It’s a little sad when you think just how long this bullshit behaviour has been going on.

Today let’s take a look at where the #MeToo campaign would possibly stand if it were taken up by the ancient Egyptians.

Thanks to a piece of papyrus in the possession of the British Museum since the early 19th century when Egyptologist Henry Salt brought it from Egypt, we can get an idea that things would pretty much be the same, reports Quartz, sans social media.

The scroll names and shames an artisan named Paneb, who was once labelled as a “bad boy”of ancient Egypt in Egyptologist circles:

Over three thousand years ago, Paneb was one of the most accomplished workmen in a town of artisans who chiseled the pharaohs’ tombs. Yet, his corruption and treatment of women made him insufferable and may have cost him his job.

The papyrus, dating back to around 1200 BCE, is a written complaint by a man name[d] Amennakht and addressed to the Vizier Hori about the conduct of Paneb, the chief workman in Deir el Medina, a community of artisans who built the tombs of Thebes. Paneb is believed to have stolen what was meant to be an inherited position by bribing the vizier at the time.

In 1929, Jaroslav Černý translated the story, providing a “laundry list of Paneb’s bad behaviour”:

It focuses on how Paneb stole Amennakht’s job and lists the various items he raided from tombs.

He is accused of stripping a woman named Yeyemwaw, throwing her against a wall and violating her. Lower on the charge sheet and listed as a single crime are the string of women he “debauched,” giving some clue to the weight of these crimes in ancient Egyptian society compared to grave-robbing. What’s more, it may have taken a string of these kinds of allegations for it to be taken seriously (sound familiar?).

Still, it is remarkable that it was pointed out as a crime in the first place and that all his victims are named.

“Even more interesting than what’s in the document is what is left out—namely, the question of consent—which raises fascinating questions not just about ancient Egypt but about the modern world as well,” wrote historian Carly Silver.

It is unclear what came of Paneb, and what the general conversation around such treatment was in the greater society.

However, in the papyrus-reading circles, the description of Paneb has evolved from the “bad boy”of ancient Egypt, to ancient “villain”.

Still, it’s taking quite a while for many men to learn from his misdeeds.

[source:qz]