The New Kingdom Period of Ancient Egypt, Essay Example

The new Kingdom period (1570 – 1070 BC) of ancient Egypt, also known as the “Golden Age,” was one of profound prosperity. Egypt reached the zenith of its power, wealth, and territory.  Egyptian civilization was characterized by the strength of the ruling pharaoh.  The pharaoh was held to be descended from Gods, with the power to assure prosperity and control the rituals that assured the flow of the Nile and the fertility derived from irrigation. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom’s Eighteenth Dynasty are among the most famous and notable of the Egyptian ruling class to include Ramses II, Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. The profound success of the ruling class influenced all aspects of Egyptian life and can be seen in its most illuminating light with an examination of the Egyptian noble’s (composed of the pharaoh’s relatives, priests, scribes, doctors, lawyers, important military personnel, and overseers) recreational activities.  The ancient Egyptian nobles exemplified the rich opulence afforded by the prosperity of the New Kingdom in their recreation which extended from the enjoyment of simple board games, to various outdoor activities, and to lavish banquets and entertaining festivities.

Board games were a popular indoor activity of the ancient Egyptian people.   One of the most popular was a game called senet likened to backgammon or checkers of today.

A Senet board, complete with game pieces, was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun

It was made of wood and ivory, inlaid with gold.

A drawer held the game pieces and throwing sticks.

This game drew its origins from a game called draughts, with a checkered board known as the “perw” (houses) of three rows of 10 squares.  Pieces of the opposing sides were distinguished by their size, color or shape.  Each opponent usually had seven pieces.  Moves were determined by throwing sticks, or “astragals (knuckle-bones).  The object was to move the pieces around a snaking track to the finish, landing on a number of specially marked squares representing good or bad fortune.  Senet, which means “passing” became so popular it took on religious significance.  Religious texts indicate that playing the game was representative of passing through the underworld.

The game of 20 squares was also a popular board game, which had possible origins in Asia, was played by two opponents, each of whom had 5 playing pieces. Play began with the pieces placed on the undecorated areas on each side of the board. The players moved down the side squares and up the middle of the board. Plays were determined with throw sticks, dice, or knucklebones. This game was also mentioned in religious texts with comparisons of passing through the underworld in the quest for eternal rebirth.

A game board in the form of a coiled snake was among the earliest Egyptian games that had origins dating back to the Old Kingdom with continued play until the New Kingdom. Using a set of lion-shaped and round markers, play started at the snake’s tail, which was in the form of a bird’s head. The two or four opponents raced each other to the goal located in the snake’s head. Mehen was the name of the serpent deity whose coils protected the sun god.

The ancient Egyptians were robust and active in their enjoyment of outdoor sports.   The ancient Egyptians engaged in sports with the intention of training and strengthening their bodies, as well as for pleasure and recreation.
The high standard of physical fitness reached by the ancient Egyptians is revealed in their standard portrayals of the male and female forms in sculpture and painting.  The men are strong, and radiate a muscular vigor, while the women are slender, and redolent with femininity.  Fully aware of the invaluable role of sport in raising the standard of health, and hence of national productivity, the ancient Egyptians as a whole, men, women, youths and children, were all engaged in sporting activities with a zeal which amounted to a cult.  There is a theory that the ancient Egyptians began the custom of holding international games regularly at Akhmem in Upper Egypt.  It should also be said that in Egypt, sport was born and flourished, and from there spread to Greece, Rome and to the rest of the world.  Hunting was a past time enjoyed by members of all the social classes. The Egyptian nobles liked to enjoy themselves on a grand scale. They hunted for birds, crocodiles, hippos, and lions in parties using chariots and dogs, or even tame cheetahs.  Hunting began on foot, but with advancement Egyptians used the chariot to aid in pursuit of game. The Pharaoh Sahure is shown in some of his pictures hunting animals such as deer, gazelles, and antelopes.  Noblemen captured wild animals, and the peasants chased after gazelle, oryx, oxen, hares, and ostriches.  Hunting was favored as it was a sport enjoyed by the entire family.  Accompanied by their wives and children, the nobles went to the marshes of the Faiyum or to the delta to hunt ducks and geese. When the royal family glided over the water in small boats, the birds would fly off, panic-stricken at the noise. This was the time for the hunter to show his skill by throwing a stick, rather like a boomerang, to knock out the birds. It was then the job of the servants to retrieve the catch.  Just like the pharaoh, nobles also hunted with bows. Sometimes, the servants would set up the boundaries of an enclosure beforehand to prevent to wild animals from escaping. Foxes, ostriches, hyenas, hares, antelope and other deer, all tried desperately to run from the cascade of arrows that rained down on them. Several instruments were used in the hunt such as bows and arrows, lassos, and throwing sticks.

