Roles of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society

Roles of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society

Mike Gilroy

HIS3118: Women in Africa

Final Project

The history of women in Ancient Egypt is an incomplete history at best. Egyptian women played a large and integral role in the history of their civilization. Great leaders such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra are ingrained in the minds of millions as the first female leaders of great societies. Unfortunately, although their role is hugely important, Cleopatra and Hatshepsut were the exception to the rule. To fully understand the role of common women in Ancient Egyptian society is difficult for a number of reasons. For the most part, women were illiterate meaning that nearly all surviving Egyptian texts were written by men. There’s an inherent bias in that the only view that exists of Egyptian of women is from the perspective of man. It’s known that common women were traditionally limited to roles inside the home. Unfortunately, there is little knowledge concerning Ancient Egyptian housing. Another difficulty is the sheer span of time that the Empire existed. The Ancient Egyptians existed for 3,000 years; it’s difficult to produce a coherent image of a woman’s role in a society that experienced three millennia of change and innovation[1]. However, it is possible to piece together texts and archaeological evidence to provide a view of a woman’s ideal place in the society, and glimpse into what life must have been like for fifty percent of the population.

The study of women in ancient Egypt is a difficult topic. The artifacts left behind by the Egyptians tell very little about the roles women played in society and in everyday life. In art, women are all depicted as tall and slender, and in supportive roles to the men[2]. This only reveals that women had a role as homemakers, wives, and mothers but it says relatively little on how society viewed these roles. It’s possible that women were completely subservient in status, but it’s also possible that they were greatly respected for their contributions. Evidence would suggest that Egyptian men were fond of the women in their society by the number of freedoms women had when compared to other cultures in the ancient world. Women enjoyed the right to own land, buy and sell property (including slaves), and inheritance[3]. Wives were capable of generating their own income, and received one-third of their husband’s possessions in the event of death while his sons and daughters received the remaining two-thirds[4]. Many of these rights would be eroded when the Greek Ptolemaic line came to power after the conquest of Alexander[5].

Despite their comparative freedoms, women in Ancient Egypt were traditionally homemakers. Egyptian religion placed a heavy emphasis on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth[6]. This placed a large importance on the woman’s role as life-giver, and made marriage the most important aspiration a young woman could have. Fertility played an essential role in life and religion. According to Tyldesley’s Daughters of Isis, “A fertile woman was a successful woman[7].” Fertility was the most important asset a woman could have. By bearing many children, she would gain social status, marital security, and would be regarded as physically attractive to the males in the community. Childbirth was completely up to the women in society, men (including male doctors) were rarely involved in the delivery process[8]. High child mortality rates in society meant that women had to have multiple children in order to ensure descendants. Children were vital to the Egyptians. In addition to providing a free source of labor, children were tasked with supporting their parents through old age[9] (which for women was around 40 if they survived disease and childbirth[10].) Women often married in their teenage years to produce children before they hit ‘old age’. While unmarried women were not discriminated under the law, they were at a massive disadvantage. The entire Egyptian society was based around the family’s role in continuing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Women without husbands were likely to be exploited, and perhaps even shunned. They were viewed as people who needed the protection of male figures but were not required under Egyptian law to have male guardians2 (laws most other ancient civilizations held dear4). It was common for these widows and divorced women to live in their parents or siblings’ homes and carry out a traditional female role in the household, there is little to nothing written about women who never married[11].

Ancient Egyptian gender roles were well defined within society. It was generally accepted that indoor work or housework was women’s work while men had jobs outside of the home[12]. Women were the “mistresses of the house,[13]” although within the house there was typically one wife or mother who ‘outranked’ the other household women. The woman’s role as mistress of the house was undisputed in Egyptian culture.

“Do not control your wife in her house, when you know she is efficient; Don’t say to her: ‘Where is it? Get it!’ when she has put it in the right place.” – Instructions of Anii, 18th Dynasty[14]

Due to the lack of indoor plumbing and modern conveniences, maintaining the household was a fulltime job for the women of Egypt. Women were expected to cook, fetch water, and care for the children. Women could help their husbands in the field and manage their affairs when they are away6[15]. Egyptian homes were composed of extended families of around six adults[16]. Women seemingly accepted their roles as homemakers. Women of different social statuses had varying responsibilities. Elite women merely oversaw the work of slaves and servants, while more moderate and lower class women oversaw the work of fewer servants and performed many duties themselves[17]. It was understood that men and women simply had different tasks they needed to perform. Ancestry played a large role in this, as Egyptians were very keen to respect the lives of their forbearers and continue the eternal cycle by assuming their roles. Women maintained the home, as was done for countless years prior and would be done for generations to come. Their seemingly lower social standing may have been easier to accept in Egypt than in other civilizations because of the rights afforded to women, and the tradition of strict gender roles.

Although women had a social expectation to work inside the home, some women needed to work outside the home for economic reasons. These women had limited options, but were able to find work in a few different fields. Educated women could find work in domestic supervision. They would oversee the work of other female attendants to high-class women, or woman run workshops such as wigmakers, or grinders. Skilled women could work as weavers, dancers, or musicians. Women without skills or education could find jobs as attendants to the wealthy or servant work[18]. Lower and moderate class women did not receive a formal education. Boys typically went to school while the girls stayed home with their mothers. The reason for this was economical. Daughters could aid their mothers at home, and prepare for their traditional roles as future wives. Since it was assumed girls would grow up to be homemakers, it wasn’t considered a wise investment to educate them. Royal women and some highly elite women were taught to read and write, but even then, literacy among females wasn’t widespread. For a woman to be literate and attain a job using those was truly a rarity[19].

