Reading and Writing

Approximately 1 per cent of ancient Egyptian could read and write. Royal children, especially those who were studying to be scribes, began learning to read and write basic hieroglyphic signs (there are well over 700), words, and phrases at four years old. Boys not studying to be scribes might also follow this subject, starting at the same age, possibly even as late as seven years old.

One tool used to teach young scribes the Egyptian language and script was a simple text entitled Kemit or Kemyt, in English meaning "summary," "what is complete or completed," or "completion," a standard text used as early as and possibly even earlier than the Eleventh or Twelfth Dynasty. What made Kemyt so popular for usage in teaching young scribes the hieratic script was not the content, as banal as it was, but that it was simple to understand, hard to forget, and easy to teach. It might have even been a scribe's first primer. Copies of texts from this "primer" were written vertically, as opposed to horizontally from right to left like copied text from the New Kingdom, which indicates that Kemyt is a rather old fashioned yet traditional "school book."

To support the tenacity of this ancient "primer," consider the chaotic time of Akhenaten, where traditional elements of religion, art, and architecture were turned upside down. Ostraca found at Aketaten (Tel el-Amarna) have hieratic written on them, text copied from Kemyt. Here it seems not all tradition was kicked to the curb.

After mastering the basic signs and depending on the student--scribe's maturity level and readiness (students at this stage were probably in their teens) it was on to verb conjugations, pronoun placement, and subject-verb agreements in number and gender. Next on the list, and in the addition of understanding and applying arithmetic, teachers then taught their students hieratic, which royal children learned by writing their exercises on limestone and/or on ostraca, a second style of writing used for everyday record keeping. Students learned also a third style of writing: demotic, which was used for composing religious, scientific, and magical works. At this stage, students were also introduced to and were expected to learn the literary language, vocabulary linked to it, and the system of transcribing foreign (i.e. Asiatic) pronouns because they might be employed under the king, who had letters sent to foreign rulers. If the student-scribe was expected to complete primary studies and then further his education, he might begin to study composition, taught by the wisest and most learned scholars.

For teenage student-scribes, they had to compose letters to their teachers, a correspondence exercise that measured how well a scribe imparted wisdom and how good his epistolary style was. In addition, these student-scribes continued to copy and recopy text from the classic literature of the Middle Kingdom, namely from the Satire of Trades written during the First Intermediate Period, a step up from Kemyt, which was written in what is called Middle Egyptian developed during the Middle Kingdom (Old Kingdom hieroglyphic text was called Ancient Egyptian and New Kingdom text was called Classical Egyptian), the classical stage of the Egyptian language. It was the favored writing form from which to copy and recopy texts and to teach scribes because it was developed during a time when literature was at its best and it offered students a stable basis of training. The language in it was more advanced than that in Kemyt, therefore it was better suited for students who were further in their scribal studies.

In addition to Kemyt and the Satire of Trades, other well known compositions--or "school books," better known as sbayt or "instructions"--from which student--scribes copied were the following: the Story of Sinuhe, the Instruction of Ammenemes I to His Son Sesostris; what is called the Papyrus Lansing; and the Miscellanies (see "text books" for more information). In writing exercises from the above documents, student-scribes learned grammar, can vocabulary and the significance of being a scribe, how lowly and vile other professions were compared to his: the smith slaves at his furnace, his fingers like crocodile claws; the stone mason toils under the sun, his loins and limbs numbed by the years; the soldier carries his provisions on his back like a donkey; the farmer wields the hoe and cares for horses, engaging in physical labor and paying taxes; the gardener carries a pole across his shoulders, a great blister on his neck filled with puss; the waterman is plagued by gnats and mosquitoes, the stench of the canals chokes him; the weaver is made unable to breath by squatting all day, barely seeing daylight; the reed-cutter works his fingers to the bone, his back bare and his eyes dulled. In addition to learning the above mentioned, these texts helped form a scribe' character.

