The earliest and most graphic evidence of erotica and what might be considered pornography in ancient Egypt is the Turin Erotic Papyrus. This unique artifact provides a direct, explicit look into the sexual attitudes and humor of a specific period, contradicting the idea that all Egyptian art was purely reserved or symbolic.
The Turin Erotic Papyrus: Explicit Erotica
The Turin Erotic Papyrus (Papyrus 55001) is the most graphic piece of visual evidence for ancient Egyptian sexuality, often described as an early form of pornography or a satirical-erotic comic. It was discovered in the 19th century in Deir el-Medina, the village of the artisans who built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Period: The papyrus dates to the Ramesside Period of the New Kingdom (approximately c. 1292–1075 BCE), with specific dating often set around 1150 BCE. This makes it one of the oldest known explicit erotic scrolls in the world. Content: The scroll is divided into two main sections: a humorous-satirical section depicting animals performing human actions (such as a donkey playing a harp) and an erotic section consisting of twelve explicit vignettes showing men and women engaging in various sexual positions. The drawings are notable for their contrasting styles: the women are depicted as nubile and following the traditional canons of Egyptian beauty, often holding symbols associated with the fertility goddess Hathor (like lotus flowers). Conversely, the men are depicted in a caricature style—short, bald, paunchy, and with grotesquely exaggerated genitalia, not conforming to the idealized physique of elite Egyptian art. Interpretation: Scholars believe the scroll was intended for the entertainment of a wealthy, elite audience. The juxtaposition of the beautiful women and the coarse, low-class men (suggested by their physical characteristics) performing strenuous sexual acts is often interpreted as a comical and satirical transgression of social decorum. While some modern audiences classify it as pornography, the blend of satire and sexuality suggests its purpose was amusement and titillation, possibly mocking the unrefined behavior of the lower classes, all while affirming the Egyptian culture’s open, though regulated, appreciation for sex.
Other Erotic Art and Literature
Beyond the explicit papyrus, erotica and sexual themes were present in other forms of ancient Egyptian culture, though often in less explicit ways or with a religious context. Erotic Poetry: The New Kingdom also produced a wealth of erotic love poetry, particularly in the 19th and 20th Dynasties. These poems are sensual and direct, expressing romantic and physical longing between lovers, confirming a societal openness to sexual desire that wasn’t confined to married life. Fertility Symbols: Overt sexual imagery in formal public art (temple walls, elite tombs) was rare, but themes of fertility and virility were central to religion. The god Min, for example, was consistently depicted as an ithyphallic (with an erect phallus) god of fertility and procreation, emphasizing the divine and life-giving power of sexuality. Small erotic figurines and sketches on pottery fragments (ostraca) from workmen’s villages, like Deir el-Medina, also depict explicit sexual acts, serving as less formal, private outlets for sexual expression and possibly for magical or apotropaic purposes. Phallic amulets and large phallic representations in some Ptolemaic-era funerary art were likely intended to ensure sexual potency and rebirth in the afterlife.
Period of Ancient Egypt Info
The period discussed, the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE), was the high-water mark of ancient Egyptian civilization, encompassing the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. It was an era of imperial expansion, immense wealth, and great artistic flourishing, under pharaohs like Thutmose III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses III (under whose reign the Turin Erotic Papyrus was created). This period’s openness to expressing desire in art and literature, whether for private entertainment or as a cultural celebration of life and creation, stands in contrast to the more guarded attitudes that followed in many later historical eras.