Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt

by JoyceTyldesley (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.29

  In ancient Egypt women enjoyed a legal, social and sexual independence unrivalled by their Greek or Roman sisters, or in fact by most women until the late nineteenth century. They could own and trade in property, work outside the home, marry foreigners and live alone without the protection of a male guardian. Some of them even rose to rule Egypt as 'female kings'. Joyce Tyldesley's vivid history of how women lived in ancient Egypt weaves a fascinating picture of daily life - marriage and the home, work and play, grooming and religion - viewed from a female perspective, in a work that is engaging, original and constantly surprising.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1994

  $26.68

  The women of dynastic Egypt were a remarkable phenomenon in the ancient world, subjected to none of the harsh restraints that Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman patriarchal traditions imposed on their womenfolk. Any free-born woman was assured of her legal right to own and trade in property, initiate a court action and even live alone without the protection of a male guardian. Royal wives, mothers and daughters enjoyed great influence and power in affairs of state, and a few unusually dominant women even managed to seize the throne and rule their land as kings. This book considers the daily routine of dynastic Egypt from a female viewpoint, using a combination of historical, archaeological and ethnographic evidence to review those aspects of life most relevent to women. Marriage and motherhood, employment prospects and housework, religion and death are all discussed, while two chapters are devoted to the influential women of the royal harem and the semi-divine king-queens who owned their land and everyone in it.