In the majority of Ancient civilizations, women were considered the lesser gender however, for the Ancient Egyptians this was not the case. Men and women were considered to be equals and both experienced the same legal and economic rights. The major disparities within this society stemmed from social class rather than gender. There were three distinct social classes: the peasants, the wealthy and the royal. The majority of evidence available to support this comes from the New Kingdom period. Other supporting comparisons arise from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. For these ancient women, life can be considered to have been quite fair.
The New Kingdom period of Egypt was c. 1550 to c. 1070 BCE, from which we see the power of women at its peak, and the Old and Middle Kingdoms from c. 2649 BCE to c.1550 BCE.
All Egyptian women experienced the same basic rights and equal treatment, however life was undeniably more luxurious the wealthier you were. This culture believed that happiness and joy were the ultimate goals in life which could be firstly achieved by acquiring a large family. Many artifacts have been found in Egypt, namely paintings, which depict the love and respect present between men and women. Infertile women had the option to adopt, which due to the short life expectancy and high birth rate, was always possible. A woman’s duty was to firstly look after the house, children and if wealthy, servants. Close to no jobs were considered off limits for females. Women could manage, own and sell property, including land, goods and livestock. They were entitled to a third of the land own jointly with her husband, could file for divorce, represent themselves in court and were if found guilty of crime, subjected to the same punishment as men. The social classes were structured regarding the titles a person held, and a women’s status was usually derived from the rank of her male relations.
The majority of ancient Egyptian women were peasants, working in the fields in agriculture alongside their husbands. Other jobs were also available such as partaking in considerable building programs for the Pharaohs or working as servants for the wealthy. The large majority of women never learned to read or write which meant that jobs as scribes or that required being literate were left to the small percentage that were able, usually born from scribe families. This was a society of inheritance where it was the norm to grow up to take on the career path of the parents. Peasants for the most part were reasonably well treated within society and also placed high value on a stable family life, not dissimilar to the wealthy and royalty. Their housing whether it was in the country or a town center was primarily composed of dried mud and straw bricks, were reasonably spacious with vents designed to catch the cool North winds.
Marriage typically occurred after females began to menstruate, at around the age of fourteen. Women who remained unmarried were very scarce. There is no known religious or legal ceremony, only a ‘pre-nuptial’ contract which stated that all of which a woman contributed to the marriage or shared land would always belong to her. Bridal clothes, rings, ceremonies or the changing of names were not needed to be considered married, only for the woman to move out of home and into another with their husband. In the case of a husband’s death, inheritances were usually passed onto the wife and children. If there were no children he could also chose to pass it entirely to the wife or for it to be shared between his wife and other relatives. This would all be drawn up in a ‘house document.’ Widowhood was very common in ancient Egypt, and re-marriage was widely accepted. Some grave sites indicate multiple marriages between one person. In both New Kingdom and Old Kingdom times, the life expectancy for women exceeded men’s’ by far, which would contribute greatly to the commonness of widowhood. This is due to men generally subjecting themselves to the more strenuous tasks and careers.
The use of cosmetics daily was not deemed luxurious, but a necessity, even for the poor. While poor women often still acquired some jewelry and fashionable clothes, they would have been of a much less quality compared to the wealthier, and in much smaller amounts.
Wealthy women of Ancient Egypt, particularly during the New Kingdom period enjoyed quite lavish lives. With one of the main areas of importance being comfort and hygiene, it’s likely that their lives weren’t all too strenuous. Slaves were employed to complete the mundane tasks of the household and nannies to supervise and teach the children. Girls from affluent families occasionally attended schools. The most usual jobs a wealthy woman would take on were as singers, musicians, dancers, bakers, beer brewers, perfume makers and even priestesses. Some sanctuaries were dedicated to goddesses such as Isis, Bastet and Hathor. Isis was the goddess of motherhood, Bastet was the goddess of pleasure while Hathor was the daughter of Ra and the patron goddess of women, love, beauty, music and pleasure.
Houses belonging to the wealthy were large, made of bricks covered in white painted plaster, with two levels and were adorned with fine ornamental glass pieces. The houses were most often accompanied by a small, shady garden with a decorative pool. Very extravagantly carved furniture filled the space inside the house and beds wore wooden foot rests and back boards all with mattresses which were stuffed. Wood was not abundant in Egypt, so imported Lebanese cedar or ebony good were purchased by the affluent to then be carved by the expert carpenters.
