Marriage and Family

Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences
Marriage and Family Customs in Ancient Egypt: An Interdisciplinary Study: Part I

Author(s): Panos D. Bardis
Source: Social Science, Vol. 41, No. 4 (OCTOBER 1966), pp. 229-245
Published by: Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences
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Marriage and Family Customs
in Ancient Egypt:
An Interdisciplinary Study:
Part I
Panos D. Bardis
Professor of Sociology, The University of Toledo
"Hail, Usekh-nemmet, who comest C. Mathematics and the Whole That

forth from Anu, I have not committed Was Not Whole.
sin. . . . Hail, Anaf, who comest forth
D. Kings, Priests, Harem Schools, and
from Maat, I have not snatched away the House of Life.
the bread of the child, nor treated
VI. Divorce and Noseless Women.
VII. Women, Caesar's Wife, the Bearded
with contempt the god of my city."
The Booh of the Dead, Chapter 125. Queen, and the Ugly God of Beauty.
VIII. Circumcision and the Plain of Mum-
mies.
"I could not become your ally; IX.
forIncest and the Father's Brother's Son.
neither our manners nor our laws are
A. Pharaohs and the Methuselah with
similar, but they are very distant 100 Children.
from each other. You worship the cow,
but I sacrifice it to the gods ; you con- B. Ptolemies: The Greeks Who Forgot
sider the eel a very great god, but we Oedipus and Jocasta.
C. Romans and the Dalmatian Em-
think of it as the greatest of delicacies ;
peror.
you do not eat pork, but I enjoy it
very much ; you adore the bitch, but I D. Origin of Incest and the Healthy
Mummies.
beat her up when I catch her devour-
ing my good food. Here the law says X. Contraception, Crocodiles, and the
Burning Bush of Moses.
the priests should be whole, but among
XI. Ethics and the Handbook to Hell.
you, as it seems, you cut off their best
parts." XII. Prostitution and the Daughter of
Anaxandrides, Island-Towns . Cheops.
XIII. Sex and Pornography in Temples and
Tombs.
I. Introduction.
XIV. Summary.
A. The Land, Its Name, and Its
Kings. I. Introduction
B. The Institution That Shocked A LTHOUGrH countless studies have
Herodotus.
been made regarding the myste-
II. Marriage and King Menes. rious, enigmatic, and sphinxlike
III. Polygamy, Harems, and Sepa's Coffin.land of ancient Egypt; although nu-
IV. Children in a World of Toys, Tombs,merous works have appeared concern-
and Mummies.
ing its abstruse, arcane, and caligi-
V. Children's Education and the Eye of
nous institutions, it seems that no au-
Horus.
thor has organized the most impor-
A. General Features of Education.
tant data dealing with the ancient
B. Writing, Papyrus, and Paper. Egyptian family and presented by
229
230 SOCIAL SCIENCE FOE OCTOBER 1966
classical and modern treatises in var- tians now call Nile" (V, v, 6). It is
ious branches of human knowledge. also
It true, however, that Homer spoke
is hoped that the present essay, being of the entire country as "Egypt." In
fairly inclusive and comprehensive, his Odyssey, for instance, when Anti-
will fill this lacuna. nous, Penelope's most monstrous sui-
tor, speaks to Odysseus, he refers to
A. The Land, Its Name, and Its Kings Egypt as a country, not as a river
It has been asserted that the first (XVII, 448).
name of Egypt was Ghemi or Kamit, Manetho (third century B.C.), the
which means "Black Earth."1 This Egyptian high priest of Heliopolis
name was employed in order to whodis-
wrote in Greek, further states
tinguish Egypt from the "red that Egypt was called Mestraim by
earth"
of Arabia, a country that lackedthe Hebrews: "Namque Aegyptus ab
a ben-
eficent river like the Nile. Indeed, Hebraeis
the Mestraimus appellatur"
"black earth" created by the river Nile
( Aegyptiaca , Fragment 1, 5) . This dou-
played such an important role ble in name,
the which is related to that em-
long history of Egypt that Herodotus
ployed by the Arabs, namely, Misrum,
probably referred to both Upper and
(484-424 B.C.), the great Greek histor-
ian, spoke of the country as the Lower
gift ofEgypt. In Genesis 10:6, the
the river. This famous phrase, sameofname is given as Misraim : "And
course, was borrowed from Hecataeus
the sons of Ham ; Cush, and Mizraim."
of Miletus (500 B.C.), another According
Greek to another theory, the city
historian.2 Regarding the same subject,
of Memphis owed its name to the an-
Jacques Besançon, a modern cient
FrenchEgyptian men-nefer, or "good
author, has written the following place."
: "LeThe city was also known as
Nil ...est capable de fournir a l'homme
Ha-Kha-Ptah, that is, "House of Wor-
en toute saison l'eau que le ciel ship
lui re-
of Ptah"- the god of Memphis
fuse. Il lui prodigue en outre leandlimon
creator of the world - which was
qui forme le sol cultivable, cettelater
noiretransformed into "Egypt."5
khémi célébrée sous les pharaons."* The title of the country's king,
The entire country had also been "Pharaoh," derives from the
namely,
given the name "Thebes." According to per-ao, which means "great
Egyptian
Aristotle's Meteorologica, "in house."6
ancient
times Egypt was called Thebes"
B. The Institution That Shocked Herodotus
(351b).4 Pausanias, on the other hand,
the celebrated geographer of Lydia When ancient authors from other
countries examined Egypt's family
who lived in the second century A.D.,
informs us in his Description of system, they found it shockingly
Greece that Homer "referred to the different from those of their own
river as Egypt, not Nile" (IX, xl, 6). lands. Herodotus, for example, said so
Obviously, this is a reference to the about the family as well as other
epic poet's words, "Egypt, the heaven- Egyptian social institutions (Histo-
fed river" ( Odyssey , IV, 477), and ries, II, 35-36). Anaxandrides (380
"fair-flowing Egypt" (XIV, 257). B.C.), the Rhodian poet of the Middle
Similarly, Arrian (second century Comedy, who seems to have written
A.D.), the Greek historian, philoso- the first satirical plays dealing with
pher, and statesman of Nicomedia, love, in his Island-Towns lampooned
states the following in his Anabasis of and ridiculed Egyptian zoolatry, cir-
Alexander: "In old times, Egypt was cumcision, castration, and other prac-
the name of the river which the Egyp- tices (Athenaeus, Deipnosophists,
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY CUSTOMS IN ANCIENT EGYPT 231
299f). Athenaeus (200 A.D.), the Egypt bril- was Min" ( Histories , II, 4).
