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[[File: Tomb_of_Nakht.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Scene from the tomb of Nakht Depicting a Banquet: Eighteenth Dynasty, Thebes]]
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===The Production and Types of Ancient Egyptian Alcohol===
[[File: Painting_from_tomb_Thebes.jpg|350px250px|thumbnail|left|New Kingdom Relief from a Tomb in Thebes Depicting the Production of Wine]]
Unlike today, the ancient Egyptians did not possess various types of alcohol, with only wine and beer being available because the distillation process was yet to be discovered. Wine, known in the ancient Egyptian language as <i>irep</i> was most commonly produced from fermented grapes, but wine made from palms and dates were also consumed. The process was straightforward and not very different than methods used today to make wine: the grapes or dates were pressed in a container, and then the liquid was bottled into vases. The final product had varying degrees of alcoholic content and could be either white or red wine. Although the process was easier than making beer, the fruits needed to make the wine were less plentiful, and therefore wine became the alcoholic beverage most consumed by nobles. <ref> Lucas, A. and J.R. Harris. <i>Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries.</i> (Mineola, New York: Dover, 1999), p. 16</ref>
===Alcohol for Leisure and Sustenance===
[[File: Ancient_Egyptian_wine_Amphoras_Louvre.jpg|300px200px|thumbnail|left|A Cache of Ancient Egyptian Wine Amphoras in the Louvre, Paris]]
All classes of ancient Egyptians consumed wine and beer for leisure and pleasure in different settings. The wine was favored by the royals for its taste, as well as its intoxicating effects. The prime wine-growing regions of ancient Egypt were actually not in the Nile Valley itself, but hundreds of miles to the west in the Sahara Desert's oases, with the Kharga and Bahriya Oases being the most renowned. Modern scholars believe that wine production probably began even before Egypt was a unified state around 3100 BC. Still, by the Old Kingdom (ca. 2686-2181 BC), there was a full-fledged wine industry in Egypt. <ref> Kemp, Barry J. “Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and Second Intermediate Period.” In <i>Ancient Egypt: A Social History.</i> Edited by Bruce G. Trigger, Barry J. Kemp, David O’Connor, and Alan B. Lloyd. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 120</ref>
===Alcohol and Ancient Egyptian Religion===
[[File: Beer_Jar.jpg|300px250px|thumbnail|left|A Well-Preserved Beer Jar]]
In the ancient Egyptian religion, both wine and beer played varying roles. Although the ancient Egyptians were not known for elaborate myth cycles, the myth is known as <i>The Destruction of Mankind</i> was particularly popular during the New Kingdom. The story was essentially an allegory about the gods' sometimes capricious nature, the hubris problem within humans, and how alcohol was used to alleviate the situation. In the story, the sun-god Re was angry with humans because they became arrogant and rebelled against him and the other gods, so he sent his eye to earth, which transformed into the lioness goddess of war, Sekhmet. Rewatched as Sekhmet efficiently killed all humans in her path, drinking their blood in the process. Eventually, Re had second thoughts about the situation but could not stop Sekhmet, so he devised a plan that involved alcohol. The sun-god had his high-priest mix red ochre with a beer to fool the lioness goddess. The story states:
“When the goddess came in the morning, she found them flooded, and her gaze was pleased by it. She drank, and it pleased her heart. She returned drunk without having perceived humankind.” <ref> Lichtheim, p. 199</ref>
Alcohol clearly played a positive role in <i>The Destruction of Mankind</i>. Still, its importance is even more apparent when one considers the many rituals associated with ancient Egyptian religion. Several ancient Egyptian religious rituals concerned a deceased person’s transition into the afterlife, which was perhaps the most important aspect of their religion. The earliest ancient Egyptian texts that concern the afterlife are a series of spells, referred to as “Utterances,” known collectively as <i>The Pyramid Texts</i>. The Utterances of the <i>The Pyramid Texts</i>, which were inscribed on the walls and ceilings of kings’ pyramids from the Fifth through the Eighth Dynasties of the Old Kingdom, were intended to make sure that the king not only transitioned safely into the afterlife but that he was unified, depending on the Utterance, with the sun-god or Osiris, the god of the dead. Central to an Utterance being effective was often an offering of beer or wine to the gods. Some spells read, “O Osiris the King, take the ferment which issued from you – beer!” <ref> Faulkner, Richard O, trans. <i>The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.</i> (Stilwell, Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing, 2007), Utterances 49, 50, 95, 148, 149, 150</ref> In other Utterances, beer is equated to the “Eye of Hours, for little is that which Seth has eaten of it – 2 bowls of strong ale.” <ref> Faulkner, Utterance 145</ref> Offering alcohol to the gods was not restricted to the Old Kingdom, or even the nobles, though, because throughout all periods of pharaonic history, alcohol was seen as one of the most appropriate, if not required, commodities a pious person could offer to the gods.
Central to an Utterance being effective was often an offering of beer or wine to the gods. Some spells read, “O Osiris the King, take the ferment which issued from you – beer!” <ref> Faulkner, Richard O, trans. <i>The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.</i> (Stilwell, Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing, 2007), Utterances 49, 50, 95, 148, 149, 150</ref> In other Utterances, beer is equated to the “Eye of Hours, for little is that which Seth has eaten of it – 2 bowls of strong ale.” <ref> Faulkner, Utterance 145</ref> Offering alcohol to the gods was not restricted to the Old Kingdom, or even the nobles, though, because throughout all periods of pharaonic history, alcohol was seen as one of the most appropriate, if not required, commodities a pious person could offer to the gods. During the Late Period (ca. 664 BC-Christian Era), the Egyptians' religion became more “popular” as more and more people became involved by donating statues, mummified animals, and votive stelae to the temple complexes of various gods and goddesses. The inscriptions on the statues and stelae often began with the same formulaic statement – known as the <i>hetep di nisu</i> or “royal offering” formula – that was commonly used in tombs of the New Kingdom. In these statements, the person giving the offering would state how many of a particular item they gave to the gods as an offering. In one interesting votive statue that was donated by a man named Udjahorresnet who was a physician, high-priest of the goddess Neith, and navy admiral during the sixth century BC under both Egyptian and Persian kings, he . He gave an offering to Osiris of “1000 in bread, beer, cattle, fowl and every good and pure thing for the <i>ka</i> of the honored one who is near the great gods of Sais, the doctor Udjahorresnet." <ref> Posener, Georges. <i> La première domination Perse en Égypte: Recueil d’inscriptions hiéroglyphs.</i> (Cairo: The French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, 1936), p. 3</ref> The Udjahorresnet statue is just one example among thousands of documented offerings where beer and/or wine were an integral part of the offerings given to the gods in a ritualistic setting.
===Conclusion===
Alcoholic beverages clearly played an important role in ancient Egyptian culture. Alcohol production was a major industry throughout most Egyptian history periods, and its consumption was also important for many reasons. The ancient Egyptians, similar to people in the modern world, enjoyed drinking alcoholic beverages in social settings and were not afraid to drink to the point of inebriation; in fact, on many occasions, inebriation was expected and considered proper etiquette. Alcohol, especially beer, also played an important role in the ancient Egyptian diet. Egyptian beer was drinkable, unlike the water, and was high in nutritional value, making it an everyday drink and sometimes served as payment for public works projects. Finally, alcohol played an important role in ancient Egyptian religion. It was a key plot device in one of their most important myths and was used in nearly every offering to their gods. The ancient Egyptians are known today for being industrious, but they also clearly knew how to enjoy life with a few cocktails!{{Mediawiki<youtube>https:Cell}}//www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5XEwTDlriE</youtube>
===References===
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