Uncovering the Mysteries of Egypt: 10 Surprising Facts

The ancient Egyptians have faded into legend, but that doesn’t stop modern day society’s fascination with their culture. It was a civilization that achieved unbelievable feats of architecture and science, and was littered with absolutely awesome displays of power.

Interesting Egyptian Facts

1 Egyptians invented perhaps the very first board game. Senet was a game using tossed sticks like die and movable pieces.

2 Starting in 31 B.C., Egyptians were under Roman rule and Christianity was their main religion for the next 600 years.

3 The world’s very first major stone building is credited to the Egyptians: the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara.

4 The largest Egyptian structure is the Pyramid of Khufu, which weighs about 16 times that of the Empire State building.

5 Egypt was another victim of Alexander the Great, falling to his forces in 332 B.C.

6 Both women and men wore makeup in Egyptian society, usually green or black, due to the resources nearby.

7 The first Egyptian dynasty was started when King Menes conquered the northern Egyptian realms in 3100 B.C.

8 The Egyptians are credited with inventing many modern day items like the pen, papyrus sheets, bowling, the door lock, and even toothpaste.

9 The Egyptians were considered to be the most dominant civilization in the Mediterranean for 30 generations.

10 If the bandages of a mummy were unwrapped, they would stretch out over 1.6 kilometers.

11 While Egyptians honored a variety of animals, and worshiped many as gods, cats were by far the most revered. Egyptians gave many of their gods cat-like qualities and even considered the animals to be demigods in their own right.

Related: Learn about the Great Pyramid of Giza