Education of King Tut
The Education of King Tut - Tutankhamun
The Ancient Egyptians held learning and knowledge in high regard and the
young Tutankhamun would have received the best education available. The
Prince's School was attended by Tutankhamun and other male members of
the royal family together with the
wealthy sons of the Ancient Egyptian nobility and important court
officials.
The
Vizier, who was Ay during
the reign of Tutankhamun, had overall control of the Prince's
school and therefore the education of the next Pharaoh, nobles and court
officials.
The Education of
King Tut - The Teachers
The teachers were all men, the most
brilliant of the scribes and priests. The school
day started education in the morning, a midday break followed by a siesta,
and finally afternoon lessons. The Education of King Tut was
well-rounded as it included not only academic subjects but also
concentrated on standards of morality via the Books of Instruction.
The Education of
King Tut - The Books of Instruction
The education
of King Tut would have included the use of the Books of Instruction. The
Books of Instruction contained rules for
living a well ordered life and Egyptian society and culture. The Books of Instruction included
elements of morality such as honesty, justice, wisdom, obedience, humanity and
restraint. The Books of Instruction allowed for the character building
of the young Tutankhamun and taught valuable lessons in government
together with the pharaohs' role and responsibilities.
The Education of
King Tut
- The Lessons at the Princes School
The lessons undertaken by
Tutankhamun, up to the age of 8/9 years of age focussed on basic mathematics, reciting sums,
reading and writing.
He would have practised writing by copying from existing documents on to wooden tablets which were coated
with a smooth white plaster which could be wiped clean and re-used. Papyrus
would only have been used when this basic education had been completed. The
types of lessons and the education of King Tut would have included the
following lessons:
The
Education of King Tut - The Art of Writing and
Hieroglyphics
The Art of Writing
would have been an extremely important part of the
education of King Tut. Hieroglyphics were used for writing memorials on
great monuments. Hieroglyphics were a
system of picture writing which used symbols (hieroglyphs) instead
of letters or words. The original hieroglyphs
represented sounds and there were over 700 hieroglyphs which could
used in numerous combinations to give specific meanings.
A simplified version of hieroglyphics was devised
known as 'hieratic' writing used to quickly create various papyrus
documents losing the pictorial aspect of
hieroglyphs.
The Education of
King Tut - Sports and Games
The
education of King Tut would have included sports and games to balance
the academic lessons. Ancient Egyptian children had a variety of toys
and games to play with including board games such as Senet, Dogs and
Jackals, the Game of the Snake and Pwer which was similar to checkers.
Toys and games reflected people, objects and events which were common in
everyday life. King Tut would have played with toys reflecting a man's
role. He would have enjoyed boisterous ball games, piggy back and leapfrog. Toy swords and spears
were used emulating male adults. The sports which would have been
enjoyed by Tutankhamun would have included Archery, Equestrian Sports
including Chariot Racing, Fencing, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Rowing,
Swimming and Weightlifting.
Education of King Tut
Each section of this King Tut website addresses all topics and
provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of
Pharaohs and of Egypt. The Sitemap provides full details
of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject
of the Pharaoh King Tut - Tutankhamun!
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