enforced seclusion. She came and went as her will led her, appearing in
public without covered face, and chatting with acquaintances whom she
met without having her conduct questioned or her modesty placed under
suspicion. She might enjoy a banquet with the opposite sex, and at its
close look upon the weird figure of a corpse carved in wood, placed in a
coffin, which Herodotus says was carried around by a servant. As he
shows the image to each guest in turn the servant says: "Gaze here and
drink and be merry; for when you die such you will be." Thus was
Epicurus anticipated in ancient Egypt. _Dum vivimus, vivamus._ The
Egyptians generally, however, kept the next world always in view, and
immortality played no small part in shaping the Egyptian life, both as
to its men and its women. The Greek influence, which, after the days of
Alexander, was destined to revolutionize Egyptian thought and custom,
notwithstanding the efforts of the Ptolemies to win favor of the
populace by revolutionizing the waning worship of Osiris, is illustrated
in a poem written about one hundred years before Christ, a _Lament for
the Dead Wife of Pasherenptah._ In this poem, the ancient hope of
immortality is overcast, and the weeping spouse is enjoined:
"Love woman while you may
Make life a holiday,
Drive every care away
And earthly sadness."
The first lady of the land was of course a queen. The queens of Egypt
not unfrequently had a wide outlook upon the material progress of the
people. This is well exemplified in the expedition of Queen Chuenemtamun
of which we know from discovered monuments, which represent the ship
being ladened with large and costly stores under her direction. Queen
Hatshepsu fitted out a fleet of five ships and sent them to the land of
Punt,--the southern coast of Arabia, or, as some suppose, the African
coast south of Abyssinia,--that they might bring back scented fig trees
which she would transplant in her gigantic orchard at Thebes. The
tallest monolith in the world, of reddish granite and one hundred and
eight feet high, said once to have been covered with a coating of gold,
was the work of this famous queen.
In a few cases queens ruled in Egypt, wives of kings governed jointly
with their husbands, and there are instances in which pretenders to the
throne married women of royal lineage that their claims might have at
least the show of being legitimate. This was the case with Piankhi, one
of the Ethiopian dynasty of kings, whose wife Ameniritis is described as
a woman of rare intelligence and of superior merit; one who, because of
her rare strength of character and wisdom, exerted a powerful influence
in the government and won for herself great popularity in Thebes and the
entire region around.
A modern traveller may easily be reminded of the honor paid to women in
ancient Egypt by visiting the sites where temples and tombs were erected
in honor of some beloved wife and queen. The temple of Hathor at the
modern Aboo Simbel, which was erected by the famous builder Rameses II.
in honor at once of Hathor the goddess of love, and of his wife
Nofreari. Six statues adorn the entrance to the temple. They are thirty
feet high, and represent Rameses and his beloved queen, who appears
under the favor of the goddess Hathor. On the brow of the goddess is the
crown--the moon resting within the horns of a cow; she wears also the
ostrich feathers, which are the sign of royalty. Their children, as
often portrayed upon Egyptian monuments, have their places beside their
parents: the daughters stand close to the queen; the sons, near to the
father. About the sculptured forms is recorded in hieroglyphic
characters the love which the king felt for his fair queen, whose name
meant "beautiful and good." The temple and statues are hewn out of the
living rock, and, on entering, there is the shrine of Hathor, "the
supreme type of divine maternity."
There is a touch of romance here, for on the outer wall the inscriptions
tell us that this temple was reared "by Rameses the Strong in Faith, the
Beloved of Ammon, for his royal wife Nofreari, whom he loves"; while
within the doorway of this same temple may be read the legend, it was
for Rameses that "his royal wife who loves him, Nofreari the Beloved of
Maat, constructed for him this abode in the mountain of the Pure
Waters." Thus beautiful was the enduring love between this royal husband
and his wife.
