The Pharaoh's Curse

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3 years ago

How are you, amazing people of Read.cash? This is my post for this week's prompt. Monsters, Myths, and Legends. This is a topic that I really like, and I had a hard time deciding on a particular story. But I finally decided to write about The Curse of Tutankhamun. The famous legend of the Egyptian pharaoh that nowadays still hasn't a clear explanation.

Who was Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun was a pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and was known as King Tut. He ruled for a short period, a little less than a decade, from 1332 b.c. to 1323 b.c. He died when he was young, under 20 years old. His reign wasn't too important in history. Perhaps one of the most relevant facts was that he returned the polytheistic religion to ancient Egypt, ending the monotheistic reforms carried out by his father, Pharaoh Akhenaten. But the true importance in the history of Tutankhamun is that his tomb was found intact by archaeologists who discovered it after 3000 years. This allowed for in-depth studies of various aspects of life in Ancient Egypt, including mummification. If you want to read more about Tutankhamun, you can do it here, Source 1.

A long, long time ago, I was lucky enough to be able to visit Egypt. My husband was invited to screen one of his shortfilms at an Egyptian Film Festival, so of course, we took the chance to travel around Egypt a little bit. And one of the places we visited was The Valley of the Kings, near de city of Luxor. The place where ancient Egyptians buried their pharaohs.

The Valley of The Kings, Egypt, 2002 - Photo by my hubby

The Tomb of Tutankhamun

The pharaoh's tomb in The Valley of The Kings was discovered by an expedition of archaeologists led by the British Howard Carter in 1922 and was financed by the other British Lord Carnarvon. King Tut's tomb was small compared to that of other pharaohs buried in the valley, which has given rise to some conjecture as to how untimely the death of this Pharaoh must have been. Since there wasn't have time to built a bigger one.

I was looking through my photos of Egypt, but I couldn't find a photo of the sarcophagus where Pharaoh's mummy rests. Perhaps photographs weren't allowed. It has been so long that I cannot remember it.

My husband at the entrance of the tomb of Tutankhamun in The Valley of The Kings, Egypt 2002 - Photo by me

The Treasure of Tutankhamun

The treasure with which the pharaohs were buried was to grant the kings a life full of comforts in the hereafter. In the tomb of Tutankhamun, in addition to the pharaoh's mummy, which was very well preserved, there were sarcophagi, jewels, weapons, a cart, clothes, and many other objects of the time. Thousands of objects were found in the tomb.

All the pieces of Tutankhamun's treasure are normally exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but have been exhibited on certain occasions in some of the world's leading art galleries. Perhaps one of the most representative pieces of this pharaoh's treasure is the golden mask. The gold mask weighs more than 10 kilos and is encrusted with precious stones. It's considered one of the most representative pieces of art from Ancient Egypt. Source 2.

Mask of Tutankhamun - The Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt 2002 - Photo by me

The Pharaoh's Curse

In Egypt, there was a legend that whoever disturbed the tomb and mummy of one of the pharaohs would be cursed. For years, the tombs of the pharaohs had been looted, and it was said, those who did so were punished with diseases and calamities that would cause them death.

Shortly after the discovery of the Pharaoh's tomb. Death began to surround some of those involved in the discovery. The first to be affected a few months later was the financier of the expedition, Lord Carnarvon, who died of septicemia. He had some health ailments and was bitten by a mosquito. The bite got infected and caused a generalized infection that led to his death.

Carnarvon's death was followed by others, including that of his brother. Who was present when the royal chamber where the pharaoh's mummy lay was first opened. The same fate had an archaeologist who took the last blow to open the hole that allowed them access to this chamber. Also, the man who radiographed the mummy for the first time. They all died shortly after. And the press began to echo the legend of Tutankhamun's Curse.

Sarcophagus -Tutankhamon's Treasure - The Egyptian Museum, El Cairo, Egypt, 2002 - Photo by me

There has been speculation about other deaths attributed to Tutankhamun's curse. Even that of Carter himself, who led the expedition. And always dismissed the legend of the curse. He died many years later, after suffering from cancer. You can read more about the Pharaoh's curse here. Source 3.

Later, some scientists said that the cause of mysterious diseases and deaths was an infectious fungus from the walls of the tomb that had been closed for so many years. And those who had been there having breathed the fungus. However, this idea hasn't been scientifically proven either. And it could be said, it's a bit of a legend too. Another interesting source on all of this. Source 4.

So far, the only certainty is that mysteries and legends continue to surround the fascinating history of Ancient Egypt. Something that has always caught my attention.

To participate in the Writing Prompt. You can read Jonica's article on Writing Prompt #14: Monsters, Myths, and Legends. And rules are simple:

  • Write about Monsters, Myths, and Legends

  • Write 100% original content

  • Write at least 600 words

  • Submit your article to the community PromptlyJonica and tag @JonicaBradley

  • Have fun!

My previous articles on the prompts:

P1- Freedom - What does Freedom mean to me?