Ancient Egyptian women are well recognised by their appearance, which they perfected and cared for a great deal. The wealthy and the royal women were able to do this most successfully, and execute it quite well, implementing it into their daily routine as a necessity. With more money came finer materials and the ability to possess exotic imported products. Both men and women had short haircuts, however were decked in elaborately crafted wigs. Evidence for the beauty in ancient Egypt comes from pictorial sources, sculptures and objects left in tombs. The ideal form and features were associated with being youthful and often maternal, as families and the ability to child bear was also incredibly important to this ancient society. They were almost always shown to be skinny and beautiful in paintings created by men. Headdresses were very popular, and having money to spend meant it was possible to acquire intricately designed gold pieces, with semi-precious stones featuring in them. The application of makeup was a practice of both sexes. Red ochre was ground and mixed with water to apply as blush to the cheeks and lips, henna was used to dye fingernails and eyelids were painted. The most iconic symbol of Egyptian beauty however, is the striking line of eyeliner which extended from the corner of the eye to the side of the face. Wealthy citizens were able to hire cosmeticians to apply their beauty products. Many of these practices mimic those in our modern societies, with many placing high regard for their appearance and the investment of cosmetics.
New Kingdom Egypt was a time rich in powerful, royal women. In this time, their duties became even more prominent and they were able to acquire in their own right secular and religious titles that carried genuine jobs which would be involved with estates, servants and administration positions. While Kingship was typically a male occupation, their wives adopted very important roles. Very rarely did it happen, but women had the opportunity to become Pharaoh, a powerful duty not often given to females in other ancient cultures. During the New Kingdom era, royal women were believed to have become increasingly prominent characters after a period of profound civil disturbance. It is estimated this was done in order to enhance the power and prestige of the monarchy. The tomb of Kha and Meryt display the wealth and power the royal New Kingdom women and their husbands could uphold. Their tomb was so elaborate that it would have taken much time to plan out. Meryt was buried in a single coffin, where she was loosely wrapped in funerary jewelry. Her mask, embedded with precious stones including lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian gem stones was linen stuccoed and covered with gold leaf. The belongings found represent the immense wealth of the two and stand as evidence for the possibilities ancient Egypt held for its women.
The word ‘Queen’ was a part of this ancient language. Instead, the wives of kings held the title ‘Royal Ornament.’ As a King could have many wives the partners would be referred to as the ‘Great Wife’ or ‘Lesser Wives.’ A wife given the title of the Great Wife would be the Kings principle wife, whose sons would one day rule the throne if she so had any. If she was unable to produce any sons, the lesser wives then became further important. The lesser wives would generally be grouped as the ‘Concubine.’
Royal women had an important job to fulfil, inclusive of providing many children (preferably sons for ruling), ensuring smooth running of the palace and to provide silent support and be a passive complement to the King. In the case of the Kings death before a son was old enough to rule the Queen was able to act as regent.
Hatshepsut was a woman who powerful enough to take up the position of Pharaoh, and ruled for many years in her own name. She reigned from 1473-1558 BCE and was the second confirmed female to take this title. Egypt under her ruling was rather peaceful and even so, in her burial in the Valley of the Kings, her monuments were vandalized. Even though there were multiple times in which ancient Egypt was ruled by a woman, it was still much less likely and unusual. Despite its uncommonness, it’s quite clear that these rulers achieved significant amounts of power. Evidence suggests that another, Khentkawes II- the wife of Neferirkare, ruled as Pharaoh in her own right after the death of her husband during the Old Kingdom period. Regarded as the fourth pyramid of Giza, her substantial tomb reflects the status and influence that she was able to obtain.
Evidence survives to prove than women from the ancient Egyptian society were treated as equals to men and lived quite luxurious lives if they so possessed the money or title. Painting and artefacts left in tombs stand to show for this. A shared belief of this culture was that happiness and love were the ultimate goals in life. While in ancient Egypt we see little to no inequity between the genders, the social classes did experience different lives and levels of comfort. There is no doubt that the richer and more powerful you were in ancient Egypt as a woman, the better off you were.