyptians go to Sea?
Plutarch tells us that the ancient Egyptians equated the seas with Typhon, the Greek version of the Egyptian god of chaos Seth. Having said that, some ancient Egyptian mariners must have sailed along the coast from time to time to get wood, notably cedarwood.
Egyptian manufactures dating to the 5the millennium BCE or Badarian culture, have been found as far north as Syria and the archaeological record shows that the predynastic Maadi were importing pottery as well as construction ideas from Canaan a thousand years later. Whether these ideas and trade came to Egypt over land or over the sea is still an unanswered question.
Shipbuilding was known to the Ancient Egyptians as early as 3000 BCE and perhaps earlier. The ancient Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood to form a ship’s hull. They used woven straps to lash the planks together and stuffed the gaps with reed and grass caulking. The Archaeological Institute of America reports that the first ship found to date was probably constructed for the Pharaoh Aha around 3000 BCE and was 75 feet long.
Evidence also suggests an Egyptian colony existed in southern Canaan in the First Dynasty. In 1994, excavators discovered an incised ceramic shard with the serekh sign of Narmer, dating to c. 3000 BCE. Mineralogical studies reveal the shard to be a fragment of a wine jar exported from the Nile valley to Palestine. Due to Egypt’s climate, wine was very rare and nearly impossible to produce so the wine probably came from Greece showing there were trade links to ancient Greece and the Greek island cultures.
Photograph of Greek wine amphora by Ad Meskens 
The Old & Middle Kingdoms
The Palermo Stone records that to build his pyramids Pharaoh Sneferu commissioned the building of Tuataua, ships of mer wood of a hundred capacity, and the capture of 60 royal boats of sixteen capacity and of the bringing of forty ships of cedarwood (or perhaps “laden with cedarwood”). The wood was most probably from Byblos, or Phenicia, modern-day Lebonan.
Recent discoveries on the Red Sea also indicate that ancient Egyptians did go to sea. They headed east in their quest for material for their royal projects. The remains of an enormous harbour were discovered under the waves by members of the French Institute of Archaeology in Cairo and the Sorbonne University at Wadi el-Jarf in 2014. The remains have been dated to 4,600 years ago. That is to the time of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza who reigned from 2580 to 2550 B.C.E.
Detail of Cheops’ harbour jetty after excavations, near Wadi el-Jarf.
Note the remains of the L-shaped bank or wall extending into the sea. Pierre Tallet
Khufu’s Red Sea harbour was 180 kilometres south of Suez, in the foothills of the desert mountains. More evidence supporting the idea that the ancient Egyptians went to see can was found on the seafloor. The site includes several stone sea anchors for boats that have long since perished.
Sea anchor: Pierre Tallet
Over the next millennia, the ancient Egyptians traded briskly with peoples around the region, operating from coastal towns on both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. (Ancient Egyptian wares have been found as far north as Scandinavia but could have reached there through intermediaries in Europe.
So, we know that by the Old Kingdom, the Egyptian kings were authorising royal trading expeditions, endorsing centralised religious ideologies, and using royal favours to distribute status goods and services. Egyptian sea power remained strong throughout the Old Kingdom period.
The Ancient Egyptian term for sailors,seqedu, may specifically refer to those men experienced using the sails. Terms such as nefeu, ist, and aper are generic terms for the crew. The sailors (or recruits) were also called uau, which applies equally to the army as to maritime service. The New Kingdom sailors are shown wearing a leather loincloth designed to provide some cushioning when rowing. A finely made leather loincloth, probably used for parades, was found in the tomb of a fan-bearer named Mayherpery. It seems that the Egyptians had a ‘navy’ of some description. Indeed, the variety of Egyptian terms in use shows that the Ancient Egyptians operated in a sophisticated maritime environment and that their nautical knowledge was quite broad. For instance, the Egyptian term for navigator was nefuu. The word for helmsman was hemu or iry-hemyt, and a ship’s guardian was the sau. The transport officer was themeshekebu. The oarsmen were the khenyt, and the man at the prow or lookout was known at the iry hat (literally ‘the one who is at the head’).