It must be noted that, in copying old texts, scribes were learning only to recognize and write symbols, words, and phrases, learning only the significance of the text they were copying, rather than learning the meaning of the words, learning a standard form of syntax (grammar or sentence structure) or lexicon (vocabulary). In other words, unlike the French who have their Academie Française, there was not attempt to preserve the ancient Egyptian language, no final definite text. This explains to a certain extent the reason for there being different ways of writing one word or phrase for each manuscript; these texts were at the mercy of the scribes who wrote them.
Back to top

Mathematics

The itinerary for learning math did not have students studying mathematical theory, but practical math which had students finding practical solutions to real world problems. In other words, problems of everyday life were solved through math rather than solved for their own sake. Such problems and their solutions can be found outlined in the Rhind Papyrus, a mathematical text copied from an earlier document penned by the scribe Ahmes around 1650 B.C.E. from a document written in 1850 B.C.E. It contains math tables and over 80 math problems and their solutions. If one was going to be a tax collector, he would have to study mathematics.

In ancient Egypt, numbers were based on ten, much like modern mathematics, where it differences lies in zero, for which the Egyptians did not have any symbol as having something stand for nothing was not useful to them. Just as we moderns would add a 0 at the end of a number to make another power of ten (1, 10, 100,..., 10,000,000) the Egyptians would create another symbol to represent another power of ten: a hash mark represented 1s, an arch 10s, a swirl mark 100s, a flower 1,000s, a finger 10,000s, a tadpole 100,000s, a seated figure praising 1,000,000s, and the shen symbol 10,000,000s.

Adding was simply the piling up of numbers. If ever there happened to be more than ten of the same symbol (say, ten flower symbols), the Egyptian would replace that with a single symbol for the next higher power (say, one finger symbol). Multiplication was simple as well: take for example 8 x 23. First the Egyptian created two columns: the first column started always with "1" and the second a multiplicand (from the example, either 8 or 23; our Egyptian will use 8). Next, the Egyptian represented his chosen multiplicand (8) in binary, that he doubled each number repeatedly so that he would have the following:

Column 1	Column 2
1 * 2 * 4 * 8 16 *	8 # 16 # 32 # 64 128 #

Having completed that step, the Egyptian then noted which numbers from the first column added to 23, the other multiplicand--those are indicated with asterisks (*). When added (1+2+4+16) they equal 23. Then, the Egyptian added the corresponding numbers in the second column--indicated with pounds (#)--to solve the problem: (8+16+32+128=184).

Not as simple was division. Take for example the following word problem: I go down 3 times; 1/3 of me, 1/5 of me is added to me; return I, filled am I. Who am I? It sounds confusing, but seems to be asking for the sum of 3, 1/3, and 1/5. Let us take a simpler problem such as 43 by 8. The Egyptian math wiz would make his two columns again: the first he starts with "1" and the second with the divisor, the number by which he will be dividing, "8." Next, the Egyptian would double each column until he reached the dividend (43), so that his columns would at this point look like the following:

Column 1	Column 2
1 2 4	8 16 32

32 double is 62, far surpassing 43, so our Egyptian stops at 32. Then, the Egyptian would start over and halve the two numbers (in column 1, it would be 1; in column 2, 8) until he reached 1 in the second column. Now his columns look thus:

Column 1	Column 2
1 2 4 1/2 1/4 1/8	8 * 16 32 * 4 2 * 1 *

Now, the Egyptian notes which numbers in column 2 add to the dividend (43), indicated by asterisks (*), and then notes the corresponding numbers in column 1, which will give him his answer to 43 divided by 8 = ?: (1 + 4 + 1/4 + 1/8). The way our Egyptian would right his answer would be thus: 5 + 1/4 + 1/8. The reason he did this is he was limited to using unit fractions--fractions with the form of 1/n--and did not know how to add fractions to get an answer where the numerator was something other than one (with the exception of 2/3, which the Egyptian knew). Where moderns would say five loaves of bread divided among three people would give each person 3/5 of a loaf, an Egyptian mathematician would calculate that each man would receive an equal quantity of 1/3, 1/5, and 1/15 of a loaf. In hieroglyphs, the Egyptian mathematician would represent a fraction like 1/300 with the symbol for "mouth" or the letter "r" as the numerator and three swirls or three "100" symbols as the denominator.
Back to top

Libraries or Scriptoria

The most notable characteristic of an area that contained a library were the following: tomb or temple walls were made with niches and or the building's ceilings were painted with astronomical symbols and signs. The best evidence of such appears at the Temple of Rameses II at the Ramesseum, the Temple of Eduf, the Temple of Philae, and the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.
In essence there were two kinds of libraries: the private kind and those found in towns. Private libraries housed a collection of papyri including magio-religious scrolls, which were kept in jars or boxes in a person's home or in their tomb. Thebes has produced the best evidence of private libraries.

