Nut: Gender Roles Of Women In Ancient Egyptian Religion

Throughout history, men typically dominated societies. Men have always appeared to have more respect and rights than women, depending on certain civilizations. In societies like Egypt, men were frequently pharaohs and today, are considered to be great rulers. Women were often expected to take the job of motherhood in Egyptian society. Although this was their anticipated responsibility, women, usually upper class and royal, were still permitted to get an education, to possess property, own businesses, have a job and be involved in military control. Women could also rule as pharaoh, which was an infrequent occurrence but did sometimes happen. Hatshepsut, for example, is one of the few women who became a pronounced leader in the ancient

A woman becoming Pharaoh had been almost unheard of in ancient Egypt until Hatshepsut was born. Hatshepsut was the second daughter of the pharaoh, Thothmes I. After her sister, Neferu-khebit, died, Hatshepsut was the next heir to the throne unless a male married her and became Pharaoh. After Thothmes passed away, Hatshepsut fearfully, yet confidently, claimed the throne and commenced one of the most successful She-Pharaoh reigns ever recorded. Pauline Gedge’s Child of the Morning explained the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of ancient Egypt’s society during Hatshepsut’s reign as Queen and Pharaoh.

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

Gender roles in ancient Mesopotamia were clearly defined (teachmiddleeast.edu). Generally, men worked outside of the home and women stayed inside of the home while focusing on raising their children and keeping up with work that took place in the home. However, there were exceptions; we know of women who were “bartenders” and even women who were priestesses, but with limited responsibility. Due to the fact that some were from socially higher families and owned large amounts of property, those women were not allowed to marry. Women at the time were given much less freedom than men, however, women were more protected than men, which is seen in Hammurabi’s Code of Law, specifically in his 130th law:

This is shown in the portal of Anubis, Anubis the protector of the dead, was the god associated with mummification and the afterlife. Through the association with mummification and the afterlife he was generally portrayed as a half human half-jackal form. Animals were usually also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art, however the Egyptians did not worship animals, the animals were used as powerful symbols for the gods in which they worshiped, the use of the jackal portrayed the ideals of death. As the jackal itself was strongly associated with the cemeteries of ancient Egypt, it was a creature whose scavenging habits threatened the preservation of the body, in an effort to counter this threat and employ it for protection the jackal head was a symbol for Anubis. The distinct black colour of Anubis, was symbolic not of the jackals skin but that of rotting flesh and the fertility of the black soil of the Nile Valley which symbolized that of rebirth, as shown in the artwork below.

Egyptian women were fortunate in that they were equal to men as far as the law was concerned. They could own property, borrow money, initiate divorce, and many other things unheard of in the Greek civilization. The Egyptian royal line was matriarchal, meaning that royalty was passed down from mother to son. The Greeks, in comparison, were patriarchal, meaning control was passed from father to son. It was also necessary for a man to marry a woman of royalty in order to become a Pharaoh. Because of this, it was common for brothers to marry sisters. Sometimes, women were even known to become a Pharaoh. There are at least four documented female Pharaohs with the most notable being Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.) (McKay 2009). Hatshepsut, though a very powerful ruler, was often times depicted in men’s clothing and with a false beard (McKay 2009). This shows that even though women were much more important in Egyptian society, there was still a stigma around women leaders.

Egyptians paid great respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. The Egyptians believe that the royal family was immortal. The word family brings every member of the family to the same circle of respect and power. The man like in the Mesopotamian civilization was the head of the family. That is also seemed in today’s daily life in most cases. A statue of Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen represents the wife presenting her husband and not the husband presenting his wife as the powerful one.

One of the most striking differences between ancient Athenian women and ancient Egyptian women was the ability to hold positions of power. Egyptian women were monarchs and held other positions depending on their social status. (Capel 1996, 176) Women were allowed to participate in low ranking government jobs, especially during war when the men are off fighting and leaving behind their positions. However, these positions were not kept for long because the men upon return automatically earned their position back by being the superior sex (Watterson 1991,).

A man could divorce his selected wife for any reason that he desired, though if the reason was other than adultery then the man was forced to give up one half of his property to his wife. Greek woman were possessions to society as well, they had limited freedom, but could not own any property because they were not considered citizens.

In today’s society, we as women often take for granted the rights, freedoms, and equality we share with men that women in the ancient world were not granted. As all civilisations in the ancient world exercised different treatment towards, this essay will illustrate a few comparisons in the status of women during ancient Egypt with women during ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one considers ancient civilizations. The legal status of women in society, the domestic atmospheres and roles that each unique region’s women held, and the possible occupations available to these women, will be discussed.

Ancient cultures treated women more as property than people. The cultures that I will proceed to talk about are Mesopotamia, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans and how differently yet how equally treated women. Women were more of a household decoration to the men of each culture, all they did was cook, clean, and be a mother to the children. When the men got home the women were expected to make him happy no matter what.

Chapter 1: Ancient Egyptian Attitudes Towards Women Ancient Egyptian women were given legal rights equal to that of men belonging to the same social class. It was a rare practice and especially one not seen in other ancient societies (Watterson 2011:17). However, even though Ancient Egyptian women were granted such freedoms, they were still greatly limited and dominated by their male counterparts. A woman’s main concern in life was to get married, bear children, and run a household (Watterson 2011:17).

One of the central values of ancient Egyptian civilization, revolves around the concept of harmony and balance in all aspects of one's life. This ideal equality was the most important responsibility observed by the pharaoh who, as a mediator between the gods and the people, was supposed to be a role model and set by an example for how one achieving a balanced life, as all people sharing a common relationship with pharaoh. Through this relationship all men and women acquired equality to one another. Therefore, not to the world's surprise, women in ancient Egypt, compared to other civilizations, were ahead of their time. Women in ancient Egypt did not only rule the country and become pharaohs, but also shared equal basic human rights as men. Women such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra were able to take the stand and break the stigma of the typical minority that are deprived of many rights, and most importantly legal, and educational rights.

Greek women were not so lucky. They had no political rights of any kind and had been controlled by men their whole lives. Women in Ancient Egypt were able to manage, own, and sell private property. Which included land, portable goods, slaves, livestock, and money. The majority of the Greek women’s duties were to have children, ideally males, and to run the household.

Jan Assmann, the famous Egyptologist, covers the essence of researching Egyptian theology in his classic work Theologie und Frömmigkeit einer frühen Hochkultur. Translated to English under the title “The search for God in Ancient Egypt”, the book tackles the complex goal of investigating Egyptian Theology and offers Assman’s scholarly theories on Egyptology. With that said, the focus of the book shifts away from the study of Egyptian deities and mythology but centers rather around the implication of divinity at a societal and individual level. Overviews of theology and piety take precedence over the specific practices and technical beliefs of Egyptian religion, though the latter is also heavily discussed to better elaborate on the former’s context.