What do you think?
Rate this book
Women in Ancient Egypt
The lives of Egyptian women were free of the restraints normally placed upon women in the rest of the ancient world, allowing them to exercise a full part in society, recognised as equal with men under the law. Using evidence gleaned from written records, monuments, sculpture, tombpaintings and the material found in tombs, including objects and human remains, Barbara Watterson has built up a fascinating picture of the often overlooked contributions made by women of all classes to the social, and sometimes the political, history of ancient Egypt. In Women in Ancient Egypt, the types of occupations and careers open to women are described, as are their domestic and personal lives - marriage, health and childbirth; family life; running a home; clothing, jewellery and beauty preparations. The women whose lives are fleshed out in this book are largely the 'little people' of history, women who rarely exercised any power outside the domestic sphere. In contrast, however, the final chapter deals with those women, surprisingly few in number, whose influence on the political affairs of their country was considerable and, in some cases, legendary, with a small number of royal women able to ascend the throne of Egypt and rule as female kings.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 1991
5 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 7, 2021
Watterson gives a detailed, sober, appreciative survey on women of ancient Egypt. And of all cultural differences between ancient Egypt and the old Middle East, perhaps the status of women is most striking. As Jacquettta Hawkes put it, the artwork of Egypt presents a “marvelously varied gallery of noble, companionable, graceful, merry, loving, and shamelessly seductive women.” All this seems to meet the approval and admiration of the officials who commissioned these works. In tomb paintings, husbands and wives are generally the same size, which was the artistic convention to show equality of importance.
A few other significant points: Until the Arab conquest in the 600s CE, Egyptian families (including the royal families) commonly traced descent through the female line. Children belonged to their mothers, and none were deemed illegitimate. Women normally owned their homes. The word for wife was nebt-per, meaning “ruler of the house.” The old Egyptian houses had “women’s quarters,” but these were places from which women could exclude men, not rooms in which men confined women. When women went out, they did so unveiled.
Still, the available records indicate that the powers of Egyptian women slowly diminished over time. Under the pharaonic dynasties, women played only minor roles in public life. Only four female pharaohs ruled in a span of 1,500 years. Watterson says that “no woman could aspire to be a king’s scribe, an army general, a governor, or an ambassador to foreign lands.” The tomb paintings show women weaving, housekeeping, hosting, weeding, harvesting, grinding grain and cooking. An 11th dynasty tomb (of Pharaoh Amun) contained a wooden model of a weaving shop, showing women as both workers and supervisors. The other professions open to women were midwifery, dance, music, mourning and priesthood.
The female dancers, musicians and mourners were often related to temples, or cults of a goddess. In early Egypt these were professions for a relatively few women. Gradually, however, such arts became communal traditions rather than specialized vocations. According to Watterman, so many women were involved in religious performances during the New Kingdom, “it almost seems as though every female in the land, from the highest to lowest, took part in a cult.”
The temple priestesses may have been influential socially, but seem to have held little institutional power. Their religious roles seldom involved controlling major properties, or enforcing moral rules upon the public. Their main function was to impersonate goddesses such as Isis, Nephys, Neith, Sekhmet, or Hathor, in temple rituals. Their seasonal rites often served to thank and evoke the divinities of nature. In the month of Hathor, as the flood began, the priestesses led women in making clay phalluses, and throwing them into the Nile as it “turned to blood.” These people felt it obvious that the goddess of the earth was menstruating, and giving forth her red flood of fertility. The roles of Egyptian goddesses (and the priestesses who impersonated them) reflected popular reverence for the “female” powers of life. Perhaps this reverence was reflected to some extent of honor for ordinary women. An old papyrus written to praise Isis says, “You have made a power for the women equal to that of the men.”
A few other significant points: Until the Arab conquest in the 600s CE, Egyptian families (including the royal families) commonly traced descent through the female line. Children belonged to their mothers, and none were deemed illegitimate. Women normally owned their homes. The word for wife was nebt-per, meaning “ruler of the house.” The old Egyptian houses had “women’s quarters,” but these were places from which women could exclude men, not rooms in which men confined women. When women went out, they did so unveiled.
Still, the available records indicate that the powers of Egyptian women slowly diminished over time. Under the pharaonic dynasties, women played only minor roles in public life. Only four female pharaohs ruled in a span of 1,500 years. Watterson says that “no woman could aspire to be a king’s scribe, an army general, a governor, or an ambassador to foreign lands.” The tomb paintings show women weaving, housekeeping, hosting, weeding, harvesting, grinding grain and cooking. An 11th dynasty tomb (of Pharaoh Amun) contained a wooden model of a weaving shop, showing women as both workers and supervisors. The other professions open to women were midwifery, dance, music, mourning and priesthood.
