While the cause of Feminism might seem like a recent phenomenon, there were times in history
where women enjoyed almost equal rights to men. Ancient Egypt was one such era. From the
importance of alcohol to matters of makeup, here's what life was like for women in Ancient Egypt.
The number of rights women in Ancient Egypt had is impressive. According to
Ancient History Encyclopedia, in Ancient Egypt, women could, quote, "own land, initiate divorce,
own and operate their own business." They could also hold many kinds of jobs outside the home.
They could also own property and, quote, "enter into contracts with men,
have abortions, and dispose of their own property as they saw fit."
Ancient Pages adds that they could get drunk, make legally-binding wills,
and receive both the same pay as men for the same work and the same punishments for the same crimes.
It was a level of personal and sexual freedom that no other ancient civilization gave women,
and this standard wasn't even common in the modern times until recently.
When the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt, he was shocked at how women behaved.
This made sense, since he came from a place where men didn't even like women going outside.
While women in Ancient Egypt did sometimes have authority over men, that wasn't considered ideal.
Men were usually in charge. There were positions women couldn't hold,
usually those of the most important government officials. And in 3,000 years, Ancient Egypt
only managed to have seven female rulers. Still, the US hasn't managed one woman president yet.
Girls usually got married right after they hit puberty, which at the time was generally about
13 years old. It also wasn't uncommon for teen girls to marry much older men.
Still, Ancient History Encyclopedia says it was understood that men were
the head of the household and had the final word.
However, Ancient Egyptian fathers would give marriage advice to their sons that included,
"Do not control your wife in her house, [do not to snap at her], recognize her skill,
[enjoy her company], and [desist] from strife at home."
Still, wives had certain expectations on them,
like having lots of children, and if they committed adultery, they could be killed.
But if they didn't like their husband, divorce was simple. A woman just had to say she wanted one.
She didn't even need a reason, such as infidelity, on her husband's part.
And in the event of a divorce, she got custody of any children.
While women may have been equal to their husbands, the job of taking care of the
house still fell to them. Rich women might have servants or slaves, and many women also
had jobs outside the home, but how well their house was kept was a woman's responsibility.
In a time before alarm clocks, a woman had to wake her whole family up so they could go to
work or school. Then she had to take care of the family altar. Every house had one,
and keeping the gods happy was the woman's job. She then had to cook breakfast, do the dishes,
haul the daily water from the well, do all the childcare, and take care of any elderly relatives.
She also had to feed, water, and generally take care of any animals the family owned.
She had to make lunch, do some weaving and sewing, do laundry, bake bread, brew beer,
make dinner, serve dinner, clean up dinner, put everyone to bed, and do it all again the next day.
Some tasks were extra essential. The Ancient Egyptians were neat freaks,
meaning the house needed to be spotless, so it looked nice, but also to keep pests away.
Tending the garden was also important, since it was the source of most of the family's food.
Women could be doctors, as well, and the female physician Pesehet even taught male
students in a medical school. Male patients would also see lady doctors with no issue.
There were female dentists, female seers who interpreted dreams and omens for people,
and women who ran textile manufacturing businesses.
There are even paintings of these women supervising their workers.
Ladies who had a talent for performing could become musicians, singers, and dancers,
entertaining privately and in public temple events.
Girls could become servants as teenagers and rise up the ranks. The top position was household
manager, basically running everything for a rich woman who didn't want to do it herself.
Beer was vital to Ancient Egyptian existence, and the brewing of beer was dominated by women.
The story goes that beer had been given to humanity by the god Osiris, and breweries
were watched over by the goddess Tenenet. Another story said when the goddess Sekhmet decided to
destroy humanity, she was tricked into getting drunk on beer, passed out, and forgot about it.
Ancient Egypt Online says everyone drank beer, including children.
Beer was seen not so much as a fun drink but a nutritious food staple.
Laborers were often paid partly in beer, including the ones working on the pyramids,
who got a daily ration of 1 and one third gallons each. When experts at the British Museum recreated
Ancient Egyptian beer, they were surprised to find it was, quote, "absolutely delicious."
There's evidence that, definitely in early
Egyptian history and probably for most of history, breweries were run by women.
They made huge quantities of booze, which meant that they could make a lot of money.
And since beer was so vital and ubiquitous, it was an important, honorable profession.
Slavery was a complicated institution in Ancient Egypt. There were different levels of servitude,
and it's often hard for experts to distinguish between them.
Servants were a thing, but so were slaves, with no distinct dividing line. But, a slave’s station
was always passed down to offspring through the mothers side, regardless of who your father was.
Sometimes, men found themselves in debt, and they would offer family members,
usually women, as collateral. Those women would remain slaves until the debt was repaid.
But, slaves could own property and negotiate transactions.
There's a record of two slave women who gave their master some of their own land in exchange
for goods. While some slaves became almost members of the family, others were freed.
One way of finding freedom was by being purified and going to work in a temple,
and it turns out, King Tut actually purified some slave women who worked in his palace.
"You'd do that for me?"
"Anything, my desert flower."
