Family Life and Child Bearing in Ancient Egypt: "The Circle of Life"
Two of the most significant and fulfilling things in life in the ancient world were to get married and have children. Having children was also an asset. More children meant more workers which could result in a family attaining greater wealth. In addition it was also detrimental to ageing parents to have a son to care for them in old age. Family bonds were the core of Egyptian society. Although during those times they lacked clear-cut knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of sexual organs, they had their own rituals for accessing pregnancy and childbirth.
Once Egyptian citizens reached the peak of their adolescence they were deemed ready for marriage by Egypt's societal
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Once a couple was ready to get pregnant they would test a woman's fertility. They had various ways of determining if a woman was fertile. These rituals included smearing oil on a woman's breast or placing a clove of onion or garlic in her vagina and seeing if it could be detected on her breath which was the most popular. Once a woman was determined to be fertile her and her husband would mate. As a pregnancy test, she would urinate on barely and emmer wheat, if it sprouted she was pregnant. If the emmer wheat grew the child was a girl and if the barely sprouted it was a boy. Certain hormones produced by pregnant women caused early growth in some plants which is why these rituals were implied. Rubbing menstrual blood between a woman's thighs or placing a date in her vagina was supposed to cure sterility. Once a woman became pregnant her uterus was placed under the protection of a certain goddess. During the time of birth the mother was usually cared for by a nurse mid-wife. Lower class women called upon help from other females in the household or surrounding neighbors. The mother would sit, kneel, or sit on a birth seat. Hot water was placed beneath her so that the vapor would ease labor pains. Men stayed away as a woman gave birth. As soon as the child was born they were named based on physical features or either in connection to God or Goddess. Mothers carried their babies in slings and breastfed for about three years. Amulets were placed on each part of the babies body as protection based on in affiliation with that body part. The birth of a baby was ebullient time even though infant mortality in ancient Egypt was extremely high. Egyptian families were close knit, and they loved both male and female children equally from the time of birth. Children who lived to be at least five years old were projected to live a healthy
Brier, Bob, and A. Hoyt. Hobbs. "Chapter II: Religion." Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. 36-37. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
According to Plutarch, before getting married, women would cut their hair short, dress up in men attire and lay on a mattress in a dark room. A man would then come in, choose his wife randomly and engage in sexual intercourse with her. From this point on, the pair was a married couple and future meetings with each other were to be done in secret until pregnancy. Xenophon suggests being without one another for such long periods of time built up excitement and sexual tension between the two so that when they finally did meet, the offspring conceived from such passionate intercourse would be stronger and healthier as a result. Another display of status among women was the importance of reproduction as evidenced by how females dying in childbirth were buried with a tombstone and an inscription of their name; an honour which is only extended to
During the first few weeks of pregnancy the women does not change her lifestyle and her state of being wasn’t considered. At the four or five month mark the husband improvises a small room at one end of the house with a palm leaves to give the mother privacy. When the moment of birth arrives the husband is obligated to be next to her and the mother-in-law is by her side also. When the work begins the mother places a figure of ixchel under the birthing mothers hammock to help with the delivery. She also lights three candles in the family prayer room to invite in divine powers and help with the delivery. In conclusion these customs had almost no medical equipment and relied on the gods and their divine power. @yucatantoday. "Customs and Beliefs of the Maya." Yucatan Today. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Oct.
Both civilizations relied heavily on farmers being the life of the civilization and providers of food and other useful materials. Though farmers were essential for each of the civilizations, in both, they were at the bottom of the social ladder. However, in Egyptian society farmers can have their children learn a different skill, such as to become merchants and craftsman, and eventually, with a slight slim chance, get into the ruling class. This was not the case in the Aryan civilization as each person was born into a caste and could not move up or change their level in the caste system – the order being Brahmins (the priests and king), Kshatriyas (the warriors and aristocrats, the ruling class), Vaishyas (the cultivators, artisans, and merchants, and the Shudras (the peasants and surfs). Another major differentiation is that women did not have many rights in the Indian civilization, only men could own land and receive an education. Women were solely responsible for bearing children and maintaining the household. On the other hand, Egyptian women enjoyed a much higher status and greater independence then women elsewhere in the ancient world. As Ramses II declared “The foot of an Egyptian woman may walk where it pleases her and no one may deny her.” In comparison to the women of the Indus River Valley, Egyptian women lived the high life, as Egyptian law allowed for women to inherit property, enter
In Ancient Egypt, women are typically shown as youthful and beautiful while more mature, older women are very rarely depicted. For men of the time, ageing is shown in art more frequently because it was a positive aspect of manhood. For ancient Egyptians, art wasn’t just made for pleasure or beauty; it was a very practical and necessary part of the day-to-day lives of the Egyptians. In art, Egyptian belief was that people needed to be depicted at their peak of energy and beauty in order to remain that way forever when they cross over into the afterlife. In most ancient Egyptian art, male ageing is represented more frequently than women since it was considered a positive image for men. Egyptian art seldom depicted older women or women growing older: "neither pregnancy nor the spreading waistline that many women must have had after years of bearing children is part of the image." However, there are examples that feature elements of ageing that are linked to elite and non-elite women alike. These demonstrations of older women are possibly an attempt to outwardly show on women the authority and honor in the same way the image of male ageing is represented. Though it is rarely depicted, we can use art to trace the portrayal of older women and women growing older in Egypt, from the Third Dynasty down to the end of the New Kingdom.