No period of ancient Egyptian history is entirely wanting in the names
of conspicuous women. There is a legend that comes down from the days of
the Ptolemies, to the effect that when King Ptolemy Euergetes started
out upon his expeditions against Syria, the strong rival of Egypt for
the supremacy over the East, his queen, the beautiful Berenice (a
favorite name for princesses for two centuries), made a vow that if her
husband should be permitted to return from his expedition in safety, she
would dedicate her hair to the gods. Her prayer was answered; and,
faithful to her solemn vow, she cut off her hair and hung "the beautiful
golden tresses that had adorned her head in the temple, whose ruins
still stand on the promontory of Zephyrium." But, alas! they were not
long allowed to adorn the walls of the holy place, for some sacrilegious
thief carried them away from the shrine. The priests were bewildered,
the king was wroth, no one knew what to do. At length the astronomers
came to the relief of all concerned by announcing that it could have
been no ordinary thief who plundered the temple for the beautiful
tresses, but that the gods themselves had taken them, and that the keen
eye had only to be turned heavenward to discover a new constellation
which they now separated from Leo. The king and all concerned were now
reconciled and happy. The constellation shines on.
Among the most beautiful of ancient buildings is the temple of
Denderah. While magnificent in itself, much of its interest to us here
is due to the fact that it was erected and dedicated to the Egyptian
goddess of love and beauty, Hathor, nurse of Horus, the son of Osiris
and Isis; and further, that it was begun by that fascinator of kings,
the notorious Cleopatra. On the outside walls of the temple are figures
of this famous queen, and of Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar. One
would judge from these representations that Cleopatra's beauty was of
the most voluptuous and sensual type, the features being not only full
but fat, though regular. On her head is placed the horned disc,--in
honor of Hathor,--the sacred vulture, and the horns of Isis. Thus have
been perpetuated the personal and religious features of the most
remarkable woman Egypt ever produced. Pascal's oft-quoted comment upon
the beauty of this Egyptian character doubtless contains a modicum of
truth: "If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of the
earth would have been changed." Cleopatra, however, whose charms subdued
victors, was more a Greek than an Egyptian beauty. The women of the Nile
country, however, were not lacking in personal grace and physical charm.
Their complexions were dark, their features generally regular, and their
bodies athletic, though not large.
One might judge from the paintings that have come down to us, which
depict the form and vesture of the Egyptian woman, that she was greatly
lacking both in grace of figure and in taste for arraying herself
attractively. But we are not to be misled by the elongated, wiry-looking
figures that the monuments portray for us. Some of the blame must,
without doubt, be laid upon the Egyptian artist, who had little idea
either of proportion or perspective.
Egyptian women spent much time upon their toilettes. Great attention was
given to the care of the complexion. For this beautifying process a
powder was used consisting of antimony and charcoal, powdered fine and
applied with so much skill that the skin by contrast is made to stand
out in soft whiteness. For this cosmetic regimen a mirror of highly
polished metal was found to be of indispensable value. The finger nails
came in for a full share of attention, henna being used to stain them.
As for the feet, scarcely less care was given them, and anklets and toe
rings frequently adorned them. Shoes, or sandals, seem never to have
been in high favor in Egypt, and, even when clothed in the most costly
apparel, women preferred to go with bare feet.
It would seem very difficult, to modern taste, to attain to real beauty
by means of tattooing. But we have grounds for asserting that the
Egyptian beauties, at least at a certain period of their national
history, covered their forehead, chin, and breasts, and sometimes the
arms, with indelible painting in color. They were fond of rouging their
faces, especially the lips, and the eye was a feature to which much time
and art were given. Large eyes were the fashion, as may be readily
judged from the many pictures of ox-eyed maids which have been
preserved. A band of black pigment almost entirely surrounded the eyes,
and extended across the temples to the roots of the hair. By painting
the eyebrows and eyelids, the eyes were made to appear not only larger
but more brilliant.
The Egyptian woman was fond of the use of oil, which was rubbed
generously upon the body. Perfumes also played an important part in her
life. Women made and sold perfumes and used them profusely. They were
exceedingly fond of flowers, especially if they were new varieties.
Extracts and essences from sweet-scented plants were much sought after.
Favorite shrubs and flowers were transported from distant lands and
transplanted in the land of the Nile. This was often done upon a large
scale. Even the liquors drunk at banquets were scented with sweet
perfumes.
