Egypt was a lush land full of resources and connection to resources- it was a good place to live. What kept your family and homeland intact was a good military, provided for by the pharoah. And you did your service- and paid your taxes- by working for the pharoah. Some worked out well. Some got hurt. Some lost limbs. And all paid their taxes by working the the pharoah. I think beneath this is the fact that humans thrive in ideal conditions. In a moneyless society, they paid their taxes in sweat, building the pharoah's dream buildings. Fill in the rest.
You're both right- the work was limited and done during the off-season. However, the bulk of the work for the pharoah was skilled labor- the type of labor that makes you a skilled craftsman, not a farmer. Sure lots of people lent muscle to the cause but there were just as many skilled laborers, or in other words professionals. The thrust of my OP is to say that in a land with plentiful resources, you need to give some back to appease "the gods".
Appeasing the gods or preparing for the afterlife, which seems to have dominated Egyptian culture at all levels???