liant Greek scholar of Naucratis,Similarly,
also Diodorus states the follow-
informs us that the Egyptian Iliad ing of
in his Library of History: "they
Hipparchns contained the following say that Menas was the first king of
words : "And I did not like the kind of Egypt" (I, 45). It has also been as-
life which the Egyptians lead, pluck-serted that "Pharaoh Menes was ob-
ing quails and slimy magpies" ( Deip liged
- to found a separate capital in
nosophists, 393c).7 which he fortified himself" - this was
Still, the Egyptian family systemthe famous city of Memphis.12 As for
was highly developed even in extreme-the time of this event, various dates
ly ancient times.8 The small conjugalhave been given by experts :13
family was characterized by a high de- B C B 0.
gree of solidarity, cooperation, and Birch 5895 Petrie 4777
filial piety. Relative autonomy in eachChampollion 5870 Brugsch 4455
generation is further indicated by the Mariette 5004 Lepsius 3892
absence of family names; each indi- Lenormant 4915 Renouf 3000
vidual had only a personal name, to Wilkinson 2691
which that of his father might be at-
tached: "A, son of B." Funeral docu- It seems that Egyptian marriag
ments, of course, might mention one least before the time of the Ptolemies
or both parents.9 An additional indi-(304-30 B.C.), included no religious
cation of some independence is the in-ceremony. A legal contract, which was
adequate development of ancestor very carefully worded, merely pro-
worship and genealogies. It was only tected the rights and interests of the
in later times, and chiefly among thespouses. In addition, the law empha-
upper classes, that genealogical trees sized "temporary" marriage, as mari-
were cultivated with the devotion and tal unions "were not definitely con-
zeal of a master gardener. tracted until after a 'trial-year.' ""
In general, the family was consid- Since, at least during the dynastic pe-
ered so important that it became "the riod, tribal and family totem tabus
basis for religion, the training of
were absent, it appears correct to con-
clude that a man was permitted to
children, transmitting the secrets of
trades and arts, and private prop- marry virtually any woman. Indeed,
although great emphasis was placed
erty."10 In fact, the Egyptians be-
lieved that even after death the souls
on marriage itself, ancient Egyptian
of each family's members, together love songs often indicate that free
with their servants and slaves, werechoice of mate was also stressed. The
reunited in Tuat, the region of the son of Cheops, the second king of the
dead. However, although sexual unionFourth Dynasty (about 2650 B.C.),
advised: "Marry a woman who loves
continued in this nether kingdom, re-
production was impossible; Tuat's il-
you and a son will be born to you."
lusive and phantom inhabitants ar-Child marriages, on the other hand,
rived only from the earth.11 were not entirely absent. This, com-
bined with frequent pregnancies, cre-
II. Marriage and King Menes
ated many physical dangers for Egyp-
According to Herodotus, the insti-tian women. Regarding the financial
tution of marriage was introduced aspects of marriage, Baber15 has
into Egypt by Menes. Calling him
stated that a dowry of 50 measures of
"Min," the historian adds : "They said
corn and six ounces of silver, that is,
that the first man to become king ofmore than 100 dollars, was given to
232 SOCIAL. SCIENCE FOR OCTOBER 1966
the groom by the father of Aegyptiaca

the bride. (Fragment L, 98), Ma
In later times, of course, various
etho states that, when King Rams
appointed
new forms of marriage became preva-his brother Harmais vicero
of Egypt
lent, as the Roman and other he specifically ordered h
civiliza-
to refrain
tions began to influence Egypt. Onefrom
ofthe Pharaoh's concu-
bines.
these was the so-called concubinatus,
which originated with the In Romans
general, Egyptian harems were
and became fairly common characterized
in many by the following fea-
tures : of mar-
Egyptian cities.16 This form
riage lacked affectio maritalis, in-
1. The concubines occupied a sepa-
volved a loss of reputation rate section
to the of the master's house.
wife,
and precluded donatio inter2.virurn
The harem's
et inmates enjoyed a
uxor em. great deal of freedom, although the
Egyptian word for "harem" meant
III. Polygamy, Harems, and Sepa's Coffin
"prison."
As for the number of wives an 3. It seems that eunuchs were ab-
Egyptian was permitted to have, sentHer-
from such establishments.
odotus avers that "each of them lives 4. The concubines usually engaged
with one wife, just as the Greeks" in domestic and industrial activities
to such an extent that harems fre-
{Histories, II, 92). A modern historian
has added: "Though concubines were quently became veritable "factories."
common, monogamy was the rule."17 5. Many harems were complex insti-
Nevertheless, polygyny was not un-
tutions administered by a hierarchy of
common. Unlike Herodotus, Diodorusofficials and clerks, and supported by
correctly informs us that only special
the taxes.
priests were expected to practice mo- 6. Alien prisoners were sometimes
nogamy; other men were allowedreared to in these harems - for example,
marry as many wives as they wished Moses.