The female dancers, musicians and mourners were often related to temples, or cults of a goddess. In early Egypt these were professions for a relatively few women. Gradually, however, such arts became communal traditions rather than specialized vocations. According to Watterman, so many women were involved in religious performances during the New Kingdom, “it almost seems as though every female in the land, from the highest to lowest, took part in a cult.”
The temple priestesses may have been influential socially, but seem to have held little institutional power. Their religious roles seldom involved controlling major properties, or enforcing moral rules upon the public. Their main function was to impersonate goddesses such as Isis, Nephys, Neith, Sekhmet, or Hathor, in temple rituals. Their seasonal rites often served to thank and evoke the divinities of nature. In the month of Hathor, as the flood began, the priestesses led women in making clay phalluses, and throwing them into the Nile as it “turned to blood.” These people felt it obvious that the goddess of the earth was menstruating, and giving forth her red flood of fertility. The roles of Egyptian goddesses (and the priestesses who impersonated them) reflected popular reverence for the “female” powers of life. Perhaps this reverence was reflected to some extent of honor for ordinary women. An old papyrus written to praise Isis says, “You have made a power for the women equal to that of the men.”
July 1, 2018
This book really does show its age. It discusses the Heiress Theory to explain why kings sometimes married their sisters and daughters, but this hypothesis was widely discredited and disproven in the 1980s. The book discusses ‘Queen Nitocris’ as if she were a real ruler, but in fact this legend, repeated by Herodotus some two thousand years after her supposed reign, was a misinterpretation of a male king named Netjerkare Siptah. Under the author’s discussion of Hatshepsut, she mentions that Hatshepsut was uninterested in war and concentrated on peaceful pursuits during her reign – Rebecca Dean’s Warfare in Dynastic Egypt would strongly contest this, as it specifically notes that there was warfare during Hatshepsut’s reign. The book’s information about the 17th Dynasty is equally obsolete: it speaks of Seqenenra Tao I and Seqenenra Tao II, who we now know were actually named Senakhtenra Ahmose and Seqenenra Tao (not the second, as it turns out), and the book cites Ahmose-Nefertari as King Ahmose’s niece when our current evidence suggests they were siblings. It states that only four women were queens regnant of Egypt, citing the fictional Nitocris, and the very real Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut, Tausret, and Kleopatra VII (which is five), but today there is strong evidence to suggest that we should remove Nitocris from that count and add Merneith, Khentkawes, Ahhotep, Nefertiti, and many of the Ptolemaic queens including Arsinoe II, Berenike II, Kleopatra II, and Berenike IV. The book repeats the hypothesis that Ankhesenamun, widow of Tutankhamun, married Ay, but in fact this is still very much under debate since the only evidence for it is a single ring with both their cartouches, and the majority stance in the Egyptological community is that the pair (who were also probably granddaughter and grandfather) did not marry. It states that Horemheb married Nefertiti’s sister Mutnodjmet – we now know that Nefertiti’s sister was actually named Mutbenret (the hieroglyphs for the two different names look deceptively similar), and very likely was not the same woman as Horemheb’s wife at all. The book also describes Ay as Ankhesenamun’s grand-uncle mere moments after describing Nefertiti and Mutnodjmet (actually Mutbenret) as Ay’s daughters… so surely she would be Ay’s granddaughter then? To be fair I have recently seen another book also erroneously name Ay as Ankhesenamun’s grand-uncle after postulating that he was Nefertiti’s father, so this is not the only book to do this. Going back to the discredited Heiress Theory, the book claims that Thutmose III was only made king because he married Hatshepsut’s daughter Neferure – but there is no evidence whatsoever that the pair were married.
A glance through the bibliography shows that most of the book’s references come from before 1985, and when drawing from ancient sources the author seems to far too often rely upon the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans who lived long after their subjects and frequently were unfamiliar with Egyptian culture and history. Whilst the book still contains some useful information which has not gone out of date, I would advise the reader to be cautious and consult more recent works.
