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The honey-and-flies story

A popular story says Pharaoh Pepi II had servants smeared with honey so flies would land on them instead of him. But this anecdote is not supported by reliable evidence from ancient Egypt. A university overview of Egyptian records notes that Pepi II’s letter to the official Harkhuf survives as an inscription in his tomb; the well-known text concerns a dwarf Harkhuf brought from Nubia, not honey or flies. The anecdote should therefore be treated as unsubstantiated, not as an established court custom. The illustration is AI-generated and does not depict a real scene.

оригінальна синтетична редакційна натюрморт-ілюстрація з посудиною меду та амулетом-мухою на папірусному тлі. Створено OpenAI image generation 12 жовтня 2026 року. Prompt: “A tasteful editorial illustration for a fact-check about an unsupported ancient Egyptian anecdote: a small sealed honey jar and a bronze fly amulet on a papyrus-colored tabletop, with a distant, softly suggested Old Kingdom palace relief pattern in the background. Historically inspired still life, clean scholarly magazine illustration, warm ochre and deep blue palette. No people, no text, no depiction of the anecdote as a real event, no documentary claim.” Зображення створене ШІ, це не фото, не артефакт і не документальне свідчення.

оригінальна синтетична редакційна натюрморт-ілюстрація з посудиною меду та амулетом-мухою на папірусному тлі. Створено OpenAI image generation 12 жовтня 2026 року. Prompt: “A tasteful editorial illustration for a fact-check about an unsupported ancient Egyptian anecdote: a small sealed honey jar and a bronze fly amulet on a papyrus-colored tabletop, with a distant, softly suggested Old Kingdom palace relief pattern in the background. Historically inspired still life, clean scholarly magazine illustration, warm ochre and deep blue palette. No people, no text, no depiction of the anecdote as a real event, no documentary claim.” Зображення створене ШІ, це не фото, не артефакт і не документальне свідчення.