On Ancient Egyptian Erotica
“Erotica” may not be the first word to come to mind when you think about ancient Egypt. In fact, maybe you haven’t even spared ancient Egyptian erotica a thought – didn’t realise that the culture that left us the Pyramids and the Valley of Kings was quite that naughty (or maybe you have, because dick jokes have been the constant of human existence). But then a few Egyptologists online mention Egyptian erotica off-hand and now you’re left wondering how dirty they actually were.
What exactly was the extent of erotica in ancient Egypt? I’m using “erotica” in the widest sense of the word here, i.e. textual or visual depictions of love, lust and/or sex. Generally the term is defined as art with the purpose of eliciting feelings of arousal, but because it’s not always evident what the exact objective of a certain depiction or text was, I think it best to keep the definition broad.
The most famous example of ancient Egyptian erotica, Papyrus Turin 55001, colloquially known as the Turin Erotic Papyrus, illustrates this well. This papyrus was found in Deir el-Medina and dates to the Ramesside Period. It contains twelve depictions of a man and women in different sexual positions. While the girls are young and pretty, the man himself is bald and flabby – not exactly the epitome of ancient Egyptian physical beauty standards.
The man’s appearance isn’t the only thing that makes it questionable whether the Turin Erotic Papyrus is deserving of its nickname “the world’s first [known] men’s mag”. Apart from the sexual depictions, the papyrus also contains images of animals performing human tasks. This section is believed to be either humorous or satirical in nature, which casts doubt on whether the erotic section was supposed to arouse the reader/viewer.
The ancient Egyptian art depicted the ideal version of reality in “good” images. If the Turin Erotic Papyrus was intended to engender sexual arousal, or make it possible for the reader to identify themselves with the male main character, we can assume that he would at least have had hair. On the other hand, the women are drawn very appealingly, and sometimes engage in sexual activities on their own.
Unfortunately the papyrus is heavily damaged and the surviving text in the margins isn’t clear on its intent, either. By and large the text is complementary dialogue, with lines such as “Oh! Sun, you have found out my heart, it is agreeable work”. This means the actual purpose of the Turin Papyrus is uncertain, with some experts suggesting it was satirical, meant as a humorous depiction of uncouth and absurd behaviour at which the elite could laugh. But again, when you draw pretty young ladies with that kind of effort… well.
The New Kingdom also left us many love poems or love songs. The Cairo Love Songs were found written down on a large potshard in Deir el-Medina, and Papyrus Harris 500, a Ramesside papyrus, contains a collection of love poetry in addition to the literary tales on it. Papyrus Turin 1996, and Papyrus Chester Beatty 1 also contain examples of the genre.
These love songs range from romantic, talking about how much two young people love each other, to downright lusty, with descriptions of the beauty of the beloved and/or talking about sex, sometimes in no uncertain terms.
However, keep in mind that the metaphors the ancient Egyptians used are separated from our modern society by various orders of magnitude. It’s altogether possible that some of the things we now read into these translations aren’t exactly what the original text was meant to say.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here are a few of my favourites (all translations by W. K. Simpson in Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry):
Papyrus Harris 500, song 1
If I am not beside you, where will you set your desire?
If [you] do not embrace [me and seize] the moment,
[Whom will you] approach (for) pleasure?
But if you woo me to touch my breasts and my thighs,
[…]
Would you depart because you have the urge to eat?
Are you a man who is devoted to his stomach?
Would [you depart] in your fine clothing,
While I am left with nothing but the bed sheets?
Would you leave me for the sake of drink2 […]?
Then take my breast, for its milk wells up for you.
More wondrous is a single day in your embrace […]
Than a hundred thousand upon earth.
Papyrus Harris 500, song 4
My desire is not yet quenched by your love,
My wanton little jackal cub.
My lust for you I cannot forgo,
Though I be beaten and driven off
To dwell in the Delta marshes,
(Driven) to the land of Khor with sticks and clubs,
To the land of Kush with switches of palm,
To the high ground with rods,
Or to the low ground with branches.
I will pay no heed to their warnings
To abandon the one whom I desire.
Papyrus Harris 500, song 12
I shall go out [to seek my lover].
[I yearn] for your love,
And my heart stops within me.
To look at a sweet cake
Is like looking at salt;
Sweet pomegranate wine in my mouth
Is like the bitter gall of birds.
The breath of your nostrils
Is the sole thing which can revive my heart,
And I am determined that Amun will grant you to me
For ever and eternity
Papyrus Harris 500, song 24
What is the completion of preparing to make love?
Let Menqet be adorned there […]
[…] her bed chamber.
Come, and I shall tell you.
Put fine linen on her body
While laying her bed with royal linen.
Be meticulous about white linen,
Adorn […] her body,
Found like one sprinkled with perfume.
Papyrus Harris 500, song 25
Would that I were her Nubian maidservant
Who attends to her personal needs; […]
This would mean that the skin of her whole body
Would be exposed to me.
Papyrus Chester Beatty I, song 41
Now you shall bring it to the house of (your) beloved
And go as far as her portal.
Her chamber will be open (for you),
And her housemaid will have prepared it.
Provide her with songs and dances,
Wine and strong beer in her pavilion.
You will arouse her passions
And fulfill them during this night.
She will say to you,
‘‘Take me into your embrace.’’
And when the dawn comes,
She will still be there.
Papyrus Chester Beatty I, song 42
Now you shall bring it to the chamber of (your) beloved,
Alone, no other (with you),
And you will accomplish your desire in her [embrace]
The curtains will flutter,
And the sky will descend in a gale of wind.
(Hathor) will bring you her fragrance,
And its perfume will overwhelm and intoxicate
All those who are present.
It is the Golden Goddess
Who destines her for you as a boon
To let you fulfill the span of your life.
Some of the returning motifs in these songs are drinking of pomegranate wine or the shadow of a pomegranate tree as the location for a rendezvous; the idea that the embrace of a beloved dispels all ills in a lover; parents who don’t know how much their son/daughter yearns for their beloved; and Hathor as provider of lovers and love.
In ancient Egypt, premarital sex wasn’t much of a social issue. If there was consent between both parties, sex was fine (adultery was another matter, of course). This is the general attitude we get from these love songs: sex and love and desire are predominantly good (unless the lover suffers from being away from their beloved for too long), as long as they are enjoyed by both parties and adhere to Egyptian social mores.
Sources and further reading
W. K. Simpson - Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry
B. Mathieu - La Poésie Amoureuse de l’Égypte Ancienne: Recherches sur un genre littéraire au Nouvel Empire
G. Robins - Women in Ancient Egypt
A. G. McDowell - Village Life in Ancient Egypt: Laundry Lists and Love Songs
C. Graves-Brown (ed) - Sex and Gender in Ancient Egypt: Don Your Wig for a Joyful Hour
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