The cultivation of flax in Egypt dates back to at least 5,000 BC. The Egyptians called the linen cloth woven moonlight because of its unique beauty. Numerous hieroglyphs found depict the harvest and transformation of flax through mowing, retting, or scutching. The mummies were wrapped in strips of linen which have come down to our time almost intact. Egyptians attributed the invention of flax to the goddess Isis, also called dea linigera, whose priests were the only ones to wear white linen robes, considered a symbol of purity.