Most nobles enjoyed family play in lush gardens adjacent to their homes with ponds filled with water from the Niles.  Palm trees offered shade from the heat and made for a relaxing atmosphere for adults while children played games such as leapfrog, and tug-of-war still played today.  They also played khuzza lawizza, a variation on leapfrog where two children sit on the ground with their hands touching. The object of the game is for other children to continue to be able to jump over their arms as they raise them higher and higher.  Children spun pottery tops and played with balls made of either papyrus, cloth, or leather and would play with carved wooden toys with moveable parts.  Children immensely enjoyed all their environment had to offer with indulgences in swimming, dancing, and riding donkeys.

It is not surprising that with the close proximity of the Nile River that the ancient Egyptians young and old loved to swim as evidenced in paintings, hieroglyphs, and sculpture.  Royal and noble children often took swimming lessons.  A cool dip offered a welcome respite from the heat of the day.  Fishing was also a favored past time which afforded a more restive activity than the physical exertion of work or other more intense activities.  The Egyptians were the first peoples to enjoy fishing for pure pleasure.  Noblemen were often observed lazing in armchairs while ensnaring fish swimming in their garden pools in the pond at their villas while enjoying glasses of beer or wine.  Boating was also one of the Ancient Egyptians’ favorite pastimes. Both children and adults loved going on trips in flat-bottomed papyrus boats along the Nile or in the marshes. The entire household, including the pets, would go on an outing and it was customary to take a picnic. Father and son took the opportunity to cast a line or harpoon some fish. The Nile River also hosted many boat sporting games.  One such example is a race of light reed boats being punted in the same direction, while two or three men in each boat armed with poles tried to push their opponents into the water!  After they had successfully knocked all the men off a boat, they would either board it, or tip it over.

The Egyptian people were very athletic, flexible, and agile which lent itself well to organized sports such as wrestling, gymnastics, and acrobatics.  Prime physical fitness was a cultural norm for the Egyptian people.  The Egyptian people were robust competitors and there are many paintings depicting their intense vigor in sport.  Boxing and fencing with sticks were also popular.  There were also major sporting events comparable to the Olympics where the Egyptians would showcase their abilities in competitive tournaments.  These events were majorly attended by the noble class. The commemoration of a new pharaoh was often celebrated with a marathon race.  One such event was known as the Heb Sed festival which was led by the pharaoh around the temple to showcase his physical strength and the ability to rule using his mental and bodily capabilities.  Agility was not limited to these sports, but extended itself to several activities to include the most pleasurable past time of dance.

Music and dance were an integral part of daily Egyptian life and definitively blossomed during this period.  Both music and dance were often interchanged in religious ceremonies, weddings, funeral processions, rituals, and formal celebrations.  Music was said to please the Gods and mortals alike.  The New Kingdom presented a wealth of musical instruments such as the oboe, flute, lyres, harps, drums, lutes, cymbals, clappers, and tambourines.  Ancient Egyptian music was based on a minor pentatonic scale of five full tones without halftones. This fact can be inferred from the positions of the holes on flutes.   Foreign conquest during the New Kingdom gave the Egyptians exposure to the Asian culture.  New instruments were introduced and exposure to the prevailing scales of the Asian music changed the limits of the Egyptian abilities at the time.  The dancers were kept in time by the beat of a hand rattle called the sistrum, which is still used today in the rituals of the Coptic (Egyptian Christian) church.  Young girls preferred dance as it was considered the accomplishment of a well bred Egyptian woman.  The majority of the musicians were also women.  Performances by female musicians were a standard practice at the temple of Hathor.

