Food and Honey in Ancient Egypt
Egypt was a land of plenty - the Nile’s yearly inundation allowed for a wealth of food, making enough food so everyone in the country could be fed for a year and still have more left over.
Surprisingly, most Egyptians were basicaly vegetarian. Meat was expensive and it didn’t last without refrigeration, so those in the middle and lower class couldn’t have it often. It led the majority into a vegetarian diet consisting of bread, beer, chickpeas, lentils, onions, garlic, sesame, corn, barley, papyrus, flax, lettuce, and at Thebes during the New Kingdom, opium poppy.
When meat was eaten, there was a variety of choices. These included cattle, goats, lambs, sheeps, poultry, and for those who hunted it, antelope. Fish was a viable option, but it wasn’t commonly eaten as a specific specie of fish was considered taboo to eat. In the Osiris myth, when Set sent Osiris’ body parts down the river, a fish ate Osiris’ penis and consequently became a bad omen. However this explanation is only according to Plutarch - not an Egyptian source.
Honey was something past just food.
It was used in near everything, by both lower and higher class, leading to the belief that it was mass-produced. The sweet drink was used in sweetening food, of course, but also in wounds to heal and prevent infection.
The idea of mass-production is backed up by several facts, first being the sheer amount needed to fuel all of Egypt. Beekeepers are mentioned on stelas, even a royal beekeeper. Man-made hives are also mentioned, made of mud or clay from the Nile and usually shaped as a pipe. These hives were moved up and down the Nile all year long so the bees could pollinate in every month. The last piece of proof is the fact that people today are still doing that, this time with better transportation than a wooden boat.
Jars of honey are also mentioned in divorce forms, of all things. A contract found said, “I take thee to wife… and promise to deliver to thee yearly twelve jars of honey.” This gives honey a high status, acting as a form of currency along with the wheat staple and gold rings.