According to Ancient Egyptian Sexuality, people back then weren't hung up
on sex. Even their gods and goddesses were always getting up to filthy stuff.
Indeed, with the exception of adultery, which was a serious no-no,
ancient Egyptians seem to have been totally cool with women doing whatever.
There was no Ancient Egyptian word for virgin, possibly meaning that it didn't matter.
There was definitely no guilt attached to young, single women having their fun,
and if one of them ended up pregnant, it was probably something to be celebrated.
Fertility was so important to Egyptians that an out-of-wedlock teen pregnancy was a great thing,
because it meant lots more babies to come.
There are no records of brothels in the 3,000 years of Ancient Egyptian history.
What they did have were sacred prostitutes who worked in temples.
And families would offer up their most beautiful daughters for this hugely honorable position.
The women would walk around in sheer clothing, or naked, happily calling attention to their job.
They didn't even get paid, the honor was so great. When they got older,
they would leave and go get married, with no shame attached to their previous profession at all.
The Ancient Egyptians were seriously religious. Keeping the gods happy
was of the utmost importance, so the people who served them on a day-to-day basis had
lots of power. This included women, since there were plenty of priestesses.
While it was typical for female attendants to serve goddesses, this wasn't always the case.
Some priestesses served male deities, including the all-important Amun. One
woman held the position of God's Wife of Amun, a job that, in time, was seen as equal to the king.
Literally anyone who worked in a temple was considered a priest or priestess,
so daily life varied drastically, depending on whether you were a janitor or a high priestess.
Rituals could involve bathing and dressing a statue of a goddess,
lighting sacred fires, or cooking food for the deity.
Many priestesses worked part-time, just one month out of every four.
According to Herodotus, priestesses had to be super clean. They would bathe four times a day
and shave all the hair off their bodies and heads, including eyebrows and eyelashes at some temples.
They also had to practice singing and dancing, so they could entertain their goddess.
The power some priestesses had is evident in their tombs. National Geographic reported on a
tomb discovered in 2017, belonging to Hetpet, a priestess of Hathor. According to the magazine,
it was, quote, "lavishly decorated," including paintings of cheeky monkeys and hunting scenes.
While there were small number of women who held the top job in Ancient Egyptian history,
the vast majority of pharaohs were men. But they all had lots of women in their lives.
Ancient History Encyclopedia says each pharaoh would have numerous queens. One of them would
be the most important, quote, "principle wife." In the early years of Ancient Egypt, a
queen was expected to run the palace, support her husband, and act as a regent for an underage son.
New Kingdom queens, however, got their own royal and religious titles, official duties,
lands, an income, and a degree of independence. According to Historic Mysteries,
"[Queens] molded the pharaoh's thinking in matters of state and
religion and provided him with strong support."
They might act as diplomats, and at least one had her name written in a cartouche,
just like a king. Some pharaohs had their wives depicted in statues, occasionally the same size
as their own, standing or sitting beside them, which made them appear equal in importance.
Nefertiti basically took over running the country for her husband while he concentrated on religion.
In addition, the royal line was passed through women,
not men, so they were of supreme importance.
"You will therefore assume the position of a suppleant before this throne! You will kneel."
Until very recently, it was thought only Ancient Egyptian women got tattoos, not men.
This is because Ancient Egyptian art only showed women with tattoos. Plus,
only female Egyptian mummies were inked. According to Groupthink, archaeologists
decided these ladies might be, quote, "dancing girls" or of other "dubious status."
Even if they found them buried among royalty, they must have been a pharaoh's concubines.
Now we know that's not accurate because one of the mummies turned out to be the priestess Amunet.
As more tattooed women were connected to the royal court, scholars had to change their theories.
Now, it seems tattoos might've been connected to fertility.
In general, these tattoos, which were usually patterns of dots, appear on women's stomachs,
thighs, and breasts. It seems women inked themselves to honor the goddess
of fertility and to give them help conceiving, but also protection,
during pregnancy and childbirth. The tattoo artists were also exclusively women.
Everyone can immediately call to mind what an Ancient Egyptian lady looks like.
Whether it's the head of Nefertiti or Cleopatra, the distinctive look
was hugely important to the average Ancient Egyptian woman. According to Ancient Pages,
clothing was considered, quote, "one of the most important elements in a person's life."
The Ancient Egyptians are famous for one look because it stuck around for thousands of years.
Women wore a basic, tight, strappy dress that fell to their ankles. In the winter,
they would throw a thick linen cloak over their shoulders.
Women working in the fields switched to a short skirt and nothing else.
The "in" color for all clothing was white, as much for practical reasons in the heat as anything.
Some new fads did come in, including pleated cloth and brightly colored fringe.
All women, no matter how poor, wore jewelry. Jewelry was vital to look attractive for the gods,
so women covered themselves in beaded necklaces, bracelets, earrings, collar, and rings.
Makeup was not only aesthetically pleasing but was also considered holy.
Religion and beauty went hand in hand, so everyone wore makeup.
Women did elaborate eye makeup, which might have also been practical, as the thick black kohl would
have acted like sunglasses. They also shaved their heads and wore wigs, completing the look.
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