There are many risk factors that come with the act of incest but it is overlooked by the Egyptians because of protection of royal blood and assets. Evidence of incest can be found in mummies. Genetic profiling reveals that there was incest between the great King Tut. Osiris and Isis were two primary gods that were brother and sister who gave birth to Horus because of this Egyptians would follow many gods like Osiris and Isis. Those of royalty were influenced by them and aimed to be like their gods. There is enough proof to show that ancient royal Egyptians practiced incest. Egyptian culture consisted on theocracy, meaning a state ruled by gods (Sayre 77). Their belief is the core of how royal Egyptians governed their state. This would influence
During Ancient Egypt most people were farmers. Ancient Egyptians placed great care in the way they looked. Because of this, most people bathed in the Nile river, for soap they used animal fat and chalk mixed together. For cleanliness, men shaved their entire bodies. Linen sheets were bleached white and used as clothing. Men and women of higher class wore cosmetics, wigs, and jewelry. Children from the age of 1 month to 12 years old went without clothing. At this age males were expected to shave their heads. Mothers stayed home and took care of children, cooked, and cleaned, at the meantime their husbands were out to provide yah family's
Birth is an amazing ability. It is a uniquely female power. The Theogony provides a portrait of the struggle between the sexes for control of the womb. Men attempt to gain access to birth by monitoring and grasping control over what leaves the womb, through sexual force, and by destroying the powerful mother-child bonds. Nonetheless, women retain autonomy. Sheer force of will, as Hera’s birth illustrates, deceit, and strong mother-child bonds preserve female power of procreation. Through birth women influence and control the course of human (or deities) destiny. Through their wombs women gain powerful agency.
to 2650 B.C., changed his name to the more commonly known Zoser. It was Zoser
Egyptian men were allowed to take on multiple wives, while the woman was seen as solely belonging to one man. However, Egyptian women were allowed to remarry and divorce while Athenian women were not allowed to do either. (Brown 2010,) Another aspect of marriage, especially for royal families, was inter-marriages between siblings, and father-daughter couples. This would prevent power struggles and warring between family members and ensure the continuation of the royal line. Marriage was viewed as more of a transaction between families or family members in both Athenian and Egyptian cultures. (Robins
...se days a male child was more valued than a girl. Her guard had to always be up, while she had all the power in Egypt there were other people who had the same power as she.
Egyptians cherished family life the way we cherish food or money. Children were considered a blessing. They prayed for them and used magic to have children, but if a couple could not conceive they adopted. Men were the head of the household and the oldest son inherited everything of the father’s. Egyptian women were to obey their fathers and husbands, but were equal in many other ways. For example, women could have jobs, some rights in court cases, and they were able to own land. Women were also allowed to own businesses. Only noble women, however, could be priestesses. The women raised the children and took care of the house. Wealthy families would hire maids and nannies to do such things. Divorce was not common in Ancient Egypt, though it was an option. Problems were talked about between families, and if they could not be settled a divorce would take place. Some women became rulers but only in secret. The only woman who ruled as a pharaoh in the open was Queen Hatsheput. Ordinary men normally had one wife, while pharaohs and kings had several. Most marriages were arranged by parents. Most girls married at age twelve while boys were usually a little older.
... Egyptian women were looked at differently than men; their role was that of the nurturer and the caregiver, the bearer of a family’s future. They were just as important to the society as the men. Ancient Egypt was a very complex world, and just as complex was the role that women played in its society. They were not free, but they also were not enslaved. They were vital, but only in terms of their husbands and their children. Egypt offered women a far more free life than the rest of the ancient world. In the end, women played a secondary role to men putting their desires for achievement aside so their husband could be king.
Egypt. (2012). In Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Retrieved from http://proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/login?url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/sagecsme/egypt/1
Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called. Large families were not desired by Athenians since the inheritance was to be divided up equally among sons and daughters requiring dowries. So, unwanted children were not uncommon. Killing the babies was illegal, but a new-born could be exposed to die. These unwanted babies were left outside in a clay pot either to be claimed by a childless woman or rescued and brought up as a slave (Connolly, 32). Slaves were common in ancient times, if a family was reasonably well off they usually had two or three slaves. Slaves would take on the tasks of motherhood, some would even breast feed the babies. The slaves also worked the fields and helped the mother with other household duties, such as making clothes (The Study of Women, online).