Town libraries are probably more frequent, given the evidence. One such library can be found at Deir el-Medina in Thebes, which dates to the New Kingdom. The evidence is found mostly in refuse heaps which comprise of copied texts written mostly on paprus. At Kahun, archival and educational texts have been discovered, which date to the Middle Kingdom. Other evidence of town libraries and scriptoria show that they were attached to temples and served to house priestly texts, especially those in Tebtunis and in the Fayoum. "Books" written and housed here consisted of literary, religious, and scientific documents. An example of such a library is in a small chapel at the Temple of Edfu. Titles of "books" appear on the walls like a sort of ancient card catalogue.
Back to top

House of Life

The House of Life or per ankh was a complex of buildings where religious texts were copied and stored; they acted as libraries, scriptoria, or higher teaching institutions. Most large towns had one such as those found at Tell el-Amarna, Edufu, and Abydos, and were typically connected with temple schools or with the royal palace. Houses of Life were usually associated with the temple library, but not always. "Books" found in Houses of Life that were connected to a temple library had great significance: the ancients believed that they could renew life and provide sustenance for continuing life.
Back to top

Textbooks

The Tale of Sinuhe: Describes how a Middle Kingdom palace functioned, which was categorized three-fold: the royal family and her servants living in the Nursery, banquets held in the Pillared Hall, and business conducted in the Audience Hall.

In the story, the royal guard Sinuhe chronicles a tale of death which includes murder and sabotage in the Middle Egyptian palace. He flees Egypt thinking his life is in danger after having overheard that King Amenemhet was murdered and that the local governors lusted after power once they had a taste of it. On his way to sanctuary, a leader of a tribe of nomads promises to keep him safe--he was true to his word and more: Sinuhe became a wealthy and an important man. However, Sinuhe becomes homesick after having stayed away from Egypt for so long, safe under the tribe leader's care; he wished to be buried in his homeland so much he wrote his request and sent it to Amenemhet's successor, Senwosret, who agrees that he should return. On his return, Senwosret did the same for Sinuhe that the tribe leader had done and more: he gave him food, drink, clothing, and a pyramid. Both he and Egypt herself were in favor of the king, having united Sinuhe with Egypt and Egypt with itself after Amenemhet's death.

In telling this story to students, teachers taught that Egypt was the finest country in the known world.

Directions for Attaining Knowledge into All Obscure Secrets: Better known as Papyrus Rhind, a document containing geometric and arithmetic problems of daily Egyptian life, which was composed by the scribe Ahmes around 1650 B.C.E., he having claimed that he copied it from an earlier document from 1860 B.C.E.

The Teachings of Tuauf: It is fair to say that this document is a tirade, where Tuauf declares the profession of scribe as the best position an Egyptian can obtain, glorifying it and considering all other professions horrible. It was used as a teaching tool for scribes who would copy text from it, not only practicing writing the script, but also learning from the text to work hard in order to avoid becoming something other than a scribe.

The Schoolboy Letters/Exercises or Model compositions: From the Ramesside Period came numerous papyri and ostraca--some passages having been preserved on the Anastasi Papyrus, the Sallier Papyrus, the Lansing Papyrus, and the Chester Beatty IV Papyrus--which contain on them copies of all the best examples from hymns; prayers; the Instructions in Wisdom/Books of Instruction like the Satire of Trades and the Instruction of Amenemhet I; letters from pupils to their teachers; and business and legal documents. In copying from these, scribes learned moral concepts of the time and various forms of advice. They encompass also three particular themes: a teacher's advice to his students, encouraging them to work hard and limit pleasure; the holding in high esteem the scribal profession over all other trades; and the respecting of teachers by students, wishing them good health and happiness.

