Homosexuality In Ancient Egypt

Homosexuality In Ancient Egypt

Throughout human history, sexual life has a main interest as it is that part of everyday life which humans express their feelings and desire of continuing life through it.

This part of the day would be an emotional behavioral expression of their desire to continue to live together as life partners, and not to lose their relationship they keep the continued attraction of both partners to the other.

Here we talk about who are the partners in this relationship and what are their sexual tendencies?

Throughout ancient and modern history, civilizations have shown arts that express their sexual life as an appreciated and respected part of their lives, and civilizations have also highlighted the nature of this life, its behavior, and its inclinations.. Among the most prominent sexual tendencies known in the modern world is homosexuality, but what is its position in the ancient world, specifically in ancient Egypt.

Homosexuality

Initially, homosexuality can be defined briefly as the person's emotional and sexual attraction to his or her same-sex counterpart, Simply we can say that men are attracted to men and women to women.

In the modern world, societies's attitude towards homosexuality differs to be supporters or opponents with the difference of the cultures and nations.

But what we will explain here is how ancient Egypt dealt with homosexuality.

Sex Life In Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians considered that sex is a special matter that should not happen in public, but it was forbidden to do in temples and holy places in order not to be desecrated, and this explains the scarcity of sexual scenes inscriptions in ancient Egyptian art on the walls of temples and cemeteries, but there were many scenes imaged emotional and romantic scenes as they were considering emotions and love are more noble.

The ancient Egyptians did not seem terribly shy or shamed of sex, but this was within the context of respecting the holy sites. In their Egyptian myths, we find a clear mention of sexual behaviors without shame.

We can simply say that the ancient Egyptians respected sex within the context of sexual life without any permissible practice in the public or in temples in order to keep the purity of the holy places.

This was how ancient Egyptians dealt with the sexual practices, but what they thought about other sexual tendencies, such as homosexuality?

We find clearly and decisively in the "The Book of Going Forth by day"  which known as "the book of dead" that the Egyptians considered it an unacceptable behavior, enough to deny it in order to pass to the other world.

ِAs the man stands in the court of the dead, with 42 judges to deny his sins in front of them, including confession in the form of exile, where he says: (I did not commit obscene with women other than his wife or even men).

Homosexuality Mentioning In Ancient Egypt

But what about mentioning stories about homosexuality in ancient Egypt?

There are the three most controversial events in the history of ancient Egypt about homosexuality

1- The tomb of Khnumhotep and NiAnkhKhnum Saqqara.

Where the artist depicted them on the wall of the cemetery in a close position, hugging each other, and their noses nearly attached.

Some considered it an emotional scene of loving gay couples, but in fact it is the tomb of a twin brother who the artist depicted in this position as an expression of fraternal affection.

Even the cemetery itself is known as the "Cemetery of the Two Brothers" and this cemetery belongs to two of the senior officials in the Fifth Dynasty: “NishAnkhKhnum” and “Khnumhotep”, the priests in the temple of the Ra which belongs to King “Nyuserre”, in the area of ​​Abu Ghurab , Who also were the hairdressers of the king’s hair and supervised his nail trimmers.

2- King Pepi II "Neferkare"

It is a short story that is incomplete, but controversial .. The story takes place according to what I mentioned in the Shekinah papyrus (No. 25351 in the Louvre Museum) about one of the citizens - whose name is unknown - has come to the complaints hall of King “Pepi II” - who had been mentioned in the papyrus by the name of “Neferkare"-

This citizen came to the complaints hall at the King’s Palace and his purpose was to read a lamentable lyric in front of the king related to an incident that occurred to him - an accident that the papyrus also does not mention - and it seems that the king did not want to continue to listen to this citizen so he ordered the accompanying band The elegy to spoil the melody to get rid of this citizen, after this the citizen tried many times to repeat the epitaph and his efforts were unsuccessful, but on one occasion when this citizen left the palace he asked a friend of his called “Tatta” to follow the king to know his path.

While "Tatta" were spying on the king he found out that the king goes out from the palace every night to go to a palace of employee called “Sha Snt” and the text mentions the following sentence “His Majesty goes at night to Sha Snt’s house.”

Some saw this that the king was going to this employee to have sex at night without anyone knowing, but the owners of this opinion ignored that this employee was the army commander is not an ordinary employee and with no evidence of what they do at night (if the story was correct) there are many possibilities that makes more sense for what a king and his army commander were doing in their secret meeting other than having sex.

3- Horus and Set

Horus and Set were two Nitro in Egyptian myths and they were males.

The story is part of the struggle between Horus and Set to win the throne.

This time, Set uses different trick to win over Horus, as he tried to have sex with Horus, to make him disgraced and shamed so he would not ask for his father's throne, but Horus overpowered him with the help of his mother Isis, which put Set in an embarrassing situation in front of the compound of the Egyptian gods in Heliopolis.

Some have considered that the presence of homosexuality in the myth is evidence of its existence in the real Egyptian society, but there are other aspects to this event.

First is that the story was added in late eras when Egyptian culture effected with other cultures.

Secondly, the story highlights that homosexuality as a main act that brings shame to its perpetrator, so Set tried to do it for Horus so that he could not still asking for the throne.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the modern world’s attitude toward homosexuality differs with the difference of the cultures and nations.

For ancient Egypt, ancient Egypt was against homosexuality, it was considered as a shame and disgrace, they didn't considered as an disgrace and shame on the perpetrator just his in his life but they also they believed that was enough to prevents him from crossing to the other life.

Sources:
  Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Sobekmose -Paul F. O' Rourke

Sexual life in ancient Egypt -Lise Manniche

Shekinah papyrus (No. 25351 in the Louvre Museum)

Myths and Legends
The War of Horus and Set -David A. McIntee