Sometimes people just need to let their hair down. Whether you’re a despotic ruler seeking to distract from a major controversy or a downtrodden peasant looking to get away from the daily grind, nothing else distracts like a good party. It should come as no surprise that humans have been partying for thousands of years. Here’s a list of what people got up to at eight of history’s most legendary parties of all time.

Legendary Party #1. Egypt’s Festival of Drunkenness

These days, religion tends to have a bit of a stuffy image. Some religions ban the consumption of alcohol outright and those that don’t tend to take a dim view of overindulgence. This wasn’t always the case. The worshippers of ancient times really knew how to party.

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The Festival of Drunkenness dates back to the 15th century BC and was an important religious celebration. According to Egyptian mythology, the sun god Ra prevented mankind’s destruction using alcohol. Hathor, another Egyptian god, was planning to devour all human life on earth but Ra stopped her by tricking her into drinking 7,000 jars of beer dyed red to look like blood.

Read more: Ancient Origins