The Washington times., 1923-08-13
.OLD EGYPTIANS
LED HECTIC
a H"n
Famous Antiquarian Says Dr.
vorce and Drunkenness
Were Common.
BY CHARLES A. SMITH.
International News Service

LONDON. July 27.-That there
were fast sets" in the high society
Of Egypt 5000 years ago. when Tut
Ankh-Amen was living; that divorce
was prevalent and easy to obtain
and that drunkenness, polygamy and
other modern" social Ills were rife.
Is shown by Prof. Sir w. M. Find
ers PetrIe, famous antiquarian, In
his book, Social Life in Ancient
Egypt" just published.
Prof. Flinders Petrie visited Tut
Ankh-Amen's tomb when It was
opened upon invitation from Lord
Carnarvon.
The Psychologist gives many little
known and interesting facts In his
book about the life Of the ancient
Egyptians, especially pointing out
how Egyptian philosophy was tine
tured with crude insistence upon the
inviolability OF death. This found
expression in their attitude OF ''eat.
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we
may de-" That was their view to.
ward life.
Divorce Was Simple.
Divorce, said Prof. Flinders Petrie,
was ludicrously easy and was as
popular as It is today. All an an
Gent Egyptian had to do was to tell
his wife he was through with her.
One might visualize an Egyptian in
the days Of Tut-Ankh-Amen appear
ing at the breakfast table with q Sc
we're crouch and swapping at his
wife:
~ have abandoned thee as a wife.
lam removed from thee. have no
claim on earth to thee"
There were no court proceedings,
no lawyers fees, and no sensational
articles In the yellow press. This
was probably the earliest divorce
formula on record.
Married Relatives
Under the Egyptian laws a man
could marry his own sister and
often did so. Polygamy was prac-
ticed, but was not widespread.
The Egyptians wisdom toward WON.
en- was summed UP by the professor
in the following PASSAGE:
BE not rude to woman In her own
house If thou know her thoroughly.
Do not say, What Is that?' or Bring
it to me- when she hath put 1t in
the right place and thine eye hath
seen 1t. When thou art silent thou
knoweth her qualities, and it 10 a
Joy to be with her."
Another interesting revelation was
that fancy waistcoats were in vogue
1000 years before Christ and that
fashionable dress for women was a
tight-fitting gown reaching to the
ankles, with tight sleeves. The ear
hest dress worn in Egypt was similar
to that Of the South Sea Islanders
today-just a fringe around the
waist.
Ancient Egyptian women had
their heads shaved and wore wigs
in the sun. Servants could be told
by the peak upon their caps.
Slavery Prevailed.
Slavery for debt flourished. The
earliest will dated back 5000 years
B. c. It started off by describing
the deceased and stating that he was
sound mentally. just like the wills Of
today.
. The professor gave interesting de-
tails Of the building Of the Great
Pyramid, which covers thirteen
acres. It took 100000 workers, 1000
Of them skilled masons. twenty
years to build this mighty monument.
Prof. Flinders Petrie ridicules those
who say the early Egyptians were
oppressed. He said that work upon
the Pyramids was done when floods
rendered thousands OF workmen idle.
They were then employed by the
King upon Pyramid construction and
were well treated.