( Library of History, I, lxxx, 3). 7. Maintaining a harem was not re-
garded as a sin. Even mortuary
Of course, since polygyny was ex-
pensive, even mere bigamy was priests
ex- were allowed to have concu-
bines.20 Moreover, devout and pious
tremely rare among the lower classes.
Egyptians expected to meet their
It was chiefly the wealthiest men that
practiced polygyny.18 women in the nether world. On the cof-
Even they, however, were usually fin of Sepa, for instance, it was writ-
ten: "O great Creator, make Sepa to
permitted one legal wife, the so-called
nebt-per, their other women - some rejoin his . . . concubines whom it is
his heart's desire to meet," especially
black, some white - being their concu-
bines, who also functioned as ser- "the concubine whom he loved and
knew."
vants. In other words, the chief wife,
known as the "mistress of the house,"
enjoyed a great deal of authority over IV. Children in a World of Toys,
her husband's concubines. Such, for Tombs, and Mummies
In his Library of History (I, 80),
instance, was the status of the eldest
daughter of a prince of Naharina, Diodorus states that the Egyptians
who was given to Egypt's Amenhotepwere never worried about overpopula-
III together with 300 beautiful maid-
tion. On the contrary, they empha-
ens. sized prolific reproduction, since the
Among the kings and nobles, then,
rearing of children was anything but
harems were very common.1* costly.
InThis
hiswas due to two reasons:
first, inexpensive stews could besuddenly se- appear in pools of water

cured quite easily for the young formed by the raging storm. To the
Egyptians' diet; and second, in viewnatives, this is mysterious generation,
of the country's warm climate, shoes instant fecundity, fertility, and fruit-
and clothes were not absolutely neces- fulness. (Incidentally, the frog under
sary. In fact, especially in earlier cen- consideration is the same as the fa-
turies, "Children lived nude until pu- mous matlametlo described by Living-
berty, though girls wore earrings andstone.)
a bead belt around the hips."21 As a Such attitudes and practices ex-
result, at least five measures were plain the eagerness of the Egyptians
taken in order to promote procreationto ascertain women's fecundity. The
and facilitate the survival of children : celebrated Berlin Papyrus of 1300
1. If a couple had no offspring, the B.C. includes a formula dealing with a
husband, with his wife's permission, mixture of watermelon and the milk of
took a female slave and had children a mother who had a male child. Ac-
by her. At his death, these childrencording
be- to the formula, when a woman
came legitimate. takes the medicine, possible eructa-
2. According to Diodorus, "of tions
the will be indicative of sterility,
while vomiting will reveal fecundity.
women condemned to death, the preg-
nant ones were not executed before The importance of this test among
the
giving birth to the child" ( Library ofancient Egyptians is indicated by
History, I, 77). its influence on a similar Hippocratic
3 The historian of Sicily also in-
prescription which included butyron22
forms us that, unlike certain Greek The meaning of this Greek word is
states, Egypt did not adopt the prac- "butter," which actually comes from
tice of child exposure. Instead, par- butyron through the Old English
bufere and the Latin butyrum - more
ents were required to rear all of their
children, since the prevalent belief specifically, butyron means "cow's
was that an increase in population cheese." In the Hippocratic prescrip-
would lead to prosperity ( Library of tion, however, the word refers to a
History, I, 80). juicy fruit, namely, a type of cucum-
4. In the same history, we read that, ber. The connection becomes obvious
according to an Egyptian law, parents when we consider the Egyptian word
who killed their offspring "were for watermelon, that is, bdd - without
forced to hold the dead child in their its vowels - from which the Greek bu-
arms continuously for three days and tyron, meaning "cucumber," derives.23
nights" (1, 77). Incidentally, Anaxandrides mentioned
5. Because of magical beliefs, wethe butyrophagoe, or "butter-eaters,"
further find that amulets in the form in his play Protesilaus, as we are told
of a frog were commonly employedby Athenaeus ( Deipnosophists , 131b).
with the purpose of promoting fertili- Another fertility test is found in the
ty. Heqet herself, the frog goddess ofCarlsberg Papyrus No. 4. This test
the Egyptians, was frequently iden-consisted in inserting garlic into a
tified with prolific reproduction. It woman's vagina and leaving it inside
seems that such practices had their this organ for an entire night. Fecun-
origin in observations dealing withdity was then indicated if, and only if,
certain natural phenomena. In Afri-the smell of the garlic had reached the
ca's deserts, for instance, after a vi-woman's mouth by morning.
olent rain, frogs which hide among the A similar test was urinoscopy, as
roots of bushes during the dry seasonwe see in the Berlin Papyrus (199). In
234 SOCIAL SCIENCE FOB OCTOBER 1966
other words, a woman daily watered

Histories, III, 5), at a joyous and rap-
with her urine a bag of wheat and awith the assistance of
turous festival,
bag of barley. Subsequent72sprouting conspirators, forced the god Osiris
revealed that the woman would be into a beautiful chest, which he car-
able to have children. If, however, the
ried to the river. When Isis, the god's
grains did not germinate, sterility sister
wasand wife, was unable to find the
indicated. Furthermore, in case of chest, she asked the help of a group of
pregnancy, if the barley sprouted children, who hastened to assist the
first, then the child would be male ; if great goddess. "As a result," adds
the wheat, female. Plutarch, "the Egyptians believe that
Concerning delivery, the Papyrus little children have the power to
Ebers informs us that this process be- prophesy" ( Isis and Osiris, 356e).
