Since Chocolate and Nail mentioned in their comments about being interested in Egypt. I thought I would share with you some very basic information about being women in that time period.
Egyptian women were the most liberated of their sex during the time period. They enjoyed legal and sexual independence that wasn't had by Greek and Roman women. Besides being legally able to make contracts, inherit purchase and sell property, they were also allowed to live alone without the protection of a male guardian. This might not seem as big a deal to us now, to imagine living without the protection of a man, however think to the culture of Ancient Greece also present at that time. Women of that culture were under repressive law condemning them to protection that was near suffociation. Respected Greek women were excluded from all public life, they had nearly no legal rights unless their actions was agreed on by their " kurieia" ( male guardian ). Many upper class women even as a result of this lived horrible lives being contained in their rooms where they spent the day working on a loom or supervising their households. Only in Sparta were young girls allowed to go outdoors and enjoy some exercise. Under this Athenian law they were owned by either their father or by their husband who was choosen for them. Their dowries were also under the control of their pre-selected mate and they weren't allowed to inherit or make valid legal contracts. Their children were the property of their husband.
Egyptian women were generally married by the age of 14 and although there was no legal restriction made on the age that one *could* be married there are known cases of fathers refusing to marry off their daughters because "her time has not yet come". Romans had puberty fixed at the age of 12, so regardless of their physical development they were free to be essentially bidded on in marriage contracts. There is no reason to disbelieve that in fact some fathers of Egypt agreed to young marriages to their daughters but no fixed age of puberty was the rule in their society. There surprisingly was no taboo against a girl that was sexually active before her marriage as long as she refrained these activities once she was in fact married.
Homosexual activity doesn't appear to be frowned upon in many parts of the ancient world ( many are all to familiar with the Greek and Romans desires for young boys ) however, it doesn't seem to play a large part in typical Egyptian life. Quite common in that time and extremely well known was the Story of Seth and Horus, both Gods of the Egyptians, this story credits Seth with saying amongst other things " How lovely your backside is!" Classic!
Women were looked at as beautiful due to their fertility. The object of life was to get married, have a small and extremely modest home and push out as many kids as you possibly could. High infant death rates would have assured that several children were desirable with the hopes that some would survive past infancy and into adulthood. Although girls were loved by their parents and there are several pictures depicting family scenes which they are in, as in most cultures and still today boys were the prize. (I always make jokes about how I have secured my kingdom by providing to heirs to the throne - though I do long for a long haired little princess to grace the empire ) It's not that difficult to understand why they would hold a certain value at that time. Boys would be able to work outside the home and have a high earning potential and they also had a high position in their parents burial ritual, a position in which a daughter could not properly fill. The preference for male children wasn't as extreme as it was in other cultures that had developed a tradition of female infanticide - the abondoning of girl babies at birth. This was practiced in both Roman and Greek cultures. This was a legal form of murder and remainded law until about 374 AD. This part just makes me sick to my stomach. In the law was the fact that a father had SOLE right over any children born to him by his wife. He was not only allowed to decide if she should be made to abort the child but also had right to refuse to raise any children born to them. The mother had no say in the matter, and an unwanted child, male or female - more often female - was taken to a garbage dump after birth and left exposed to the elements until death found them. I'd have been living near the garbage dump bringing home a whole manner of poor little babies, that is if I wasn't married to some controlling asshole husband that my stupid father picked out for me. Lets face it, I likely would have been.
I could go on, but I think that is enough to come to appreciate the amazing strides that for the most part the world has made in regards to womens right and the quality of life that we get to enjoy. I for one do not take kindly to the thought of carrying a child in my womb as I did for nine months, risking death at that time, only to have my child taken away and thrown in the garbage. Too devasting to be imagined. My heart aches for the brave women that got up each day in Rome and Greece and faced a reality of being trapped indoors and under lock and key of their husbands desires.
I think I shall leave on a high note this post, if at all possible but sharing with you part of a New Kingdom Egyptian love song. Though Pharoahs were known to marry their full and half sisters, it wasn't as common amongst the common folk. However, they often called their mate their sister as a term of affection. " I see my sister coming. My heart exults and my arms open to embrace her. My heart pounds in its place just as the red fish leaps in its pond. Oh night, be mine forever, now that my lover has come." and one of my favourite " With her hair she lassoes at me, and with her eyes she catches me, With her necklace she entangles me, and brands me with her seal ring." It looks like love has always been alive and well, nothing in time has changed that. That's hope that life has always had something by which to quicken the pulse and always will.
creative
sad
blank
surprised
artistic
curious
crazy
book wormish!
ill
drained