Drinking alcohol - part and parcel of the ancient Egyptian Civilisation
Drinking Alcohol began way ahead of any written history
Drinking has been an integral part of the Egyptian Civilisation since the earliest recorded archeological evidence. Residual traces of fermentation found in the ruins of the Egyptian city Hierakonpolis, has been linked to early brewing of alcohol. Brewing in
Hierakonpolis began as early as 3400 BC and the ruins are evidence of the oldest brewery ever found and had an estimated capacity of producing as much as 300 Gallons of beer per day.
Egyptians believed Osiris the widely worshiped Egyptian god had invented beer. Thus beer was considered an essential part of their lives.
Vessels from the predynastic period (4th millennium BC)
Shesmu - The God of Blood and Wine - source WikipediaIn ancient Egypt, beer and wine were both worshipped and offered to gods
Even the cellars and wine presses had a patron god, the Demon God Shesmu .
Shesmu , the ?Lord of the Blood?. It is said that on Oisiris?s order, he would chop off the heads of the evil doers and toss them into a winepress to create Blood wine, in a fashion similar to grape wine.
Shesmu (alternatively Schesmu and Shezmu) is an ancient Egyptian deity with a contradictory character. He was worshiped from the early Old Kingdom period.
He was considered a god of ointments, perfume, and wine. In this role, he was associated with festivities, dancing, and singing. But he was also considered a god of blood, who could slaughter and dismember other deities. It is thought possible that the ancient Egyptians used red wine to symbolize blood in religious offerings, explaining why Shesmu is associated with both blood and wine. - Wikipedia
The pharaohs sure loved their drink
There were at least 17 types of Beer and 24 varieties of Wine produced in ancient Egypt.
The most common was Hqt or Beer
Beer was generally known as Hqt (?heqet? or ?heket?) to ancient Egyptians, but was also called ?tnmw? (?tenemu?) and there was a type of beer known as haAmt (?kha-ahmet?). The determinative of the word Hqt (beer) was a beer jug. - Ancient Egypt Online
According to financial records of Giza pyramid builders, beer was the common drink served to the labours. They were allotted a daily ration of one and one third gallons.
Beer and wine had a myriad application, they drank in pleasure, drank in rituals, drank as medicines, drank for nutrition and even remunerations were paid in beer or wine.
The wines found in tombs also suggests that they stored beverages in tombs of the deceased for their use in the after-life.
Egyptian hieroglyphics depict the pouring out of beer.
lack granite statue of the Goddess Sekhmet excavated in Thebes in the Ramesseum 1405-1367 BCE (Late 18th Dynasty) Egypt Penn MuseumEgyptian Beer was more nutritious than intoxicating
In the Egyptian Society, beer was enjoyed by both adults and children. It was the stable drink of the poor and wealthy alike. Gods were offered beer, and beer appears in offerings list and was part of the Offering Formula of ancient Egypt.
There is evidence that the staple beer of ancient Egypt was not particularly intoxicating, rather it was nutritious, thick and sweet. But when used in offerings and in rituals, evidence shows that the same beer could be made to be very intoxicating too. participants in the festivals of Bast, Sekhmet and Hathor would get very drunk as part of their worship of these goddesses.
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