The women usually dressed in a long, close-fitting smock-frock, clinging
closely to the body and reaching quite to the ankles. The shoulders and
upper part of the breast were left uncovered, the frock being held in
place by two straps running across the shoulders. But it is not to be
supposed that the women of Egypt knew nothing of fashion; though it must
be confessed that fashions changed slowly. And in this matter the men
were as fond of fashion as the women; for they wore linen skirts usually
reaching to the knees, although their length was regulated by the
prevailing style.
Under the New Empire woman's dress did not leave both shoulders bare,
as formerly, but covered the left shoulder; the right shoulder and arm
being left free. At length drapery began to be more common, and instead
of the heavy, straight garment of earlier days, graceful folds appeared.
With the drapery came a lengthening of the skirt. When this change
occurred only the priests retained the simple skirt of former days. Most
men wore a double skirt, consisting of an inner short garment, and an
outer. Indeed, the men seemed quite as fond of their costume as the
women, and were more varied in their tastes, loving finery, and leaving
it to the women to be more conservative in matters of dress.
From the paintings and the other representations that have come down to
us, both the peasant maid and the princess wore the same kind of
garments, so far as the cut of them is concerned. Mother, daughter, and
maid were dressed much alike and without much variety of color. The rich
often wore a profusion of beads.
There was no part of the Egyptian woman's toilet upon which so much care
was bestowed as upon the hair. Indeed, the Egyptians prided themselves
upon their coiffure. Herodotus is authority for the statement that there
were fewer bald-headed people in Egypt than in any other country.
Civilization, in the valley of the Nile, at least, did not seem greatly
to increase the tendency to baldness. There were cases, but they were of
the nature of a calamity. Woe to the physician whose skill did not
succeed in checking the falling hair. Pomades of various ingredients
were common remedies for this ill. Oil, dog's feet, and date kernels
were considered of great virtue, as was also a donkey's tooth pulverized
and mixed with honey. And there was no more direful or more frequent
imprecation pronounced by an Egyptian lady upon her rival than that the
hair of her whom she hated might fall out!
[Illustration 2: GHAWAZI _After the painting by C. L. Muller
The "dancing girls" known as_ ghawazi, _are often in evidence. They
clothe themselves in gay garments of various colors. Sometimes they are
pretty and attractive specimens of female grace, but, as might be
expected from their character and profession, they soon become coarse
and repulsive. They may be seen at the public places, and their dances
are indecorous and immodest. They play a leading role in those wild
orgies known as_ Fantasia.]
Wigs were commonly used by women as well as by men of the Ancient
Empire. There was a coiffure of straight hair down to the shoulders or
to the breasts. Examples have been found, however, in which the wigs
reached not so far, as is the case in the statuette of the Lady Takusit,
which is now among the ancient ornaments in the Museum of Athens. She
wears a wig of stiff curly locks in rigidly regular lines plastered
closely to the head, reaching almost from the eyes in front to the nape
of the neck, and hiding the ears. The plaiting of the hair became common
in later times, the hair hanging stiffly over the shoulders.
This piece of statuary, that of Lady Takusit, or Takoushet, as it is
sometimes spelled, one of the most perfect of its kind, shows a woman of
good form and regular features, standing erect with one foot in advance,
her right arm hanging gracefully by her side, her left pressed naturally
against her bosom. She is dressed in the closely fitting skirt already
described, supported by straps over the shoulders and reaching to a
point just above the ankles. Her robe is richly embroidered with scenes
of a religious character, and her wrists are adorned with bracelets.
Besides the ordinary hair dress of the women, the queen enjoyed the
exceptional privilege of wearing a diadem or headdress, representing a
vulture, which was the sacred bird of Egypt and was accounted the
special protector of the king in battle. This royal bird is represented
as stretching out its strong wings over the head of the first lady of
the land.