The New Kingdom
The female Pharaoh Hapshetsut’s tomb art depicts a fantastic sea adventure. Dated to 1,480 B.C., the story recorded in her temple tells that Hapshetsut consulted her gods and was told to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors and re-establish old trading associations that had fallen into the hands of middlemen.” In this inscription, new titles appear, in addition to some of the earlier ones, ‘fleet captain’, ‘captain of the ships of the king’, ‘captain of galleys’, ‘ship’s captain’, ‘captains of marines’ (literally ‘captain of the ship archers’), ‘officer of the ships’, ‘officer of marines’, ‘standard-bearer of the ship’, ‘standard-bearer of the Marines’, ‘commander of the rowers’, ‘chief of the rowers’, ‘ship archers’, and many more appear for the first time.
Hatshepsut’s tomb art.
Modern Reconstruction
CHERYL WARD, a maritime archaeologist, recreated an Egyptian ship of these old times, around 3,800 years ago, using traditional materials and local artisans. They succeeded in launching her and navigating down the Red Sea for a considerable way.
Later, Egypt would enter into alliances with the leaders of the great seafaring nation of the Greeks to counter the power of the Persians.
It seems that the ancient Egyptians always had a relationship with the sea, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea. It was a relationship that brought them trade and wealth. As sailors, they were always more comfortable on their river, which is understandable because the sea is far more treacherous and unpredictable than any river.
Sources:
Wikipedia, ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SEAPOWER AND THE ORIGIN OF MARITIME FORCES By Gregory P. Gilbert,
Naomi Porat and Edwin van den Brink (editor), “An Egyptian Colony in Southern Palestine During the Late Predynastic to Early Dynastic,” in The Nile Delta in Transition: 4th to 3rd Millennium BC(1992), pp. 433–440
Naomi Porat, “Local Industry of Egyptian Pottery in Southern Palestine During the Early Bronze I Period,” in Bulletin of the Egyptological, Seminar 8 (1986/1987), pp. 109–129. See also University College London web post, 2
Homan, Michael (2004). “Beer and Its Drinkers: An Ancient near Eastern Love Story”. Near Eastern Archaeology. 67 (2): 87. doi:10.2307/4132364. JSTOR 4132364.
Ward, Cheryl. “World’s Oldest Planked Boats“, in Archaeology (Volume 54, Number 3, May/June 2001).Archaeological Institute of America.
Divers uncover world’s oldest harbor, in Red Sea, https://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Ward.pdf
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More Questions In Egyptology Considered:
Questions in Egyptology 6: Did Anubis Have a Magic Eye?
Questions in Egyptology 5: What was the punishment for Ancient Egyptians if caught tomb-robbing?
Questions in Egyptology No. 4: Did the Ancient Egyptians Have a Religion?
Questions in Egyptology No 3. Did the Egyptians Influence the Greeks?
Questions in Egyptology No. 2: How Long Did it Take to Mummify a Pharaoh?
Questions in Egyptology No. 1 - The Cartouche - what did it protect?
by Julia Herdman | May 2, 2021 | Blog
Did Anubis have a magic eye?
In popular and media culture, Anubis is often falsely portrayed as the sinister god of the dead. This version of Anubis gained popularity during the 20th and 21st centuries through books, video games, and movies. Artists gave him evil powers, including an evil eye, and a dangerous army. Despite his nefarious reputation, his image is still the most recognizable of the Egyptian gods, and replicas of his statues and paintings remain popular, somehow people are attracted to what they believe to be this ancient Egyptian god’s power over life and death. These factors are probably the origin of the ‘Eye of Anubis stories.’ There are plenty of examples of Eye of Anubis tattoo designs online.
