Education:

One of the greatest contributions of ancient Egypt to the world was its educational system. The ultimate aim of education in ancient Egypt was for a person to become “one with God,” to “become like God,” or “to become godlike" through the revision of one’s own power of how god is revealed in the person. Education in ancient Egypt was religious at its core. At age seven, the brightest boys in Egypt were selected for training in the priesthood. This was the highest honor that could be bestowed on a family - the selection of a son for admission into a caste of brilliant thinkers, the “guardians of the state” whom Plato so greatly admired and wrote about. When the boys or Neophytes entered the temple-school a.k.a. Grand Lodge, they had to study for 40 years. Their curriculum included subjects like Grammar, Arithmetic, Rhetoric and Dialectic, Geometry, Astronomy, Astrology, Music, Architecture, Masonry, Carpentry, Engineering, Sculpture, Metallurgy, Agriculture, Mining, Forestry, Art and Magic.

The Neophyte was vigorously trained in how to:

• Control his thoughts.
• Control his actions.
• Have devotion of purpose.
• Have faith in the ability of his master to teach him the truth.
• Have faith in himself to assimilate the truth.
• Have faith in himself to wield the truth.
• Be free from resentment under the experience of persecution.
• Be free from resentment under experience of wrong.
• Cultivate the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal.
• Cultivate the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

Plato, greatly admired the Egyptian educational system and recommended it be introduced into Greece.

Many people credit the words “man know thyself” to the Greek philosopher, Socrates. The ancient Egyptians wrote these words on the outside of their Temples and addressed these words to the Neophytes. One of which was the student Socrates himself.

The Temple of Waset:

The Greeks went to ancient Egypt to study at the Temple of Waset (Later called Thebes by the Greeks and Luxor by the Arabs).

The Temple of Waset, was the world’s first university! Also known as the "Septer,” it was built during the reign of Amenhotep III around 1391 B.C. At its zenith, it educated 80,000 students.

Here, well known Greeks studied at the feet of the ancient Egyptians. For example:

• Plato studied at the Temple of Waset for 11 years.
• Aristotle was there for 11-13 years.
• Socrates for 15 years.
• Euclid stayed for 10 -11 years.
• Pythagoras for 22 years.
• Hippocrates studies for 20 years.

Other notable Greeks who enrolled as students at Waset included Diodorus, Solon, Thales, Archimedes, and Euripides. The Greek, St. Clement of Alexandria, said that "if you were to write a book of 1,000 pages, you would not be able to put down the names of all the Greeks who went to Egypt to be educated. Even those who did not, claimed they went because it was prestigious."

Less gifted Egyptian children stayed at home until they reached the age of marriage. (About twenty for males, somewhat younger for females). While they had an opportunity to play with their toys, much of their time was spent preparing for adulthood. Peasant children would accompany their parents to the fields. Sons of craftsmen served as apprentices to their fathers.

Slavery:

Slavery in ancient Egypt was different from the kind of slavery we have come to recognize. Egyptian slaves were more like the indentured servants. They were able to buy or work their way to freedom, and were usually well cared for. They could hold important advisory positions in government, and there were several well-known slaves who became high officials in the Pharaoh's court. Prisoners of war or captives were sent to work in the various mines which Egypt owned. Contrary to popular belief, the Pyramids were not built by slave labor. They were built by paid workers who were proud of their work. They even put their names and those of their work teams on the insides of the stone blocks. Workers were also allowed to build their own tombs within sight of the Pyramid. This was considered quite an honor. In those ancient times, it is said that; "You were better off as a slave in Egypt than as a free but poor person anywhere else."

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