The women were great lovers of trinkets and jewelry of all kinds, and
the men were not far behind them in this. They put an ornament wherever
it could be appropriately worn. And this ruling passion was even strong
in death, for the dead were often literally loaded with jewels upon
their arms, fingers, ears, brow, neck, and ankles. Favorite jewels,
specially, were entombed with the dead. In the Boulak Museum has been
preserved probably the most complete collection of funeral jewelry, that
of Queen Aahhotep, mother of Ahmes, the first king of the eighteenth
dynasty. The following are some of the womanly belongings buried with
Queen Aahhotep: a fan handle plated with gold, a bronze-gilt mirror
mounted upon an ebony handle, on which was a lotus of chased gold,
bracelets of various designs, anklets, armlets, gold rings, ornaments
for the wrist made of small beads in "gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian and
green feldspar, strung on gold wire in a chequer pattern," and many
other ornaments of fine gold, of chased and repousse work of great
value.
The women of Egypt to-day are dark in complexion and generally slender.
The women of the poorer classes are ill kept and poorly clothed. They
generally wear long, and frequently tattered, garments of blue and black
cotton. Their feet are bare, but the love of decoration is manifest
still; for, though they be dirty and begrimed through lack of care and
suitable clothing, the silver anklets, the rings for their fingers and
even for their toes, and the bracelets for their arms, tell the tale of
their fondness for adornment. Mohammedanism has caused the universal use
of the veil. A narrow strip of black is caught by a brass or silver
spiral directly between the eyes. The falling veil, therefore, covers
all the face below the eyes. Ladies of the higher classes wear
transparent Turkish veils of costly material, and their costly silk
garments are loaded with embroideries.
Mothers in Egypt carry their babes on their backs or shoulders. The
mother holds fast to the feet or the legs of her offspring, while the
child throws his hands about her head and seems well satisfied with his
position. The tattooing, which we have noted as existent in early Egypt,
is no longer general; it, however, may be seen to-day among the women of
Nubia. Some of the Berber women not only are tattooed, but place blue
lines on their under lip and on the cheeks and arms. The men, women, and
children of that region are very dark. The women plait their hair into
numerous tiny curls, which stay well in place, for the hair has first
been soaked in castor oil, partly because of the aesthetic effect, and
partly as a protection against the hot rays of the tropical sun. The
dress of the younger women is very scant; the older females are
generally clothed in long blue garments, which they gather about them in
folds. The younger girls, however, with much unadorned innocence, wear
simply a leathern girdle and a complacent smile, for the Berber women
appear good-humored and happy. This costume, a girdle of leather, soaked
well in castor oil and adorned with shells, worn by the younger belles
of Nubia, is known as "Madam Nubia."
The "dancing girls," known as _ghawazi_, are often in evidence in the
towns of modern Egypt. They clothe themselves in gay garments of various
colors. Sometimes they are pretty and attractive specimens of female
grace, but, as might be expected from their character and profession,
they soon become coarse and repulsive. They may be seen at the public
cafes, and their dances are indecorous and immodest. They play a leading
role in those wild orgies known as _fantasia_.
The modern Egyptian water girl is often an interesting bit of humanity.
Canon Bell thus describes her in his _Winter on the Nile_: "You may be
accompanied, if you like it, by a little girl clad in blue, adorned with
a necklace of beads, earrings and bracelets, and sometimes a nose-ring,
carrying a water jar on her head, from which she will supply you at
luncheon among the temples and tombs, for a small backsheesh. She will
run beside your donkey for miles, and never seem tired, and if you will
drink from her jar, of the same shape which you will see sculptured on
the temple walls, will reward you with a sweet smile from her coral
lips. And what teeth she and all the people have! I never saw teeth so
regular and so white. They are like a string of orient pearls; and it is
a pleasure when the lips part, and you see them gleaming white as driven
snow."
In ancient Egypt the woman was queen of her own house, the real mistress
of domestic life. When the husband was at home, he was looked upon
rather in the light of a "privileged guest," and the housewife was the
respected hostess, holding everything beneath her undisputed sway. In
short, she was the very soul and centre of the domestic activity, rising
early and stirring the household into life and movement.