A popular website for tattooists explains the symbolism of the Anubis Eye. As a Jackal-headed figure, Anubis was the god of the dead and Afterlife. He symbolized the optimistic side of death, focusing on the peace, protection, and respect that come with it. Whereas the Eye of Horus: in ancient Egypt, Horus was the Sky God. As a tattoo design, Horus’ left eye symbolizes ‘the gift of life.’ The Eye of Ra, Horus’ right eye, symbolized the ultimate protection of the ‘eternal watcher.’ The god Anubis was the preeminent God of cemeteries and embalming, and hence an agent of resurrection – and so Anubis became connected with the good side of death in the Tattooist’s Dictionary.
The real Egyptian god Anubis is depicted in the form of a black canine of uncertain species with a collar and sash around his neck, or as a man with the head of such a canine. He was initially independent in his responsibility for the care of the corpse and the deceased’s transition to a new life in the other world; and was only gradually incorporated in the Osirian myth. Anubis became the protector of graves as early as the First Dynasty (c. 3100 – c. 2890 BC), and is shown performing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony in tomb art and papyri. He was also described as one of the guides of souls in the Afterlife along with Thoth and Hathor.
In the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, for example, Anubis is said to have been “caused to descend from the sky to put Osiris in order, because he [Osiris] was so highly regarded by Re and the Gods” I CT Spell 908. Anubis is at times affirmed to be the son of Re and can be given Hesat or Bast as his mother. However, Plutarch has him as the illegitimate son of Osiris and Nephthys.
So, Anubis is an old god but his origins are unclear. However, there are no references in the texts to him having a special or magical eye.
The Eye motif was however a powerful one in ancient Egypt.
Osiris’s name is written the hieroglyph of an eye. His name may have originally meant ‘He with many eyes.’
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The Magic Eye of Re
The sun god Re was described as having two eyes. His left eye was the moon in the shape of Shu, who is more usually described as the god of air or space; his right eye was the sun in the form of the lion-headed goddess Tefnut who is most often but erroneously described as a god of moisture. Shu was Re’s cool eye of reason, while Tefnut was his hot eye of vengeance together, they were ma’at. The cool eye of Shu is also known as the Eye of Horus or Wadjet (or Ujat, meaning “Whole One”) is a powerful symbol of protection in ancient Egypt, also known as the “all seeing eye“.
Shu is life and death; Shu was breath, the moon and yesterday, Re, was conceived of as today and as the sun he was born between the thighs of Nut, Tefnut was thought of as tomorrow, she is the god who smites Re’s enemies and scorches the land when she is unpacified.
The Magic Eye in the tomb of Pashedu (TT3)
Pashedu is believed to be a New Kingdom craftsman and the first member of his family to work in the artistic community at Deir el-Medina. His father, Menna, worked at the Temple of Amun. Pashedu began his career as a stonemason and was later promoted to foreman. He and his wife, Nedjembehdet had several children. In death he was honoured with the title, “Servant in the Place of Truth on the West of Thebes”. We know this because he decorated his tomb in the same way as that of his royal masters.
In the picture of his tomb above, we can see the libation bowl held by the Eye of Horus being filled with a strange substance emanating from Pashedu’s flail (Pashedu had represented himself as Osiris in the same way the king did in his tomb). The magical Eye is being filled. How this related to the Afterlife is revealed in my upcoming book.
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Questions in Egyptology 6: Did Anubis Have a Magic Eye?
Questions in Egyptology 5: What was the punishment for Ancient Egyptians if caught tomb-robbing?
Questions in Egyptology No. 4: Did the Ancient Egyptians Have a Religion?
Questions in Egyptology No 3. Did the Egyptians Influence the Greeks?
Questions in Egyptology No. 1 - The Cartouche - what did it protect?
Questions in Egyptology No. 2: How Long Did it Take to Mummify a Pharaoh?
by Julia Herdman | Apr 29, 2021 | Blog
New Book by Julia Herdman - Champollion - The Rosetta Stone
What was the punishment for Ancient Egyptians if they were caught robbing tombs?