December 29, 2011
This was another Christmas present from Bill as he knows how much I like history about women and social history. It's a new popular history of women's lives in Egypt. As someone whose not read much about Egyptian history I found I enjoyed it quite a bit though there were a few things that the author said that I did shake my head at. One thing I noticed was that despite being published in 2011 nearly all the references used were from 1985 and earlier. This seemed a bit strange to me as if Egyptian history is anything like Chinese history there's got to be MANY more books written on the subject post 1985 than before. While most of her sources were secondary she did include lots of examples of text and illustrations which were pretty great.
The book covered attitudes towards women, which seemed overly negative. It seemed like she focused in on bad interpretations of stories rather than trying to create a balanced view. Social and legal positions which I thought was the best chapter. It looked at how women had equal legal rights with men, how they could own property, made loans, did lots of business, and how inheritance went through the mother. It was all fascinating but unfortunately quite short. Occupations and professions was also quite good though she focused in on only a few professions, priestess, midwife, dancer and musician. It did make me want to read more about women priestesses though. Love and marriage was a little less interesting. Health and childbirth were interesting in that it included lots of different medical treatments. These were compared with modern methods which helped explain some of the more bizarre practices (crocodile dung laced with sour milk in the vagina to prevent childbirth - which I can just picture working as the dude goes you've got what? no I don't want to go there!) Dress and adornment, which pointed out that men where much more clothes horses than women in Egypt, domestic life which included lots about diet. And lastly women in power. I think one of the best things about this book was that if focused so much on the lives of "ordinary" women and only addressed the exceptional women in their own chapter at the end. Overall the author did a good job of comparing Egyptian cultures with other ancient cultures, particularly Greece and modern British culture. It did seem much more egalitarian than most cultures. They also drank a lot of beer and saw no disgrace in drunkenness. I think it might have been one of the nicer ancient cultures!
The book covered attitudes towards women, which seemed overly negative. It seemed like she focused in on bad interpretations of stories rather than trying to create a balanced view. Social and legal positions which I thought was the best chapter. It looked at how women had equal legal rights with men, how they could own property, made loans, did lots of business, and how inheritance went through the mother. It was all fascinating but unfortunately quite short. Occupations and professions was also quite good though she focused in on only a few professions, priestess, midwife, dancer and musician. It did make me want to read more about women priestesses though. Love and marriage was a little less interesting. Health and childbirth were interesting in that it included lots of different medical treatments. These were compared with modern methods which helped explain some of the more bizarre practices (crocodile dung laced with sour milk in the vagina to prevent childbirth - which I can just picture working as the dude goes you've got what? no I don't want to go there!) Dress and adornment, which pointed out that men where much more clothes horses than women in Egypt, domestic life which included lots about diet. And lastly women in power. I think one of the best things about this book was that if focused so much on the lives of "ordinary" women and only addressed the exceptional women in their own chapter at the end. Overall the author did a good job of comparing Egyptian cultures with other ancient cultures, particularly Greece and modern British culture. It did seem much more egalitarian than most cultures. They also drank a lot of beer and saw no disgrace in drunkenness. I think it might have been one of the nicer ancient cultures!
November 16, 2012
This was another Christmas present from Bill as he knows how much I like history about women and social history. It's a new popular history of women's lives in Egypt. As someone whose not read much about Egyptian history I found I enjoyed it quite a bit though there were a few things that the author said that I did shake my head at. One thing I noticed was that despite being published in 2011 nearly all the references used were from 1985 and earlier. This seemed a bit strange to me as if Egyptian history is anything like Chinese history there's got to be MANY more books written on the subject post 1985 than before. While most of her sources were secondary she did include lots of examples of text and illustrations which were pretty great. The book covered attitudes towards women, which seemed overly negative. It seemed like she focused in on bad interpretations of stories rather than trying to create a balanced view. Social and legal positions which I thought was the best chapter. It looked at how women had equal legal rights with men, how they could own property, made loans, did lots of business, and how inheritance went through the mother. It was all fascinating but unfortunately quite short. Occupations and professions was also quite good though she focused in on only a few professions, priestess, midwife, dancer and musician. It did make me want to read more about women priestesses though. Love and marriage was a little less interesting. Health and childbirth were interesting in that it included lots of different medical treatments. These were compared with modern methods which helped explain some of the more bizarre practices (crocodile dung laced with sour milk in the vagina to prevent childbirth - which I can just picture working as the dude goes you've got what? no I don't want to go there!) Dress and adornment, which pointed out that men where much more clothes horses than women in Egypt, domestic life which included lots about diet. And lastly women in power. I think one of the best things about this book was that if focused so much on the lives of "ordinary" women and only addressed the exceptional women in their own chapter at the end. Overall the author did a good job of comparing Egyptian cultures with other ancient cultures, particularly Greece and modern British culture. It did seem much more egalitarian than most cultures. They also drank a lot of beer and saw no disgrace in drunkenness. I think it might have been one of the nicer ancient cultures!
