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Ancient Egypt - Pharaohs, Servants and Slaves

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In most ancient civilizations, owning a servant or slave was common, and in ancient Egypt, pharaohs were surrounded by men and women (as well as children) who were expected to meet the every need of he and his family. It was apparent from the Egyptian Book of the Dead that servants were not treated horribly, as the stereotype would lead you to believe. It states in "Negative Confession," "I have not ill-treated servants" (Negative, 1). Since this was stated, the text, ill-treating servants was then considered a sin. It was also said that, "slaves could have been given as gifts to the pharaoh  (Society). From then on, if the pharaoh grew fond of his servants, he could choose to burry them in his sacred tomb rather than the alternative of being thrown out with animal carcasses. These servants could be compared to the modern day pet, the dog; they are loyal and obedient. Though servants are statistically at the bottom of the totem pole, and their job entails serving the pharaoh, life as a servant seemed to have its perks if one played their cards right. Next in the Egyptian social ranking were the workers. This class of people had the labor-intensive occupations. Washermen, to wash the linens; pot makers, to construct pots out of clay; cobblers, to make shoes out of leather; watchmen, to guard and clean the temple at night; merchants, to carry good from one town to another; ships' crew, to sail from Egypt to Syria with no intent of return; carpenters, to carry timber; and farm laborers, to irrigate the fields (Lualdi, 29). The majority of the people worked in the fields as farm laborers at the lowest ranking of worker. Their occupation was to provide food for the entire civilization and the pharaoh. The Egyptian civilization relied on the Nile River to flood every year, which would bring water and fertile soil for drinking and farming respectively. Clearly the occupations of the workers resemble those of a modern day blue-collar work

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