Yup. The Chinese I think are the most famous for that. Those Opium Wars are pretty damn embarrassing.

quote:

Originally posted by Euterpe:
The Mesopotamians first cultivated it. Then passed it onto the Sumerians, who called it 'Hul Gil' aka 'joy plant.' They gave it to the Assyrians, who gave it to the Babylonians, who THEN passed it onto the Egyptians.

The Egyptians began the first poppy trade. They traded with the Minoans, Phoenicians..who then traded with Greece, some of Europe, and Carthage.

Alexander the Graet brought opium to Persia and India. Talk about spreading the love.

Really? That's interesting. I love learning these types of things. I only ever hear about the Egyptians having opium.

The Mesopotamians first cultivated it. Then passed it onto the Sumerians, who called it 'Hul Gil' aka 'joy plant.' They gave it to the Assyrians, who gave it to the Babylonians, who THEN passed it onto the Egyptians.

The Egyptians began the first poppy trade. They traded with the Minoans, Phoenicians..who then traded with Greece, some of Europe, and Carthage.

Alexander the Graet brought opium to Persia and India. Talk about spreading the love.

I seriously have an obsession with Egypt. I really do. Though the Sumerians were cooler in my opinion.

Anyways, if you want to bring the pain killer thing, did you know that the Egyptians came up with the most successful pain killer of their time? Yep...opium. They'd just have them sit there chewing poppy seeds.

Lol. Stirloins just sounds dirty.

That's what I get for pronouncing things wrong.

Nice one.

BTW, I meant sirloin

not in coin, of course, but in grain, beer, fruit, and stirloins.

Yup. The real architects were paid. And lived in their own city near or inside Gaza.

quote:

Originally posted by DrStrangelove:
Wasn't there some sort of a gold cap also?

yes. And yes to the polished limestone, but the casing was destroyed during the early years of muslim rule.

quote:

Also, Hebrew slaves did NOT build them, contrary to popular belief.

The pyramids were very ancient when the Hebrews werer in Egypt.

Possibly, during the height of the Old Kingdom when pyramids were the big thing. Eventually, they sorta phased out pyramids. At first it was stone encased in limestone, then mud brick polished with limestone, then they were just build upon natural hills, until eventually they just stopped.

Also, Hebrew slaves did NOT build them, contrary to popular belief.

Wasn't there some sort of a gold cap also?

It's not white marble. It's limestone. And yes, the great pyramids were built out of limestone. But years of wear and tear (sand storms, etc) made them the sandy yellow color they are today.

I can't even imagine how blindingly bright they were when they were built.

You know how in some pictures and games pyramids are finished with a nice white marbleish finish? Do you think they were like that before, but wore off?

quote:

God-awful Rome series

I LOVE the Rome series!

Ahem, gentlemen, that is not Ancient Egypt talk.

I'm getting tickets to the King Tut Exhibit when it goes to Philadelphia. I'm not really a King Tut fan (mostly I think he was overhyped) but I'd still like to see the relics.

What really pisses me off are those God-awful Cleopatra movies. Every single one portrays her totally different from what she actually looked like...with the exception of the Cleopatra they have in the God-awful Rome series. She was (by our standards) very plain..but exotic-looking to the Egyptians.

I love their mythology, though. Polytheistic religions rocked.

She did. She was quite concerned for me though. She was laughing as she was trying to guard me from slipping and falling (my surgery was in December, the week before Christmas).

Your ma musta got a kick out of that

I was being serious. But if that's funny, I should tell you about my voyage to the vehicle, most of which I have no recollection of. My mom described me as "walking like a drunken sailor"