Papyrus Anastasi I was a Dynasty 19 Memphite "textbook" which served as a teaching tool in teaching students the geography of Asia and mathematical sums in a military context. In addition, it contained passages from the Schoolboy Exercises/Model Compositions, emphasizing giving teachers respect, following the scribal profession, and abstaining from extensive drinking and carousing--Papyrus Sallier emphasizes similar elements.

Other documents include Papyrus Lansing, which was nothing but a book of Model Compositions, intended by the scribe who wrote it to be used by scribes in their learning. Papyrus Chester Beatty IV like the majority of Wisdom Texts contains in it praise for the scribal profession as well as the claim a person can become immortal only through his writings, proving that not all Egyptians believed wholly in an Afterlife.

Educational treatises, Books of Instruction/Wisdom Texts/Instructions in Wisdom: Like the Tale of Sinhue, Books of Instruction also known as the Wisdom Texts or Instructions in Wisdom (there are seven complete and five partial texts in existence) were teaching tools in scribal schools. Those who composed such treatises--mostly senior officials and later copied by scribes--outlined in them in the form of verses passed down from father to son, were educational principles; fatherly and kingly advice to his son and successor, respectively, in order to ensure personal success in accordance with state and moral norms; and the advantages of telling the truth and being fair, a socially desirable trait in all people; rules to sustain order, morality, justice, wisdom, obedience, humanity, and restraint in everyday life. The following are Books of Instruction:

The Satire of Trades: Written during the First Intermediate Period, this Book of Instruction is outlining experiences of Khety, a man of humble origin, to his son Pepy. In it he describes other trades compared to that of the scribe, deeming them far less superior than the job of the scribe.

The Instruction Compiled by the Noble and Royal Prince Hordjedef (or Hardedef) for His Son: This is perhaps the earliest example of a Book of Instruction, composed possibly by Hordjedef himself, as he was later deemed a sage and probably had a cult ascribed to him. In this Book of Instruction Prince Hordjedef, son of King Khufu, advises his son, Au-ib-re, to follow a life and career wisely for the future.

The Instruction of Ptah-hotep: Probably the most well-known Book of Instruction is the Instruction of Ptah-hotep which was conserved on the Prisse Papyrus of the Middle Kingdom. Ptah-hotep was a vizier during Dynasty V and in this document he outlines thirty-seven maxims emphasizing obedience to one's parents, superiors, and elders; extols the virtues of cognition, good manners, humility, modesty, self-control, tact, and truthfulness and it deals with and provides guidance for speaking elegantly and effectively and fair dealing. The following are some examples: one should speak only when he knows what he's talking about and make sure that what he says is profound and well-thought out; one should consider not only the wise man's advice, but also the poor man's, as pearls of wisdom can come from the most meek and humble servant; and boasting about one's knowledge is bad form, instead seek justice and not self-aggrandizement.

The Instruction of Amenemope: This Book of Instruction composed during the Ramesside Era reads much like the Old Testament Book of Proverbs in the Christian religion, including elements like the following: one must not covet one's neighbor's property or possessions, nor tamper with land boundaries; one should show love and kindness to his neighbor; one must not accept bribes to oppress others; one must to not mock the disabled or mentally ill; and one is virtuous when one behaves justly to everyone. In this composition, material wealth and achievement are held in high regard, but they take a back seat to the possession of honesty, humbleness, correct and modest behavior in personal advancement, qualities of endurance, self-control, kindliness, silence over temper, individual humanity before the gods, and human imperfection. These are what made the ideal man during this time.

The Instruction of Kagemni: Set in Dynasty III, it was most likely composed during Dynasty VI; it is now preserved on the Prisse Papyrus composed during the Middle Kingdom. In this Book of Instruction, like the others, the father, King Huni, with the help of his vizier, chronicles his wisdom and personal experiences so that his children, namely the future vizier Kagemni, offering them advice on how to follow a successful path in life.

The Instruction of Any: Unlike the previous Books of Instruction, that of Any was written during the New Kingdom, its content reflecting social changes of the time, emphasizing middle- rather than upper-class values. However, it is still a document which outlines advice to the son, given by the father--in this case, the father is a minor official rather than the king. Concerning this, there is another difference between this Book of Instruction with the others: the father's advice is questioned by the son, something the latter would never have done in the others, but eventually accepts it.

The Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy: The youngest of the bunch is the Instruction of Ankhsheshonqy, a Book of Instruction for the Ptolemaic Period, which follows the experiences of a Heliopolitan priest of Re. His advice to his son is in the form of a story, relating how he was implicated in a plot to kill the king and was imprisoned for it. Having plenty of time to sift through his thoughts, he composes the wisdom he's gained from this experience for his son's advantage.
Back to top

Scribes

According to the Satire of the Trades, scribal life was pleasurable: he was superior, his skills were the most valuable in life and dead, he did not have to pay taxes, he escaped military drafts; he could have the opportunity to rub shoulders with famous people or work for the king.

Scribes were many a person, not just a copyist or writer; he could be any of the following: a priest, a civil administrator, or a simple secretary; a composer of public letters, magical spells, and healing directions prescribed by doctors to patients; Pharaoh's manager; a tax collector; border patrol; an architectural designer; a recorder of births and deaths, great battles, business transactions, military secrets, temple documents, prayers, stories, or songs; or a keeper of archives. Being labeled a scribe was not limited to those educated in the field: high ranking officials and rulers tended to include in their "scribe," which was a mark of respectability, nobility, and education.

Most trades in ancient Egypt were hierarchical, where future jobs of sons depended on jobs of the fathers. However, just because an Egyptian boy's father was a scribe did not automatically mean that he would be one also. Scribal school was a tough business, requiring not only skill, but also hard work. If a boy showed promise in the field, did his work well, and listened to his teachers, he might become a professional scribe.

Because there were many careers a scribe could pursue once he got out into the real world the subjects he might follow whilst still in scribal school could be any or all of the following: reading and writing (see above for more details); geography; astronomy; math and accounting; surveying; architecture; history; and maybe poetry, depending on Pharaoh's demands.

When the student-scribe completed his formal training, it was on to apprentice with a working scribe, which could last as long as 11 to 12 years.
Back to top

Priests

If a boy's father was a priest, he too would become a priest. To be a priest, a boy had to become an apprentice to his father, learn while at his father's side priestly routines and daily rituals particular to a certain temple. Student-priests would learn to wake early, shave and wash carefully, enter appropriately the sanctuary of the temple, treat respectfully each god's statue housed in the temple, and give properly libations. Thus, priesthood was a hereditary position rather than one appointed by the king.

Even though the duration of priestly studies was not fixed, one high priest called Bekenkhonsu, gives his scholastic agenda: at five, he went to school for eleven years; at sixteen he became a wab priest; at fifty-nine, he became High Priest, holding that position for twenty-seven years.

Evidence has shown that there was a university (a very rare institution) located at Aketaten during the Amarna Period which was responsible for educating priests of the new religion, which had at its center of worship the Aten.
Back to top

Weavers

A weaver did not typically go to school; his or her "education" came from an apprenticeship with his father or her mother, starting their training near the age of five. By the time a child reached 15 years old, they would have already been working on his own for years. According to the writings of the Roman Period, girls training to be weavers or spinners studied and were tested on their skills by a master or colleague in the same trade. Reimbursement was due to the family if the girl did not pass her test.
Back to top

Artists

Documentary rather than the graphic evidence has shown that students of art had to learn the conventions of representation, of proportion, of posture, and of symbolism. Archaeologists have found at Deir el-Medina potsherds that were used by students of art; on them were images which evince the student's attempt to recreate in graphic form the human and divine form. Practice pieces such as these have been dated as far back as the Old Kingdom, during Dynasty III.

In addition to an eye for design, artists, draftsmen, and sculptors had to know how to read and write hieroglyphic, for it was their job to convert the written word, mostly like in hieratic, into hieroglyphs on tomb and temple walls and statues.