P2 - Motivation - Why I'm using cryptos? - my motivations

P4 - Darkness - Five days in the darkness

P5- Questions - Too many questions

P8- Nature - A glimpse of nature in my tropical land

P9- Success - Success is not Final

P11- Labels - Labels and distortions

P13- Language - I speak Spanish. Yo hablo Español

To you, my dear readers, thank you so much!

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Special thanks today to my two newer sponsors, @King_Gozie and @aaskelter. Thank you so much. I do really appreciate it from both of you.

All images and writings are my own unless anything different is stated. Copyright CoquiCoin 2021.

Until next time! ;)

August 25, 2021

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3 years ago

Comments

Wow. You must have the great Egypt experience. And oh about the fungus being the root cause of people getting sick. That might be true and not. Because that was a long time ago. I don't think the fungus could affect people who visits the area.

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3 years ago

The fungus theory doesn't seem to be very good either. People like to believe in curse stories, but maybe it was just a fluke.

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3 years ago

Thank you for the quick tour in Egypt. I never heard of this myth yet. I am a fan of Egypt cause there are Biblical characters and events that happened in Egyt before and after Christ.

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3 years ago

You're welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

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3 years ago

Excellent article, I liked it very much, it will remain a mystery the deaths that are around this legends. The important thing is that these deaths were stopped, they were only for those who gave the orders and those who opened the graves.

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3 years ago

Thank you, Frank! I'm glad you liked the article! :)

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3 years ago

Thank you for the virtual tour in Egypt. I'm smiling and also amazed while reading this. 🙂

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3 years ago

Thank you. I'm glad you like it.

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3 years ago

Wow, what an amazing post to read, Loved it every bit :))

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3 years ago

Than you! I'm glad you enjoy it. :)

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3 years ago

interesting your article. I also like to read stories about ancient Egypt. I love that you visited the museum and lived the experience. Very nice pictures.

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3 years ago

Thank you! That is the good thing about traveling. Many years have gone by, but memories are still there.

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3 years ago

honestly, Egypt is also one of the places that i wanted to visit, i wanna see the pyramids and the tombs of other Egyptians too. I mean, they are so cool tho

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3 years ago

I hope you could visit someday.

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3 years ago

All these while I've always thought pharaoh was the name of a person, I never knew it was a title

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3 years ago

It was the title of the kings in Ancient Egypt.

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3 years ago

I've always been fascinated by Egypt and its pyramids. The legends about the pyramids are interesting and yet terrifying if indeed it is true. I have watched some documentaries online and there are so much more that have yet to be explored.

$ 0.03
3 years ago

Yes, the history of Egypt also seems fascinating to me. The pyramids are breathtaking. I remember, when we entered one of them, I couldn't get too far until where the tomb was. I got kind of claustrophobic, and I had to turn back.

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3 years ago

That is one thing that I am concerned about if ever I will visit these tombs, the claustrophobia. So many worries to think about but maybe those will be gone when I'm there hopefully.

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3 years ago

It gave me claustrophobia because the corridors are very narrow. In the last section of the route if you entered you had to go to the end because in that part only one person could fit in the corridor. And the exit is through another place. Many people turned back at that point.

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3 years ago

Hello, good afternoon for you 🙌

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3 years ago

Best article keep it up

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3 years ago

One of my cousins lived in Egypt, particularly in the city of Cairo where the pyramids are easily seen. She told us that it is prohibited to get some treasures or gold lying in the desert or places nearby since they have been cursed. It must be purified first by Moroccan shamans, or else the person will most likely die.

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3 years ago

That's interesting to hear. I hadn't heard that. I had the opportunity to visit Cairo on that trip. It's a fascinating city. I don't know how much it will have changed because I went before the Arab Spring.

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3 years ago

Now that's what I am looking for. Ancient stories and myths are such those things which I love most. I had already heard about this curse and read about it in many journals. Thanks for bringing it here.

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3 years ago

You are welcome!

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3 years ago

It's amazing you have been there personally❤ And the stories echoed that it reached my ears too especially of the curse mentioned above. I think it might have been true that those kings and Pharaohs of the past believed that their wealth will help them to ascend to better place with the gods so they have their riches placed at their tombs.

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3 years ago

They surely believed in it. The valley where the tombs are is huge. And the tombs seemed to be big, but since ancient times most were looted. Maybe the fact that the one of King Tut was small, made it went unnoticed. And that is why it was intact.

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3 years ago

It will be awesome to visit that place one day. We only saw the replica but the real one would be really magnificent

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3 years ago

that's interesting... i wish to also see egypt but I am not sure if I could do this soon.. i hope in my lifetime!

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3 years ago

I hope you could! You would love it, and I can imagine your pics there.

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3 years ago

Aaahah that is interesting. Must be a fun experience touring Egypt and knowing this story as well . . I would like to visit Egypt soon too!

Maybe historians aren't really going to reveal the real cause of the deaths. It will keep the stories interesting and the scare may keep people away from looting stuff. But it is good to be musing about which story bears truth or not no?

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3 years ago

Hope you can visit Egypt soon. I visited it many years ago, and I remember it as one of the best trips I've ever done.

Yes, the truth will probably never spread. People love these kinds of legends, so the incentive of the media is to keep them. :)

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3 years ago

I have enjoyed reading that. Hard to believe that someone can die due to an infection from a mosquito bite. That's strange.

