Of the many nations that occupy the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the
=Egyptians= are the oldest. To them one of the foremost scholars, George
Ebers, paid the following compliment: “If it is true that the culture of
a nation may be judged by the more or less favorable position, held by
its women, then the culture of ancient Egypt surpassed that of all other
nations of Antiquity.”
Indeed, when we study the innumerable inscriptions, paintings and
sculptures of Egyptian tombs, and investigate the many well preserved
papyrus rolls, we find this praise fully justified. Not only did the
Egyptians generally confine themselves to one wife, but they also
extended to her more and greater privileges, than she had in any other
country. Woman was honored as the source of life, as the mother of all
being. Therefore contracts, carefully set up, protected her in her
rights and secured her the title Neb-t-em pa, “the mistress of the
house.” As such she had, if the authority of Diodorus can be credited,
absolute control over all domestic affairs and no objection was made to
her commands whatsoever they might be. It is also significant, that
where biographical notes appear, on tombs, statues and sarcophagi, the
name of the deceased mother is frequently given, while the name of the
father is not mentioned. So it reads for instance: “Ani, born by
Ptah-sit,” “Seti, brought to life by Ata.” The spirit of true affection
and real family life likewise found expression in many poetical names
given by sorrowful widowers to their departed wives. There is an
inscription, in which a husband praises his lost mate as “the palm of
loveliness and charm”; another one extols his spouse as “a faithful lady
of the house, who was devoted to her husband in true fondness.”
That the highly developed, culture of the Egyptians was based on strong
ethical principles, also appears from the text of the so-called “Papyrus
Prisse,” perhaps the oldest book of morals ever written. Its author,
Prince Ptah-hotep, who lived about 3350 B. C., gives hints and advice in
regard to social intercourse and manners, to be observed among people of
refinement. Hear what he says about the treatment of women: “If you are
wise, you will take proper care of your house and love your wife in all
honor. Nourish, clothe and adorn her, as this is the joy of her limbs.
Provide her with pleasing odors; make her glad and happy as long as you
live, because she is a gift that shall be worthy of its owner. Don’t be
a tyrant. By friendly conduct you will attain much more than by rough
force. Then her breath will be merry and her eyes bright. Gladly she
will live in your house and will work in it with affection and to her
heart’s content.”
Children were regarded as the gifts of the gods, and brought up in good
manners and obedience.
In company with their husbands Egyptian women took part in all kinds of
social and public festivals. At social affairs the master and mistress
of the house presided, sitting close together, while the guests, men and
women, frequently mingled, strangers as well as members of the same
family. Agreeable conversation was considered the principal charm of
polite society, and according to Herodotus it was customary at such
gatherings, to bring into the hall a wooden image of Osiris, the Lord of
Life and Death, to remind the guests not only of the transitoriness of
all earthly things and human pleasures, but also of the duty, to meet
all others during the short span of this earthly life with kindness and
love.
[Illustration:
A LADIES’ PARTY IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
]
That ladies’ parties are not an innovation of our times but date back
thousands of years before Christ, we learn from many finely executed
carvings and frescoes which represent feasts. In long rows we see the
fair ones sitting together, in finest attire, with hair carefully
dressed and adorned with lotus flowers. Waited upon by handmaids and
female slaves, they chat and enjoy the delicious sweets, cakes and
fruits, with which the tables are loaded. As the hours passed, fresh
bouquets were brought to them, and the guests are shown in the act of
burying their noses in the delicate petals, with an air of luxury which
even the conventionalities of the draughtsman cannot hide. Wine was also
partaken of, and that the ladies were not restricted in its use, is
evident from the fact, that the painters have sometimes sacrificed their
gallantry to a love of caricature. “We see some ladies call the servants
to support them as they sit; others with difficulty prevent themselves
from falling on those behind them; a basin is brought too late by a
reluctant servant, and the faded flower, which is ready to drop from
heated hands, is intended to be characteristic of their own
sensations.”[2]
Footnote 2:
Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, Vol. II, p.
166.
In Egypt women were permitted to practice as physicians. They were
likewise admitted into the service of the temple. In most solemn
processions they advanced towards the altar with the priests, bearing
the sacred sistrum, an instrument emitting jingling sounds when shaken
by the dancer. Queens and princesses frequently accompanied the monarchs
while they offered their prayers and sacrifices to the deity, holding
one or two ceremonial instruments in their hands.
The constitution of Egypt also provided that, when at the death of a
king no male successor was at hand, the royal authority and supreme
direction of affairs might be entrusted without reserve to one of the
princesses, who in such case ascended the throne. History records
several Egyptian queens, among them Cleopatra VI, who became famous
through her relations to Cæsar and Anthony.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
IN THE TIME OF SAPPHO AND ASPASIA.
]