Random Fascinating Facts About Sex In Ancient Egypt (14 items)

(#3) Cleopatra Reportedly Made A 'Vibrator' Out Of Bees

Cleopatra's purported sexual appetite is the stuff of legend - and Shakespeare. When the Romans came around, Cleopatra had an illegitimate son with Julius Caesar. Later, she became romantically linked to Mark Antony, which ended up costing her life. But when her bedchambers were empty, Cleopatra allegedly found other ways to entertain herself.
Rumor has it she filled either a hollowed-out gourd or an empty papyrus box (sources differ) with angry bees, then used the makeshift device as a vibrator. To be clear, the bee vibrator story has always been a rumor of unknown origin and not verifiable fact, but the theory goes that the bees swarming around inside the contraption would have caused it to vibrate and move around, making it ideal for Cleopatra's supposed purposes.
(#1) Necrophilia Happened During The Embalming Process

Most people know ancient Egyptians practiced mummification, but the embalmers who performed the process didn't always respect the bodies. Ancient writer Herodotus recorded rumors of at least one embalmer sleeping with the corpse of a beautiful woman, which led to worries about intercourse between embalmers and the bodies of famous or particularly attractive women.

People frowned upon the practice, and if colleagues discovered an embalmer was using a corpse for carnal purposes, they denounced him. According to Herodotus, to guard against necrophilia, families did not immediately surrender the bodies of deceased women who had been great beauties. Instead, the families waited a few days so the corpse would be somewhat decomposed.
(#10) The First Known Record Of Oral Appears In Egyptian Myth

The Resurrection of Osiris is a classic in ancient Egyptian mythology. It is also the first known record of fellatio in history. The god Seth kills his brother Osiris and chops him into pieces, but their sister, Isis, reassembles the disparate parts in hopes of resurrecting Osiris.
There's just one problem: His penis is missing. So Isis fashions a new penis out of clay and blows into it, and the action brings Osiris back from the dead.
(#13) One Of Ancient Egypt's Foundational Myths Involves Two Gods And Semen

The ancient Egyptian myth of Seth and Horus has a uniquely sexual component, one that relates to the culture's larger beliefs about sex, fecundity, origins, and power. In the myth, Seth and Horus, gods with a contentious relationship, lie resting, and Seth attempts to penetrate Horus. If the other gods were to find out Horus had been on the receiving end of that coupling, they would shun him, so Horus's mother, Isis, intervenes.
Horus catches Seth's semen in his hand before it can enter his body and throws it into the river. Then, Isis takes Horus's semen and spreads it over some lettuce, which she feeds to Seth. Because of this deception, the gods decide it was Horus who penetrated Seth, not the other way around, and look negatively upon the latter. Eventually, Horus becomes the king of Egypt.
(#12) Ancient Egyptians Thought Semen Came From The Spine

Ancient Egyptians had a unique understanding of semen and where it originated. Though semen plays a lofty and spiritual role in many of their myths, Egyptians thought the spine was the part of the body that produced this hallowed substance. Specifically, they thought it came from a holy vertebra in the spinal column. And this perspective endured as accepted fact for years afterward - even Plato believed it, calling semen "a soft flow from the spine."
(#7) Cheating On Your Spouse Was A Big No-No - If You Were A Woman

While premarital intercourse was just fine, once you married, you were more or less locked into that union. If you were a woman, anyway. Ancient Egyptians considered married women especially sacred, so engaging in extramarital relations was a major moral and social taboo. It's no surprise, then, that punishments for those guilty of infidelity were extremely harsh. A consensual affair with a married woman could result in both parties being whipped, mutilated, or, in some cases, executed.

Of course, a married man who slept with an unmarried woman only had to deal with some shame from society. In ancient Egypt, divorce was only allowed under two conditions: childlessness, or infidelity on the part of the wife.