Well, it rather depended on who was doing the robbing.
Pharaohs robbed the graves of their long-dead ancestors for treasure in much the same way the Vikings robbed the Bronze Age barrows of the Boyne in Ireland. Caches of sarcophagi and mummies desecrated by Pharaohs of the New Kingdom were found in the late 19th century.
The burial of the Old Kingdom builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khufu’s mother’s tomb was robbed just years after she was interred. Her son reburied her sarcophagus not knowing her body was missing. It had probably been removed so that the jewellery she was buried with could be removed.
No doubt there was a thriving black market for trinkets flitched from unguarded graves. Every self-respecting Egyptian wanted a good burial and a charm or two to help them reach the Afterlife. The tomb-robbery papyri suggest that most of the thieves were petty criminals, individuals of low or modest status as, for example, stonemasons, coppersmiths, and doorkeepers, lured by the prospect of instant riches. The audacity of the thieves of Thebes suggests that they had inside help in robbing tombs and funerary temples. Poorly paid officials and guards could be easily bribed. Most thieves were tradesmen who could melt down gold and silver or refashion an item to make it ‘new’ again. In an economy that ran on metal by weight and barter, it was easy to cut jewellry up and redeem its value for something else.
The sage Ipu-wer reflected upon the national distress which Egypt endured for nearly two centuries following the collapse of the Old Kingdom in these words:
Behold, the land turns round as does a potter’s wheel. The robber is a possessor of riches. [The wealthy man?] has become a plunderer. (2.8-9)
In acknowledgment of the evil done in those days by kings and princes who took advantage of the turmoil to pillage the tombs of their ancestors, a subdued king in that troubled time advised his son, Do not despoil the monument of another, but quarry stone in Tura. Do not build your tomb out of the ruins, (using) what had been made for what is to be made. As tombs were plundered and pillaged, mortuary cults and the endowments designed to perpetuate them were discontinued as the mortuary priests who administered them and made the funerary offerings abandoned their offices. It is at this time that the pyramid of Khufu was likely first violated when thieves found a way through the outer limestone casing and located the entrance. The entrance may have been sealed a number of times before rulers of the seventh-sixth century BCE fitted it with a door.
The scale of robbery suggests that the chances of being caught were pretty low. However, if caught the robber would be ‘taught a lesson.’
The Nauri Decree of Seti I specifies many punishments for various forms of theft, such as beating, the opening of wounds, forced labour, and amputation of the nose and ears. Take, for instance, the punishment for taking an animal belonging to the god’s estate, “punishment shall be done to him by cutting off his nose (and) his ears, he being put as a cultivator in the Foundation, *…+ and putting his wife (and) his children as serfs of (the) steward of this estate.” So, the whole family got punished. Officials caught cheating could get a beating of 200 lashes and 5 piercings.
The only crimes which we know for certain to have been punishable by death are high treason and stealing from the royal tombs, presumably because these were crimes against the pharaoh himself. Murderers would, most likely, also be executed, although there are no extant legal texts which involve murder. Death sentences are also mentioned occasionally in crimes that were committed against temples. It is, however, quite unsure whether capital punishments were consistently imposed in these cases. Other potential capital offenses are often listed in the literary sources, such as adultery within the Westcar Papyrus.
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Sources:
Law and Order in Ancient Egypt, J.A Van Loon, Leiden University.
Robbing Pharaoh: Royal Tombs and the Underground Economy, Special Lecture to accompany exhibit of artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb at Dynamic Earth,. Sudbury, Ontario. August 2015; SSEA Symposium on Crime and Punishment in Ancient Egypt, Toronto, Nov. 1998 Sally Katary
See Also:
Questions in Egyptology No. 1 - The Cartouche - what did it protect?
Questions in Egyptology No. 2: How Long Did it Take to Mummify a Pharaoh?
Questions in Egyptology No 3. Did the Egyptians Influence the Greeks?
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