After more than 3,000 years, he is not only still beautiful but also continues to make appearances and headlines around the world. Earlier this week, the boy-king of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, King Tutankhamen, surfaced again in the worldwide media due to the findings of a new study on the possible causes of his untimely death at age 19..
Since the 'discovery' of Tutankhamen in 1922, scholars and archaeologists have fielded various theories on his demise - ranging from an array of physical ailments to murder. The latest research, which uses DNA evidence, suggests 'King Tut' (his more common nickname) died of cerebral malaria and complications from a severely broken leg. News outlets all over the world are buzzing with excitement on the latest analysis of his tragic end, and their massive coverage has created a stir among the peoples of nations all over the world. Why?
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A large part of the reason lies in the monumental image of ancient Egypt. Giant and mysterious pyramids, fascinating and unorthodox religious practices, a beautifully symbolic writing system, all along with generous amounts of gold and power in a vast kingdom ruled by god-men (Pharaohs), make for a engaging story.
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The ruling class, including Tutankhamen, was but a small fraction of Egyptian society, however. More than 95% of the population consisted either of highly exploited workers or slaves by various degrees. Why do we fail to see the larger picture of ancient Egypt? First, history books still tend to chart time by the reigns of kings and queens or the terms of presidents and prime ministers. Even when a great economic crisis is identified to an era (i.e. The year 1929 and the 1930s is associated with 'The Great Depression'), the historical analysis tends to revolve around what the leaders did to solve the crisis rather than the struggles of the middle and lower classes in a time of scarcity. Secondly, history (along with other subjects in the humanities) is often used a means to escape our everyday reality. After a day of cleaning the kitchen, taking out the garbage, doing laundry and taking your kids for a haircut, reading a book or watching a TV show about the best way to remove dust from a ceiling fan would not appeal to many people. It is time to escape.
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Some listen to music, others watch TV, and still others have academic pursuits of one kind or another. Members of the three great religions of Jerusalem, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, might find a lecture or a reading on King Solomon an interesting departure from the routine trivialities of their lives. Of course, tales of Solomon's wisdom and signal accomplishment of building the great 'First Temple' (960BCE) would be retold with verve, and the King would likely be presented as a 'great man'.
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Solomon's status as a 'great man' should be qualified at the very least. As the Old Testament book of Kings claims he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, could this man have truly been as wise as depicted? If he were able to remember all of their names and birthdays, he might better be characterized as a 'genius'. More importantly, one crucial element is nearly always omitted from any biographical summation of Solomon: he was generally despised by much of the working population. In order to ensure the construction of the Temple in his lifetime, Solomon conscripted and ruthlessly exploited the copper and gold miners. Long hours of backbreaking hard labor without any respite was the order of the day for any man unfortunate enough to be a miner during his reign. Phoenician craftsmen, who had been hired to design the Temple, were gainfully employed by comparison. This fact must have caused quite a bit of resentment between the overworked Israelites and the 'foreign' labor being used on the project.
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Hence, history and news is a matter of priority and perspective. While focusing on the latest discoveries of King Tut, the media marginalized a larger and more pressing issue. On the same week of the 'Tut report', another report, compiled by the US office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was released on the state of homelessness in the United States. A statement by Greg Blass, the Social Services Commissioner of Suffolk County (Long Island, New York) humanizes the latest gloomy statistics, 'We are seeing many families that never before sought government help. We see a spiral in food stamps, heating assistance applications; Medicaid is skyrocketing...It is truly reaching a stage of being alarming.'
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The HUD report cited a 32% increase in 'rural or suburban homelessness' and the addition of 44,000 families to homeless shelters across the country over the previous year.
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On the surface, the US government, King Tut and King Solomon seem glorious and virtually all-powerful in their respective ages. However, a deeper and more thoughtful analysis yields an unacceptable price and/or burden of 'glory'. In order to be truly 'great', massive contradictions in a person's character or a government cannot exist. If King Solomon had truly been wise, he would not have inflicted misery on his people to build a material object (which was destroyed by the Babylonians less than two centuries later). If the US government were the light of the world - as it often claims to be - espousing 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' for all, it would not allow tens of millions of its own people suffer another day of soul-crushing indigence.
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If the media were wise, it would focus on the crisis of poverty, unemployment and underemployment in America and around the world rather than on a 19 year-old Egyptian king from 3,000 years ago. For the legacy of Tut and Solomon can no longer be altered, but the US government and the American people still have the potential to live up to their democratic ideals.
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(Picture: King Tutankhamen)
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J Roquen