Let us take a peep into an Egyptian home. Excavation has revealed that
the palaces of the kings of Babylonia were built in a much more
substantial and enduring fashion than were the temples of the gods. The
reverse is true of Egypt. Egyptian temples were built not for time, but
for eternity. The palaces, however, were of far lighter character, being
erected of brick or undressed freestone, but rarely of granite or the
more enduring materials. Eternity played an important part in the
religious thinking of the Egyptians. This will account in a measure for
the more enduring character of the houses of the gods. The dwellings of
members of the richer classes were made up of an aggregation of houses,
suggesting a miniature village. There were separate houses for the
various members of the family: the master, the chief wife, the harem
women, the visitors, and the several classes of servants. Storehouses
were separate from buildings designed for habitation, and the several
domestic offices had their individual buildings. The court, which every
villa had, was planted with trees and flowers, and frequently was
provided with a fountain and a pool. The women of the harem found
opportunity for amusement in these beautiful courts. During the day
these secluded beauties whiled away their time in gossiping, playing
upon instruments, and indulging in the games in vogue. When night came
they lay down to rest with their heads upon pillows consisting of a
piece of curved wood, upon which was usually carved an image of the god
Bisou, who guarded the sleeper. This little dwarf, a divinity with short
legs and rotund stomach, drives away the demons who infest the night and
are liable to injure the sleeping one, unless protected by this
well-disposed and well-armed deity.
The wife in the average Egyptian home was the companion of her husband,
assisting him to manage his affairs. She encouraged him in his own daily
work, and there are pictures of wife and children, seemingly in a most
interested mood, standing by while the husband and father is busily
engaged in some engrossing occupation. Often the king will take his wife
fully into his life. The queen is frequently pictured by the king's side
in some public function. The wife of Amenophis IV., with the rest of the
royal family, is represented, probably on some important state occasion,
as standing upon the gallery of the royal residence and tossing golden
collars to the people. Indeed, Amenophis IV. is discovered to have been
most domestic in his tastes, giving his wife and daughters a place of
respect and honor in his kingdom. Some of his monuments represent him
riding in his chariot, followed by his seven daughters, who were his
companions even in battle. Sometimes the queen of the Pharaohs is found
riding in state processions in her own chariot behind that of her
husband.
How did the average women of the Nile busy themselves during the long
days? While they were not the hewers of wood, women were usually the
drawers of water, as in Palestine and Syria. They were not idlers,
though men did the spinning, weaving, and laundry work. In truth, as we
have before stated, it was the daughter, or daughters, and not the sons
who were expected to provide for their parents in times of want and old
age. This did not permit women to be in any sense a dependent class.
The relation of the Egyptian woman to the practical affairs of life is
significant and of great interest. It is in the matter of buying and
selling that we perhaps have most frequent representations upon the
monuments. And women as well as men are portrayed driving their bargains
with the venders of all sorts of wares. Women both buy and sell in the
public places. One has perfume of her own manufacture, upon the merits
of which she glibly descants, even in terms poetic, as she thrusts the
jars under the nostrils of the hoped-for purchaser. Women jewelers are
discovered attempting to dispose of their rings, bracelets, and
necklaces, while other women are trying to obtain goods at the lowest
possible prices. "Cheapening" was fashionable even among the women of
Egypt. Sometimes groups of women are represented as bargaining in the
shops. Herodotus in his travels observed what to him was a striking
contrast between the industrial and commercial customs of the Greeks and
those of the Egyptians in that the men of Egypt worked at the looms and
carried on the handicraft, while the women frequently transacted
business. But it should not be thought that women did not weave. They
often worked at the loom, and men as well as women bought and sold the
ordinary commodities of life.
In the house Egyptian women not only engaged in weaving, spinning, and
the making of fabrics generally, but they assisted in the curing of
fowls, birds, and fish. Of this kind of food the Egyptians were very
fond. When the husband, who was very partial to hunting, returned with
the game he had killed or trapped, it was at once preserved for later
use upon the table. Strangely enough, the cooks are usually represented
as men, though the women were not strangers to the preparation of food
for family use. The Egyptians laid much stress upon their dietary. They
believe, Herodotus tells us, that the diseases men are heir to are all
caused by the materials upon which they feed. Swine's flesh was, as with
the Israelites, forbidden flesh, except upon certain extraordinary
occasions. Their staff of life was bread made of spelt. Their drink was
chiefly a beer made from barley. Salt fish, and dried fowls, such as
ducks, geese, and quail, were eaten with great relish. Some birds, as
well as some fish, were tabooed because of religious scruples.