Upper-class women often found work outside the home as priestesses. It was customary for Egyptian Goddesses to be attended by females, just as Gods were attended by men, and men and women had slaves and servants of the same gender attend to them. Priestesses were highly regarded in Egyptian society; their ranks were filled with only the upper echelon of society. The Cult of Hathor was known to have queens serve as priestesses[20]. Other sources report that outside the cult of Hathor, women were not widely used as priestesses but rather as musicians and dancers who performed to please the temple deity[21]. The highest role ever recorded for a woman was Lady Nebet of the Old Kingdom who was granted the title “ ‘Sole Royal Ornament’ and ‘Hereditary Princess, Daughter of Geb, Countess, Daughter of Merhu, She of the Curtain, Judge and Vizier, Daughter of Thoth, Companion of the King of Lower Egypt, Daughter of Horus’.”[22] Lady Nebet’s position as Vizier is completely unheard of in Egyptian society, which had a strong tradition of male rulers and male ministers. Although her husband may have performed many of her duties, her mere appointment is remarkable compared to the treatment of women in other societies.

For the most part, women did not work outside of the home. They gained their social status from their husbands, and were entitled to joint property within the marriage. In rare instances, wives could fill-in for their husbands at work, illustrating that women were not necessarily viewed as inferior to men, but typically had different jobs to perform[23]. Compared to both modern and ancient governments, the Ancient Egyptian government had minimal involvement in the affairs of marriage. There is very little written about Egyptian wedding ceremonies, there is even debate as to whether or not they even existed. It’s possible that a man and a woman simply agreed to live together for the economic betterment of their families and held no formal ceremony[24]. Evidence suggests that inside the marriage women were well respected by their sons and husbands. Writings have been found on tomb walls citing that the deceased was “well loved by his mother11.” Undoubtedly, a certain prestige came with bearing sons for one’s husband. Husbands were known to spend the end of the day relaxing with their wives, often playing board games such as “senet” and “twenty squares” together[25].

However, marriage was never a perfect institution in any society. Divorce existed in Egyptian society, and occurred for any number of reasons including infertility, infidelity, dislike, or the wish to marry another. By 500 B.C., women were able to initiate the divorce[26]. Women were treated well by ancient standards of divorce and were entitled to one-third of her husband’s assets[27]. The wife typically left the house, as the husband usually owned it. However, there were rare cases where the wife owned the family home and the husband had to leave. In addition, the mother typically cared for the children following the divorce[28]. Infidelity was a serious crime if it was committed by the wife. Husbands were seemingly allowed to physically punish their wives, or perhaps even kill them if they were unfaithful, however the most common course of action was divorce and public shame on the part of the wife[29]. In the late period, female infidelity inside the marriage deprived the wife of her financial claim to her husband’s property[30]. Men who had affairs with married women were also subject to harsh punishments and disgrace[31]. It’s interesting to note that it was perfectly legitimate for men to have multiple wives. However, this was considered uncommon, especially among the lower classes where men could not feasibly have supported multiple wives. Even among the rich, polygamy was not widely practiced. This could be because of the sexual access husbands had to servants, slaves and those of lower social status[32]. Evidence has been found in tombs of illegitimate born of women other than the deceased’s wife. These children suffered no social stigmata for their status, and were presumably raised equally alongside the couple’s legitimate offspring.[33]

Typical Ancient Egyptian women were confined to traditional roles as wives and mothers. However, this was not necessarily subordinate so much as it was their accepted role in society. While there is no question that men dominated Ancient Egypt, it’d be incorrect to say that they looked down upon women. Evidence shows that the woman’s role as mistress of the house and life-giver were integral parts of society that were highly adored and respected by the male half of the population. “The Egyptians were a very uxorious race.[34]”

The queens of Ancient Egypt had an influence over the empire. Although they did not typically wield any known powers or authority, they did have a direct connection with the pharaoh, which was invaluable in terms of political power. The term ‘queen’ can refer to any number of females inhabiting the royal palace. Queen can refer to any of the king’s wives, his mother, his daughters, and his sisters, half-sisters and cousins. It is likely that Egypt had a matrilineal history, which gave way to a broader definition of family relations especially regarding females. Popular stories of Pharaohs marrying and reproducing with their sister are often misinterpreted as a result. In African and Egyptian culture, ‘sister’ can refer any member of the female line including cousins and half-sisters. However, theories regarding the line of Pharaohs being matrilineal have been widely accepted as false by a number of sources[35]. These sources claim that no such line can be traced, since not all pharaohs married royal women[36]. The 18th Dynasty was rife with incest among the royal family. The leading theory is currently that the Pharaohs were attempting to assert their deity status by acting like the gods and reproducing within the family. In addition to deifying themselves, interbreeding kept foreign claims off the Egyptian throne, and gave royal princess a suitable mate[37].

The king of Egypt was polygamous, and took multiple wives. However, one of his wives was considered superior to the rest and was given special treatment. The alpha-queens were given their own estate, complete with an individual income, officers, and servants to suit their needs[38]. The sons of the Queen-consort were the only ones eligible to succeed the throne[39]. The lesser wives lived separately with the rest of the Pharaoh’s children; they still lived lives of luxury but were not afforded the same treatment as the primary wife.

The dominant queen-wife and the queen-mother played important roles in rituals. The Pharaoh was the divine incarnation of the sun god Amun-Re, his wife and mother played the roles of the sky-goddess during rituals. The sky-goddess gives birth to the sun-god after the sun-god impregnates her. For this reason, the wife and mother could not play both roles individually. The queen-mother also takes on a ritual role in the myth of the pharaoh’s godly birth. The queen-mother was said to have been impregnated by Amun-Re, which gives the Pharaoh a direct link to the Egyptian pantheon[40]. In many ways, the entire Egyptian religion was the worship of the Pharaoh’s godly (and earthly) lineage[41].