Dance was not only a form of celebration, but a way of honoring the Gods in many important events.  There was always some sort of orchestrated or even impromptu dance at the many banquets that were initiated by the nobles of ancient Egypt.  In most instances, dances were performed either by men or by women, but in separate groups. In a single group a movement could be executed solo, by a couple, or by several persons, but all dancers were part of an integrated whole, as in a modern ballet in which different dancers execute different movements, but all are part of the same choreography.  Dance scenes pictured often interchangeably herald moments of sadness and moments of joy, so during this period of prosperity there was much to celebrate and dance was prevalent at all celebrations.  Anii was a wise man who recommended in his teaching to celebrate in due time the feast of one’s own god by a banquet to which family and other relatives are invited. During the feast, he said, make offerings, play music, dance, and drink until drunkenness. Anii’s text provided the clue to the banquet scenes in most artistic depictions.  In some paintings a girl dancing alone was represented among musicians in accordance with the wise man’s advice. In most cases the girl, in a curious attitude, bowed and hid her face behind her arm. The female musicians, near her, were generally lute players. They were represented with a bent knee, striking the ground with the tip of the foot. They were not dancing, but rather beating out the rhythm.  Dance marked the passing of time and marked moments of radical change.  It heralded that which was dying and that which was to be born anew.  (Freeman)

The nobles enjoyed a bevy of celebrations and activities such as theatre, festivals, and extravagant parties where Dancers performed the latest movements and encouraged others to join in the fun. Contorting their bodies and displaying exciting displays of nimbleness and agility, acrobats soared through the air to the awe of spectators.   Banquet depictions show where each guest was warmly welcomed by both the male and female hosts of the household, and upon entering the party, the guests were draped in blossoms and fragrant wreaths of flowers.  This scent of these mingled with those very intriguing perfumed wax cones the party goers wore on their heads.  The heat of their bodies slowly melted the scented wax through the evening until the perfumed wax filtered through the hair or, more likely, the fancy wig of the guest.  Egyptians held feasts to celebrate births, marriages and religious festivals, or simply to entertain friends. The wealthy enjoyed holding dinner parties, where cooks would prepare huge meals, flavoured with imported herbs and spices. Dressed in their best clothes, guests sat on chairs or on cushions on the floor, eating and drinking large quantities of wine.  Beer was also very popular in ancient Egypt and accompanied many meals.  These intimate social activities as well as other celebrations included singing.  The celebrations of the nobles fully embraced every possible creative expression.  There were many religious festivals in Ancient Egypt. They were not only sacred in character but also closely linked to the rhythm of the seasons under the benevolent eye of the gods. Dances and feasts accompanied these celebrations, which sometimes continued for several weeks.  (Millmore)

In the painting from The Private Tomb of Rekhmire both male and female musicians wear bright clothes and play diverse instruments including lutes, tambourines, flutes, harps and castanets.  The guests sit on mats while they are served their meal.  We also see the deceased’s sons and daughters offering wreaths of flowers to Rekhmire and his wife.

Story telling was a most favored pastime for the Egyptians.  Story telling drew a multitude of crowds.  Stories were passed orally.  Orators tell popular stories and modify it according to their interests, objective and audiences.  For a child to listen to a story, they would tone it down a little bit to digest the story easily.  Almost all of these tales vanished in the sand.  Luckily some scribes thought of recording the most prominent tales of Egypt for future reference.

In conclusion, the Ancient New Kingdom’s recreational and leisure pursuits were heavily influenced by the prosperity of this time period.  The nobles elicited the prevalent changes in entertainment and recreation. The Egyptian culture had an integrated society where the synergy of the civilization was a synced web uniting the actions of the ruling class, to religion, education, science and social norms.  The firm and successful foothold of the political environment provided for a relaxed and harmonious exploration of life which elicited an increased advancement of art, dance, music, literature, and sport activities.

Works Cited

Ann, Rosalie, D. Handbook to life in ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press US, 1998.

Andrew, Langley. Ancient Egypt. London: Raintree Publishers, 2005

Billard, Jules B. Ancient Egypt: Discovering its Splendors. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1978.

Freeman, Charles  The Legacy of Ancient Egypt. Andromeda Oxford Ltd. History, 1997.

Millmore, Mark. Imagining Egypt; A Living Portrait of the Time of the Pharoahs.  Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 2007.