One of the first elements of art an artist in Ancient Egypt had to learn was the "sacred ratio," otherwise known as Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio, a measurement whose proportions occur everywhere in nature including plants, animals, and outer space. This number is called Phi (approximately equaling 1.618) and in the artistic word, ancient and modern, it is the measurement that helps to draw the human body: the sacred ration of person's arm is his shoulder to his elbow, his elbow to his fingertips; the divine proportion of a person's leg is her hip to her knee, her knee to her foot; the golden ratio of a person's finger is his first joint to his middle joint, his middle joint to his fingertip; and so on. Not only did art students use this in drawing the human figure, which was done so using a grid, but also in making jewelry, writing hieroglyphs, building pyramids, and constructing buildings in general.

Another form of measurement a student-artist or a professional one was the cubit--the distance between the elbow and the fingertips, which is then divided into six palms--the distance between one's first finger knuckle and one's pinky knuckle. Using these forms of measurement, artist made grid lines to draw perfectly proportioned figures.
Back to top

Doctors

If an Egyptian man practiced medicine, his son would also practice the same profession, this line of work having many real world opportunities: doctor; wabau, a ritually pure priest of Sekhmet; general practitioner called swnw; sau, who practiced magic and medicine; physician; gynecologist; pediatrician; dentist; dermatologist; nurse; masseur; bandager; midwife; and the most unusual, bug or vermin exterminator. In addition, medical students learned also the subject by reading documents composed by previous doctors, what scholars call prescription-books, which might include the following: observations in human and animal anatomy; experimental notes in surgery and pharmacy; best uses of splints, bandages, and compresses; a list of medical and anatomical terms; details of pharmaceutical treatments such as oral medicines, fumigation, drugs, and ointments made from minerals, animals, and vegetables; entries devoted to fertility and pregnancy tests, contraceptive measures, the treatment of women's ailments, and childbirth problems; appropriate hymns, prayers, and spells to say with the application of a particular treatment; or notes on trepanning and circumcision.

In the early practices in medical studies, students of medicine learned the therapeutic affects of medicinal plants, which could also serve as anesthetics. Their studies were typically had at home rather than in a special school--the first pharmacological-medical schools, if you will. As the ancient Egyptians grew more interested in the field, students could attend lectures in temples or in what was called per ankh (House of Life), where medical and pharmaceutical students studied under a priest-doctor with experience in the field. There were other specialty schools at Heliopolis and at Sais, the latter a location particularly for the training of midwives. Royal palaces, specifically at Heliopolis and Memphis, were sometimes equipped with their own per ankh, where the children of the royal family and of high ranking officials studied this and other subjects, especially magic and religion, two subjects at the center of ancient Egyptian medicine. Another subject in which students of medicine had to excel was botany, as knowing which plants worked best to cure a particular ailment was part of the profession. Knowledge also of any disease could be the foundation of a cure.

Perhaps the area that best shows the advancements in this field of study over time is the processes of mummification, which showed that the ancient Egyptians were versed in the study of the human body, both dead and alive. However, the complete anatomy of the human was not their forte, having not understood to the fullest extent the functions of minor organs; aside from that which was extracted during mummification, they knew very little. For example, Egyptians considered the brain as vestigial, whereas the heart was the seat of everything--of knowledge in particular. Students learned about "vessels," which correspond to what we moderns call veins and arteries. According to their teachings, which are extensively outlined in the Ebers Papyrus, a patient's "vessels" could clog, burn, stiffen, itch, or weaken, but they could not be treated directly with medicine, so the doctor would have to use ointments. They learned also that "vessels" carried water, air, and waste, beginning their course at the heart and terminating at various parts of the body. The heart was the "beginning of all the members" and wherever the doctor placed his hands, he would meet the heart. How a medical student would eventually treat a patient, especially one with neuralgic or rheumatic problems, depended on this theory of "vessels."

In addition to learning botany and anatomy, the medical student had to be versed in magic and religion, two subjects that are conducive to medicine--student were, after all, taught by priest-doctors, whom the Ancient Egyptians saw as having great power, knowing secrets in magic and having the ability to commune with the gods, especially with Thoth, a doctor's guide, god of scribes and inventor of healing formulas; Hathor and Taweret, aides in childbirth; Isis, protectress of the liver and, in the form of Hathor, inventor of most healing remedies; Sekhmet, destroyer and bringer of epidemics, the latter element a trait of her consort, Seth, both having to be pacified to avoid those elements of their personalities; Horus and Amun, curers of eye diseases; and many others.
Back to top