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3 years ago

Well, we are talking about the 20s. What I have read is that he cut himself where the mosquito bit him. And the bite became infected. At that time, there were no antibiotics. Penicillin hadn't been discovered. Besides, his health apparently wasn't the best.

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3 years ago

Ah, I see. That gave some perspectives on mortality rates. I wonder if the rates of mortality for this expedition were any different from other similar expeditions.

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3 years ago

It would be interesting to know. But I guess no one was interested of that information on the others expeditions. This expedition drew attention because of the importance of the find. And it aroused an interest that continues to this day.

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3 years ago

Yes, it does. We all like to hear such stories.

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3 years ago

I've been hearing Tutankhamun's name in our history class way back in high school but our teacher didn't discuss much about him. Now I know why. He didn't do that much significant things. But this thing about his curse is really mysterious and hard to prove yet kinda creepy and scary. Whether it's true or not, it won't hurt to be careful. Better safe than sorry.

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3 years ago

Tutankhamun didn't do anything important in his reign, but its importance is big. Thanks to the discovery of his tomb, archaeologists and historians have learned about the customs of that time. Thank you for stopping by!

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3 years ago

This is simply the best way to read up about Pharaoh Tutankhamun's history as an Egyptian King. I had thoughts to read up about some gigantic project or treasures kept in secret caves around the provinces of Egypt.

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3 years ago

Thank you! :) Ancient Egypt history is truly fascinating.

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3 years ago

It's like history and reality into your very eyes, wow! I believe that it's cursed and Science cannot explain everything. We should not disturb the dead anymore.

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3 years ago

I think you said something very true. The dead shouldn't be disturbed.

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3 years ago

Just remembering a dead relative who appeared in my dream telling me to leave her in peace, so yep :)

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3 years ago

I'd go with the science fungus theory, I don't believe there's any such thing as curses. What about you? Which do you believe?

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3 years ago

I don't think that people died from a curse. I'm also not sure about the fungus. Because some people who were there didn't die, and not all deaths were from the same cause. I also think, there was as always, interest in the media to give force to the idea of ​​the curse. People love to believe those things, and that sells news.

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3 years ago

In my opinion, importance was given to the legend to avoid looting, remember that the pharaohs took their fortunes to the tombs and who knows, there were people interested in keeping them intact and could have helped in those deaths.

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3 years ago

Of course, the legend of the curse of the pharaohs was to prevent looting, and even so almost all the tombs were looted. That is why this find was so important. They had never found a tomb like this intact.

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3 years ago

Exactly. People love those kind of news. Whether Real or not.

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3 years ago

Thank you for the shout out....this is really fascinating. I never really knew all this before now, there are more myths about this than I thought.

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3 years ago

Thank you! ;) I'm glad to know that you find this interesting. And yes, Ancient Egypt history is full of myths and legends.

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3 years ago

I really like the history surrounding these defiler deaths. And although nothing has been given as certain by science, I think that according to the time they prepared many mystical species that served to sicken their enemies. I would not be surprised if they planned a germ so voracious and deadly that when they opened the resting place of the pharaoh, a very resistant strain was activated and grew in the respiratory tract of the profaners. Nowadays we see how many viruses circulate in the air. So I am not surprised that the curse is about this. Although, as I said, nothing has been proven.

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3 years ago

Nothing has been proven. And probably the mystery will remain while people like to believe in the idea of ​​the curse.

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3 years ago

It is true. Thinking about the mystery of a phrase with enough power to transcend millennia is interesting. May science continue to find out. lol.

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3 years ago

It does seem strange that these people died shortly after plundering tutunkhamun's tomb. I wonder if it was down to a curse or some other explanation? I am not sure about the fungus theory, though maybe some other kind of posionus substance was used which was released when to tomb was raided.

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3 years ago

Yes, it could have been a coincidence. But somehow that fed the legend of the curse of the pharaohs that was already around. And people like to believe in that kind of thing. Probably we will never know the true causes of events and yes, the fungus thing isn't very credible indeed.

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3 years ago

Hmm scary curse whether its a true or not these stories about the pharaohs tombs are also mentioned in history lectures.

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3 years ago

Yes, the curse of the pharaohs is something that has been studied since ancient times.

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3 years ago

Oh wow. I actually read about them and I'd love to visit the place one day.

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3 years ago

Some day, mi amiga! Un abrazo!

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3 years ago

Oh my, their belief is somewhat different from ours but I respect that. Having those things, luxurious things buried together with the king so he can have full of comfort in the hereafter is new to me. But then that's also good as well. Who knows what really happened to us after our death. Maybe we can take with us our things or maybe not.

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3 years ago

The deaths of the pharaohs involved all their faithful servants, who also had to die to remain their servants. Remember the Vikings, how many deaths they caused to steal riches and then bury them for use in Valhalla

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3 years ago

Well, they are beliefs of antiquity. And although it's difficult for us to combine them with ours. Knowing them lets us know about the history and antique civilizations.

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3 years ago

Yes, which is so interesting and relevant.

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3 years ago