Sport in ancient Egypt: swimming

Ointment spoon swimming girl, Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels

In a country largely dependent on the Nile, swimming was not only a favorite pastime, but often necessary for survival. The Ancient Egyptian word for "being in the water" or "swimming" is mehie. The determinative of this word is a sign representing a swimming man. Egyptian swimming is somewhat similar to front crawl. Probably the oldest representation of this determinative can be seen in the famous Narmer Palette, which dates from the Early Dynastic Period.

The oldest textual reference to the ability to swim is found in a Middle Kingdom biography. The text was placed in the tomb of shire prince Chety from Asyut. He states that the pharaoh had already encouraged him in his youth to learn to swim with the royal children. From this it can be concluded that swimming was part of the upbringing and physical training of princes and princesses. Several representations in Old Kingdom mastabas show that sailors usually could also swim. In the tomb of the Middle Kingdom lord Khnumhotep II at Beni Hassan, a scene can be seen in which two men in a boat lift a drowning man out of the water.