August 16, 2016
Ancient Egyptian women did not have gender equality as we understand it. However, they were accorded a higher level of rights and freedoms than women in any contemporary culture, and indeed in almost any culture up until the twentieth century.
Watterson uses evidence found in written records, monuments, tombs, artifacts and even human remains to paint a picture of the lives of women in Egypt from 3100BCE to 30BCE. She writes in a manner easily accessible to the layperson, and breaks the topic down into manageable sub-topics. Chapters include Attitudes Towards Women, Legal Position, Female Occupations & Professions, Love & Marriage, Health & Childbirth, Dress & Adornment, Domestic Life and Women of Power.
The chapter on health is particularly interesting as Watterson discusses gynecological remedies from ancient medical papyri, including contraceptives. Some of these, such as acacia, have been shown to be effective spermicides. I suspect, however, that the crocodile dung suppositories worked more as a deterrent than a preventive.
What makes this book so relatable is that most of it focuses on ordinary women. It's only in the last chapter that Watterson documents the lives of the few, but spectacular, women who ruled Egypt on their own. A fascinating chapter, in spite of her glossing over Nefertiti (given the scarcity of hard evidence, I'll forgive her that oversight).
If you are a die-hard aficionado of ancient Egyptian history, this book is a summary of what you already know, although it is still an interesting read. If, however, you are new to the field, you will be pleasantly surprised to know how much Egyptian women were like us.
Watterson uses evidence found in written records, monuments, tombs, artifacts and even human remains to paint a picture of the lives of women in Egypt from 3100BCE to 30BCE. She writes in a manner easily accessible to the layperson, and breaks the topic down into manageable sub-topics. Chapters include Attitudes Towards Women, Legal Position, Female Occupations & Professions, Love & Marriage, Health & Childbirth, Dress & Adornment, Domestic Life and Women of Power.
The chapter on health is particularly interesting as Watterson discusses gynecological remedies from ancient medical papyri, including contraceptives. Some of these, such as acacia, have been shown to be effective spermicides. I suspect, however, that the crocodile dung suppositories worked more as a deterrent than a preventive.
What makes this book so relatable is that most of it focuses on ordinary women. It's only in the last chapter that Watterson documents the lives of the few, but spectacular, women who ruled Egypt on their own. A fascinating chapter, in spite of her glossing over Nefertiti (given the scarcity of hard evidence, I'll forgive her that oversight).
If you are a die-hard aficionado of ancient Egyptian history, this book is a summary of what you already know, although it is still an interesting read. If, however, you are new to the field, you will be pleasantly surprised to know how much Egyptian women were like us.
January 8, 2021
A great introduction to anyone who is interested in Ancient Egyptian culture and day-to-day life, especially of the classes lower than the royal dynasties. A very accessible and enjoyable read, and a great resource for the kinds of small details (like kinds of food, textile of clothing, living conditions' direct effect on health, etc) that often get forgotten but are extremely important to imagine people's lives. Also, a secondary highlight: Comparisons to Ancient Greek and Roman culture contextualizing both the similarities and differences between the different cultures, as well as comparisons to contemporary Egyptians that show an example of how culture is created, maintained and changed.
April 23, 2017
A nice exploration of what can be found or inferred about the lives of women in ancient Egypt. (Of course, "ancient Egypt" is a bit like saying "Western civilisation"; it varies widely by time and place.) While looking at the Nefertitis and Cleopatras, it also explored the everyday woman's life.
For my secondary purposes, there are lots of interesting bits to be mined for worldbuilding ideas. Equality of legal status; slavery not quite what you might expect; matrilineal patriarchy; the Divine Wives of Amun; everyone called Nitocris.
For my secondary purposes, there are lots of interesting bits to be mined for worldbuilding ideas. Equality of legal status; slavery not quite what you might expect; matrilineal patriarchy; the Divine Wives of Amun; everyone called Nitocris.
January 2, 2016
Well researched. Interesting to learn that in some ways, many ancient Egyptian women had more power and rights than in the 1900s.
January 2, 2020
Excellent research material. The book was well written and obviously well researched.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews