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Rhi_Sarah
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Can anyone give me any useful and interesting information on the Priests and priestesses of Amun and Bastet.

Is it true they plucked every single hair from their body?...ouch!!


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Ozzy
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Some good info regarding priest comes from some of the Greek writers such as Herodotus.

Reegarding the lack of Hair he says this.

"The priests shave their whole body every other day, that no lice or other impure thing may adhere to them when they are engaged in the service of the gods. Their dress is entirely of linen, and their shoes of the papyrus plant: it is not lawful for them to wear either dress or shoes of any other material. They bathe twice every day in cold water, and twice each night; besides which they observe, so to speak, thousands of ceremonies. They enjoy, however, not a few advantages. They consume none of their own property, and are at no expense for anything; but every day bread is baked for them of the sacred corn, and a plentiful supply of beef and of goose's flesh is assigned to each, and also a portion of wine made from the grape. Fish they are not allowed to eat; and beans- which none of the Egyptians ever sow, or eat, if they come up of their own accord, either raw or boiled- the priests will not even endure to look on, since they consider it an unclean kind of pulse. Instead of a single priest, each god has the attendance of a college, at the head of which is a chief priest; when one of these dies, his son is appointed in his room.

Male kine are reckoned to belong to Epaphus, and are therefore tested in the following manner:- One of the priests appointed for the purpose searches to see if there is a single black hair on the whole body, since in that case the beast is unclean. He examines him all over, standing on his legs, and again laid upon his back; after which he takes the tongue out of his mouth, to see if it be clean in respect of the prescribed marks (what they are I will mention elsewhere); he also inspects the hairs of the tail, to observe if they grow naturally. If the animal is pronounced clean in all these various points, the priest marks him by twisting a piece of papyrus round his horns, and attaching thereto some sealing-clay, which he then stamps with his own signet-ring. After this the beast is led away; and it is forbidden, under the penalty of death, to sacrifice an animal which has not been marked in this way.

The following is their manner of sacrifice:- They lead the victim, marked with their signet, to the altar where they are about to offer it, and setting the wood alight, pour a libation of wine upon the altar in front of the victim, and at the same time invoke the god. Then they slay the animal, and cutting off his head, proceed to flay the body. Next they take the head, and heaping imprecations on it, if there is a market-place and a body of Greek traders in the city, they carry it there and sell it instantly; if, however, there are no Greeks among them, they throw the head into the river. The imprecation is to this effect:- They pray that if any evil is impending either over those who sacrifice, or over universal Egypt, it may be made to fall upon that head. These practices, the imprecations upon the heads, and the libations of wine, prevail all over Egypt, and extend to victims of all sorts; and hence the Egyptians will never eat the head of any animal."


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Rhi_Sarah
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how did they make razors in ancient egypt then? Wouldn't they have found it difficult ot make them sharp enough?
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Neb-Ma'at-Re
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The earliest shaving implements appear to have been sharp stone blades usually set in a wooden handle. In later periods fine copper razors, and from the Middle Kingdom onwards, bronze, trapezium-shaped razors were used.


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Ozzy
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Even stone tools were sharp and not that difficuult to make. Obsidium (Not sure I spell that correctly) is extreemly sharp, and can in fact be sharper than most metal. As sharp as a razor in anycase. Many cultures around the world were using stone tools that were possibly used for shaving.

Ozzy


Posts: 448 | From: Australian living in Spain | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

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