Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/219

 elbows. The chase was a most popular amusement, and besides stags, hares, etc., there was the exciting sport of hunting wilder beasts, wolves, jackals, and lions in the desert lands. Fowling and fishing were common pastimes. We do not meet with the least trace of anything approaching to gladiatorial shows; such scenes would have been abhorrent to the Egyptian nature. Amongst indoor games we see odd and even—mora (a guessing game), draughts, and others unknown to us. Athletic games and outdoor exercises were encouraged amongst children, and there was a great fondness for playing ball, especially amongst the girls, who attained great skill in the exercise, sometimes catching two or three balls at a time. There was great freedom in social intercourse, and women mixed in society quite as freely as men.

The Egyptians have, in fact, painted their social life for us themselves in fullest detail, whether it is the king standing proudly in his war-chariot and striking down his foe, or the potter patiently turning his wheel; the priest