Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society How Filthy Were the Egyptians?
Jan 9, 2026
In this engaging discussion, Egyptologist Campbell Price examines the ancient Egyptians' quest for beauty and hygiene. He reveals their elaborate grooming rituals using oils and unguents, and contrasts sanitized images with historical colonial narratives. Price explores the intriguing role of cleanliness in religious practices and even the complexity of male circumcision as an identity marker. With fascinating insights into daily hygiene, sacred rituals, and the societal perceptions of dirt, this conversation is a delightful dive into ancient history.
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Purity As A Religious Requirement
- Temple access required ritual purity including shaving, abstaining from sex, and washing with natron.
- Purity functioned as both religious necessity and social marker for priests and temple personnel.
Showers Over Baths
- Pre-Roman bathing relied on showers where attendants poured water over people and used shower trays of alabaster.
- Public tubs were rare; sacred lakes and Nile canals provided communal washing alternatives.
Unguent Use Over Soap
- Egyptians used scented unguents (oils and fats) for cleaning, moisturizing, and fragrance rather than lathering soap.
- Unguents had religious and cultural associations, exemplified by the cat goddess Bastet 'of the ointment jar.'