comes faster and easier when the ex- Another ancient author, Diodorus
pectant mother sits naked on a mat
of Agyrium, states that illegitimate
children, even if the mother were a
and places a mixture of date wine, oil,
and salt in her vagina. The same slave, enjoyed the same legal rights as
source (97) states that a child's sur- their legitimate siblings. The reason
vival may be predicted by listening to may be found in the conviction that
its cry at the time of its birth. If the the father was the only procreator,
sound is "ny," then the child will live ; the mother merely nourishing and
if "amby," it will soon die. Death is housing the fetus. In fact, Diodorus
also indicated if the infant faces continues, unlike the Greeks, the
downward. Egyptians thought of trees bearing
A very common practice was wash-fruit as male, not female ( Library of
ing, immediately after birth, the new- History, I, lxxx, 3-4).
born child with water, or, if the par- To promote their children's happi-
ents were wealthy, anointing it withness, Egyptian parents provided them
oil. This practice was both symbolic with delightful toys, including rattles,
and magical. tops, miniature battle-axes, baby dolls
Later on, whenever teething prob- in cradles, puppets in the form of
lems arose, they were treated by dancing dwarfs, and, particularly,
means of cooked mice. (Even during with clay and wooden models of ani-
the 16th century A.D., many Englishmals, such as lions, crocodiles, horses
families imitated the ancient Egyp- on wheels, hippopotami with snapping
tians in this respect.) jaws, cats with crystal eyes and metal
The naming of a child usually re- teeth, and so forth. Animal pets were
vealed the Egyptians' strong desireequally popular, especially monkeys,
for offspring. Indeed, "even little chil-gazelles, young crocodiles, porcupines,
dren's names were indicative of the
and grasshoppers.25 Boys and girls, of
great affection which they enjoyed: course, did not always engage in the
^Pretty Kitten,' 'Beautiful Morning,'
same recreational activities. Girls, for
'I Have Wanted You,' and the like." 24
instance, preferred ball games, while
Such affection and devotion are part-
ly explained by Plutarch in this way :liked cockles, running, jumping,
boys
Typhon (here the great biographer wrestling, walking on a tightrope,
means not the most monstrous Giant shooting at a target, fishing with a
of Greek mythology - see Homer, stick, and the like.
Iliad, II, 782, and Ovid, Fasti, IV, 491 Naturally, all this does not mean
- but Set or Seth, the Egyptian god that children were not expected to
of evil and darkness - see Herodotus, make any contributions to their par-
ents. On the contrary, many duties

if they are unwilling" ( Histories , II,
and responsibilities were assigned
35). to
them, some of which may be summa- 4. Chapters 52 and 53 in The Booh
rized as follows : of the Dead further indicate that the
1. According to Herodotus, young Egyptians were expected to make
men were instructed to rise from their certain offerings to their ancestors.
seats when they were in the presence 5. It was also a son's duty to make
of their parents and other elders, and statues of his father in order to per-
to give their place to them ( Historiespetuate
, his name and memory.
II, 80). In the Maxims of Ani, we fur- 6. In addition, a son maintained a
ther read: "Sit not down when an- tomb for his male parent, which usual-
other is standing up if he belyolder constituted a major sacrifice on his
than you, even if your rank in part. life be
This is explained by the fact
higher than his." Another maximthat, sug-on the basis of various Egyptian
gested : "Remember, manners will beliefs and customs, Diodorus of Sici-
make people love you. Rise for your ly speaks of the homes of the living as
elders and those set above you." catalyseis, that is, "temporary lodg-
2. Ani, the great moralist of Egypt, ings"; but of tombs, as aidius oecus,
also advised young people to love and namely, "eternal homes." In other
obey their parents, particularly the words, tombs were considered more
mother. If they did not, Ani warned important than lodgings. Accordingly,
them solemnly, she would appeal to the Egyptians paid little attention to
the gods, and the young offenders their lodgings, while their burials and
would be punished severely. Another tombs were lavish, luxurious, and ex-
maxim said: "Always be loving and travagant ( Library of History, I, li,
tender to your mother." In addition, 2).
among the Maxims of Ptah-Hotep, we 7. In the same work, we read that
find the following: "The son who ac- children might give the body of their
cepts the word of his father will attain deceased parent to the embalmers,
old age on that account. God wishes us who returned it after a month. At this
to obey, for disobedience is abhorrent time, the corpse looked quite natural
to him" (42). (Cf. Deuteronomy 5:16: again - even the hairs on the eyebrows
"Honour thy father and thy mother, and eyelids remained intact and un-
as the Lord thy God hath commanded
damaged. The family then placed the
thee ; that thy days may be prolonged,
and that it may go well with thee, in mummy in a special chamber, gazing
the land which the Lord thy God giv- at it for generations ( Library of His-
eth thee.") Regarding the child-parent tory, I, 91). Diodorus adds that the
bond, Diodorus Siculus adds, among embalmed body might be put up as a
other things, that, if a child killed his guarantee for a loan, and that, if the
parent, pieces of his body were first debt were not paid, the debtor was
cut off with sharp reeds, and then he both ostracized and denied burial at
was placed on a bed of thorns and his death (1, 93).
burnt alive ( Library of History, I,
lxxvii, 8). V. Children's Education and the
3. In view of the prevalence of ma- Eye of Horus
triliny, as Herodotus avers, "Sons are
not required at all to support their Additional aspects of the ancient
parents if they are not willing, but Egyptian family may be revealed by
daughters must definitely do so evenanalyzing the education of children.
236 SOCIAL SCIENCE FOR OCTOBER 1966
A. General Features of Education view of the strong relationship be-

First of all, the most important tween knowledge and virtue, the form-
characteristics of Egyptian education er was sufficient for the development
were as follows : of character.
1. In view of the country's warm 8. More specifically, the chief edu-
climate, classes were usually conduct-cational goals were knowledge and,
ed between morning and noon. through it, morality, absolute piety,
2. Ordinarily, girls remained illit- self-control, bravery, respect for par-
erate, while boys were given a consid-ents, social responsibility, submission
erable amount of education.26 to the bureaucrats, and loyalty to the
3. At the age of four, boys were Pharaoh.
often sent to boarding schools. Be- 9. "At school young people were
cause these schools did not provide usually taught reading, writing, and
food, the pupils' mothers brought arithmetic up to the age of 12."27 Ordi-
bread and beer - a national beverage narily, reading was mastered by
prepared from barley and, according chanting together, while the teaching
to Diodorus, tasting like wine. of arithmetic was made pleasant and
4. Among the masses, particularly interesting by means of various
in early times, children were instruct- games. According to Plato's Laws,
ed at home, by their parents or other"One must say, then, that freemen
relatives. Since emphasis was placedshould learn as much of these disci-
on mastering the father's craft or plines as à very large crowd of chil-
trade, it is easy to realize why Egyp- dren in Egypt learn along with the al-
tian education and literature became phabet. First, lessons in counting have
relatively didactic. Indeed, Egyptianbeen invented for children to learn as
play and amusement, dividing up ap-
writings often sound as if they consti-
tuted a father's lecture to his son. ples and garlands, adapting the same
5. Elementary public schools, whichnumbers to larger and smaller groups
were nonexistent during the Old . . . adjusting the rules of basic arith-
Kingdom (Memphite or Pyramid metic to play, they help the pupils un-
Age, 2780-2280 B.C.), became rather derstand the arrangements, move-
common under the Middle (First The- ments, and expeditions of armies and
ban Empire, 2052-1778 B.C.) and New the management of households, and
(Second Theban Empire, 1567-1085 they make people more useful to
B.C.) Kingdoms. These were of themselves in every way and more
three types : alert" (819a-c).
a. Royal schools, established in the 10. Sports were sacrificed upon the
court to educate the Pharaoh's heir altar of knowledge. Unlike the Greeks,
and his future assistants. says Diodorus, the Egyptians placed
very little emphasis on athletics, since
b. Temple schools for boys, in which
priests functioned as teachers. they were convinced that the resulting
c. Departmental schools, organizedphysical vigor was not permanent and,
besides, it tended to be dangerous
by each branch of government to train
boys as civil servants. ( Library of History, I, lxxxi, 7).-
6. In general, Egyptian education11. Similarly, music was neglected
because of the belief that it generated
consisted of two main stages, appren-
ticeship and instruction of a group effeminateness
of (ibid.}.
pupils by one master. 12. More important than arithmetic
7. Somewhat like Socrates, the was composition, which, especially
teachers of Egypt believed that, in after 2000 B.C., stressed style at the
expense of content. This was particu- of Khety," which was written during
larly true of the training received bythe Middle Kingdom (First Theban
Empire, 2052-1778 B.C.) and, among
higher officials and scribes - in Egypt,
the latter were powerful bureaucrats. other things, said the following about
As The Eloquent Peasant of 1900 B.C. the soldier: "he must carry his food
indicates, not infrequently, reports, and drink on his back like a donkey."
letters, and petitions were thus It is quite obvious, then, that the very
judged by their style ! This, combinedsimilar verses of Ecclesiasticus, or
with the Egyptians' passion for writ- Book of Sirach. written in the second
ing letters, explains why the scribe century B.C. by Jesus, the son of
Amonmes, as we see in the Papyrus Eleazar, were actually inspired by
Anastasi (V, xx, 6), wrote to his fa- these Egyptian satires. Indeed, the
wealthy scribe of Jerusalem, who had
ther in this manner : "In life, prosper-
ity, health, and in favor of Amon-Ra, traveled in many lands, said :
King of the gods, I say to Ra-Har- "The wisdom of a learned man corn-
akhte and to Atmu and his Ennead: etti by opportunity of leisure : and he
May est thou be in health everythat hath little business shall become
day."
(An Ennead, or Pesedjet, was a wise. cult'sHow can he get wisdom that hol-
or city's group of nine gods repre- deth the plough, and that glorieth in
the goad, that driveth oxen, and is oc-
senting the basic cosmic forces. Later,
however, because its meaning cupied
had in their labours, and whose
been forgotten, an Ennead might talkin-
is of bullocks? He giveth his
clude more, or fewer, than nine minddei-
to make furrows ; and is diligent
ties, as in the case of the Ennead of the kine fodder. So every car-
to give
Thebes, which consisted of 15 divini-
penter and workmaster, that labour-
ties.) Still, instruction in letter eth
writ-
night and day: and they that cut
ing did not exclude the teaching of
and grave seals, and are diligent to
moral principles to delinquentmake stu-great variety, and give them-
dents. "Scribe," advised one of theselves
les- to counterfeit imagery, and
sons, "do not give yourself up to watch
plea-to finish a work : The smith also
sure, or you will be a failure." sitting by the anvil, and considering
13. The fact that the sons of scribes the iron work, the vapour of the fire
usually became scribes28 constitutes wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with
one of the main reasons why thesethe heat of the furnace: the noise of
parent-teachers - the scribes - devel- the hammer and the anvil is ever in
oped a peculiar literary form, the his ears, and his eyes look still upon
occupational satire. In other words, to the pattern of the things that he mak-
inspire their son-pupils to devote eth; he setteth his mind to finish his
themselves to the scribe's profession, work, and watcheth to polish it per-
the teachers composed satirical pieces fectly: So doth the potter sitting at
about other occupations, such as those his work, and turning the wheel about
of the baker, barber, fellah, fisherman, with his feet, who is alway carefully
hunter, mason, messenger, potter, set at his work, and maketh all his
priest, sailor, soldier, and washerman. work by number; he fashioneth the
These compositions, which were incor- clay with his arm, and boweth down
porated into the teaching of reading his strength • before his feet; he ap-
and writing at school, were exceeding- plieth himself to lead it over; and he
ly popular for a very long time in an- is diligent to make clean the furnace :
cient Egypt. It seems that the first all these trust to their hands . . . they
work of this type was "The Teaching shall not be sought for in public coun-
238 SOCIAL SCIENCE FOE OCTOBER 1966
on potshards, namely, bits of broken

sel, nor sit high in the congregation:
earthenware
they shall not sit on the judges' seat,- the papyrus of the low-
nor understand the sentenceerof classes!
judg- Because papyrus was ex-
pensive, and
ment : they cannot declare justice only advanced students were
judgment" (38:24-31, 33). allowed to write on this material -
14. As for discipline at school,
usually the
by means of a reed brush. Dic-
most common form was corporaltationpun-
and copying thus led to the de-
ishment, based on the principle,
velopment "A of writing skills.
boy's ear is on his back - he C.listens Mathematics and the Whole That
when he is beaten." Fortunately, an-
Was Not Whole
other form was copying repeatedly a
certain number of lines from various In Egypt, "because there the class
Egyptian classics. In this way, many of the priests was allowed leisure"
important documents have survived, (Aristotle, Metaphysics, 981b) and
was "exempt from taxation,"30 this
but not in their entirety, as it was cus-
tomary for delinquent students to group, whose two chief responsibil-
copy the first section of each work. ities were religion and learning ( Jose-
phus, Against Apion, II, 141), de-
15. Finally, before the time of the
Ptolemies, students did not take for-
veloped the science of mathematics.31
mal examinations. The branch of this science known as
geometry actually dealt with what its
B. Writing, Papyrus, and Paper name indicates, that is, with land mea-
The reasons why writing advanced surement. In other words, because
the flooding Nile often moved the
very rapidly in ancient Egypt were at
least three. boundaries of the fields, the king's
First, the tall and rushlike aquatic geometers, who, according to Dio-
plant known as papyrus - from which dorus, were really surveyors, had to
the English word "paper" comes - andredivide the land ( Library of History ,
other writing materials were abun- I, 81). 32 Speaking of King Sesostris,
dant in the land of the Nile. Herodotus adds the following: "If the
Second, in the sphere of religion, river deprived a man of part of his
writing was necessary for tomb in- land, he would come to him and report
scriptions and the management of the the event ; then he would send men to
temples. consider the matter and determine the
And third, the complex and labyrin- amount by which the space had been
thine organization of business and reduced, so that in the future it should
government necessitated the use of pay a tax proportional to that pre-
written communications. viously imposed. Thus, it seems to me,
Regarding the nature of writing,29geometry was invented and adopted
Herodotus asserts that the Egyptians by the Greeks" ( Histories , II, 109).
"used two types of letters, one called This and other forms of taxation -
sacred and the other demotic" ( His- which usually involved corn - like most
tories , II, 36). This, however, is incor- aspects of business, were so com-
rect. For the Egyptians actually de- plicated that knowledge of practical
veloped three forms of writing : hiero- arithmetic was necessary. The Egyp-
glyphic, hieratic - based on hiero-tians, therefore, were taught to reckon
glyphic - and demotic - a popular and"with numbers, summing up in mil-
simplified type of hieratic. lions, hundreds of thousands, tens
Children practiced writing on tab- of thousands, thousands, and hun-
lets or flakes of limestone, as well asdreds."33
Unfortunately, the people of thecity

Nileof Hermopolis - now Ashmunein
never invented multiplication. Accord-
- had one of Egypt's most magnificent
ing to Harry Elmer Barnes, "they libraries.
never learned how to multiply directly.
. . . Multiplication was achieved by re- D. Kings, Priests, Harem Schools,
and the House of Life
peated additions."34 To multiply by
two, for instance, the following method The children of the leading families
was employed - which is an example of naturally received more advanced
the distributive law in mathematics training. Those of the Pharaohs and
[2(x + y) = 2x + 2y] : the nobles, for example, were in-
A B structed by special tutors in harems as
well as in the "house of life," or palace
1 2 school. According to Marcel Dunan,
2 4 "Les scribes qui la composent , formés
4 8 dans la ' maison de vie ' ou école du
8 16 palais, sont d'importants person-
16 32 nages
32 64
It seems that the priests received
Thus, the
when most rigorous
the and encyclopedic
sum
education.
"multiplied" Bak-en-Khonsu,
by for in-
2,
plus B8. stance, was trained for many years
before becoming
Fractions, on a libation
the priest in ot
be expressed the temple, at the ageby of 16. Additional
me
Horus," Osiris and Isis' son and training made him a "divine father,"
Egypt's most famous falcon god, whosethen a "third" and "second prophet of
Amon," and only when he was almost
eyes represented the sun and the moon.
In other words, the god's eye, whichdid he attain the highest position,
60
was called ujat (whole), consistedet namely,
of "high priest," or "first proph-
of Amon."
six parts - the markings of a falcon's
eye and a man's iris, pupil, and eye- Also highly educated were the
queens
brow - each symbolizing one of the fol- and Pharaohs of Egypt. In
fact,
lowing fractions: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, the Pharohs, whose training often
included
1/32, and 1/64. It is obvious, of course, geography and extensive
that the sum of these fractions is not traveling, were both kings and priests.
"whole," since 1/64 is missing. ThisIn Plato's Statesman, we read the fol-
lowing: "In Egypt no king is allowed
fraction, according to the Egyptians,
was supplied by Thoth, the ibis-like rule without being a priest, and if
to
lunar divinity of Hermopolis, who washe happens to become a king by means
of force, coming from another social
secretary of the gods, inventor of writ-
ing and calculations, patron of scribesclass, later it will be necessary for him
to enter the priestly class" (290d-e).
and magicians, and who, in the great
Many priests further functioned as
teachers in temple schools. There they
usually taught "surveying, bookkeep-
ing, business law, personnel manage-
ment, architecture, history, and medi-
cine as early as 2500 B.C."36
VI. Divorce and Noseless Women
The Eye of Horus In ancient Egypt, " a divorce could
be obtained by one of thewhich spousesexisted

forin Egyptian society."44
no serious reason, as long as a price
Athenaeus, on the other hand, asserts
was paid."37 In other words, that at
ifleast
theone major war was
husband wished to secure caused a divorce,
by a woman. In other words,
he was expected to compensate his Cambyses, the Persian king who con-
wife by returning her dowry, as well quered Egypt in 525 B.C., having
as by transferring to her part of the heard that Egyptian women were ex-
property acquired during their mar- ceedingly passionate in coition, asked
riage. But, if the divorce were initiat- Egypt's King Amasis (570-526 B.C.)
ed by the wife, she received only one for one of his daughters in marriage.
half of her dowry. Amasis, however, sent him Neitetis,
Besides mere displeasure, "aban- the daughter of Aprias, as a result of
donment or desertion also constituted which, Cambyses declared war against
grounds for divorce."38 In addition, Egypt (Deipnosophists, 560d-e).
when a woman committed adultery,More specifically, the rather high
not only was a divorce obtained by her social status of ancient Egyptian
husband, but her nose was cut or bit- women is indicated by the following :
ten off.39 "A mutilation of this sort 1. It has been said that woman's im-
rendered the wife sufficiently unat- portance was symbolized by the god-
desses who "were prominent in the
tractive to preclude a subsequent mar-
riage on her part. On the other hand,worship."45 Three of these were Isis,
her lover received 1,000 blows."40 Hathor, and Sekhmet.
In later times, when Greece con- a. Isis, the wife and sister of Osiris
trolled Egypt, women, whose status and mother of Horus, was the greatest
had declined considerably, "could no and most popular Egyptian goddess.
longer get divorced on their own Her name meaning "seat," she was the
initiative."41 divinity of the royal throne, who also
possessed spectacular magic powers.
VII. Women, Caesar's Wife, the Bearded Her numerous additional functions
Queen, and the Ugly God of Beauty and names - she was, therefore, called
Partly because wives often were the "Myriad-Named" - made her a uni-
their husbands' sisters, Egyptian versal deity who, in later times, was
women were highly respected.42 In worshiped throughout the Roman Em-
fact, their social status was superiorpire. It is significant that Apollodorus,
to that of women in most pagan civili-the Athenian geographer, grammarian,
zations of antiquity. "Indeed," says historian, and mythographer of the
Diodorus in his Library of History, second century B.C., wrote : "Demeter,
"for these reasons, it was decreed who was called Isis by the Egyptians"
that the queen should enjoy greater (Library, II, i, 3).
authority and honor than the king, b. Hathor was the goddess of the
and that among private persons the sky, trees, and gold, of destiny and hap-
wife should be dominant over her hus- piness, and of music and dancing.
band, the husbands declaring in the c. The lioness-headed Sekhmet,
whose name means "powerful," was
dowry contract that they will obey the
wife in everything" (I, xxvii, 2). adored primarily in Memphis. It was
Other authors have stated that the the priests of this "Lady of the Mes-
"Egyptians retained a somewhatsengers ma- of Death" that organized one
of mankind's oldest medical societies
triarchal system even into the highest
point of their civilization,"43 andofthat
veterinarians and doctors.
the "important position of women 2. Respect for mothers was unusual-
was
ly high. In the Boulak Papyrus, chil-
perhaps due to the mild matriarchy
dren are advised: "Thou shalt never ancient world - the Egyptians had
forget thy mother, or what she many has such rulers, including Neit-
done for thee. . . . Three long yearsHetep, queen of Menes, and Mert-
she carried thee on her shoulder and Neit, queen of Usaphais. Both of these
gave thee her breast to thy mouth. powerful women, who were local prin-
She nurtured thee, nor knew offense cesses before their political mar-
for thy uncleanness. And when thou riages, brought fabulous dowries to
didst enter school, and wast in- their royal spouses. Then, Queen Hat-
structed in the writings, daily sheshepsut (the "Divine Wife," 1504-1483
stood by the master with bread B.C.), who added a beard and other
and beer from the house."46 The Max- male characteristics to her portraits
ims of Ani, compiled about 1000 B.C., and statues, and whose great architect
further reveal that, although a son Senenmut built architectonic master-
was expected to make offerings to pieces like the marvelous temple of
both of his deceased parents, it wasDeir el-Bahari, gave a somewhat un-
his duty to be more respectful toward important administrative post to her
his mother. Then, in many mastabassecond
- husband. Of course, when the
private tombs - we find that the Egyp-army rebelled, the brave queen lost
tian nobles were usually accompanied her power. But, later on, women often
by their mothers, not fathers. Other became priestesses. A princess, for
tombs included the father's name much example, might function as a high
less frequently than that of the moth- priestess in the Thebes temple of
er. It is also true that, under the Mid-Amon, the Jupiter of the Nile. And,
dle Kingdom, or First Theban Empiresince this religious center was
(2052-1778 B.C.), a man ordinarily influential like Delphi, women actually
traced his descent from his mother occupied an exceedingly important,
though unofficial, governmental posi-
and identified himself by mentioning
tion. One may also add that even Juli-
her name. It is no wonder, then, that
the masses customarily spoke of us Caesar had to marry Cleopatra
their
ancestresses, not ancestors. (69-30 B.C.) in order to become
Egypt's ruler and, especially, to be ac-
3. The safety and welfare of women
cepted bý the Egyptians.
were so important that, in the Domes-
day Book of Ramses III, the king Furthermore, although the Pha-
(1198-1166 B.C.) boasts: "I made the raohs " sont des souverains absolus
land safe, so that a lone woman could dont le pouvoir tient à leur caractère
go on her way freely and none would divin,"** they still had to marry heir-
molest her." Similar statements are esses before becoming kings, since it
found in countless triumph songs, seems that succession laws stressed
which "recount the conquests andthe glo- female line. That is why a queen
rious victories of the Egyptians.who . . had
. no children "would have had
They undoubtedly existed from . the . . the right to choose her second hus-
earliest times."47 band and so to determine the succes-
4. In most artistic representations sor to the throne of Egypt."49 Queen
in which two parents and a child were Ankhesenamun, the third daughter of
shown, the latter was their daughter,Akhnaton (or Amenophis IV, 1372-
not their son. 1354 B.C.), wrote the following to
5. Unlike the Babylonians, who had Suppiluliumas, the king of the Hittites,
only one female ruler - Semiramis, when she asked him for one of his sons :
Ninus's legendary wife, who built the"I will never take one of my subjects
walls and hanging gardens of Baby- and marry him."
lon, one of the seven wonders of the 6. "Additional evidence concerning
242 SOCIAL SCIENCE FOE OCTOBEB 1966
the high status of womenshe is found

was a clerkin in her father's office,
myriad ancient Egyptian waswritings.
promoted to administrative posts,
The typical royal document, wasforgovernor
exam- of a province, and
ple, includes not only the king's name,
commander-in-chief of a military dis-
but also the queen's."50 trict. She was one of the most impor-
7. Egyptian women enjoyedtant and wealthy citizens of her
many
legal rights. day."54 Women's occupational emanci-
8. In the Oedipus at Colonus • of revealed by their em-
pation is further
Sophocles, when the Theban ploymentkingas acrobats, workers in tex-
speaks to Ismene about her tile brothers
and food industries, and the like.
Eteocles and Polynices, heOther
complains
women, according to numerous
that they follow Egyptian customs,
ancient documents, functioned as pro-
observing that "there the fessional
men stay mourners.
at In general, it
home and weave, while the seemswives al-most common occupa-
that their
tions were
ways work outside to support thefour.
fam-
a. Priestesses. Chapter 125 of The
ily" (339-341). Similarly, Herodotus
Booh of thebuy
informs us that Egyptian "women Dead includes a picture of
and sell, but the men stay the lady Anhai,
at home andthe famous priestess
in the
weave" ( Histories , II, 35). collegeau-
Other of Amon-Ba, at Thebes.
thors have stated that "Women held b. Midwives. Many important god-
and bequeathed property in their desses,
own as well as mortal females, had
names,"51 and that "In the marriage adopted this profession. It was such
contracts drawn up after the eighth professionals that the government or-
dered "to kill all male children born
century B.C. it was usual for a wife's
property to remain at her disposal, to Israelite women."55 Of course, at
that time, medical training was usual-
while she retained the right of leaving
her husband and of keeping her prop-ly inadequate, thus resulting in high
death rates among mothers and in-
erty together with the bride-gift."82
fants. Still, a few of these women were
On the other hand, a man might trans-
fer most of his own property tosufficiently
his skillful to function even as
great physicians. One of them, for ex-
wife, their children inheriting it after
his death. But landed property, ample,
be- as is indicated by the section
cause it followed the female line, "Women
was and Medicine" of Washing-
enjoyed by a man only as long aston'shis Medical Museum of the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology, cured a
wife was alive, after her death pass-
ing to her daughter and her own hus-boy suffering from poliomyelitis as
band. This explains why Pharaohs early as 3000 B.C.
and many administrators often mar- c. Dancers, musicians, and singers.
ried heiresses, even if these were The
old musicians and singers employed
women or infants. At the same time, various instruments, including gui-
because of such lineage, "althoughtars,
the. harps, and ivory hands - these
eldest son was called 'the supportwere
of played like Spanish castanets.
Dancers, on the other hand, frequent-
his mother,' the daughter, who inher-
ited the parental property, was alsoly performed nude or in diaphanous
responsible for such support. Hercostumes.
ob- Incidentally, the famous
ligation, however, unlike that of ghawazi
her of modern Egypt, who, a few
brother, was a legal one."58 decades ago, used to dance in the
9. "As far back as we can go in streets with concupiscent, Fescennine
gestures and libidinous, lubricious vi-
Egyptian history, no career was closed
in woman's face. It is recorded of brations of the hips, were probably
one woman of the Old Empiredescendants
that of the Pharaohs' dancers.
d. Servants. About 3000 B.C., it clothe her, anoint her, caress her, and
seems that female servants were often make her heart glad as long as thou
sacrificed in the tombs of their mas- li vest."60
ters. In later times, however, only 13. Women "also went on fishing
their statues were buried in these and hunting expeditions together with
tombs. In the master's household, their spouses."61
while male servants usually did the 14. The harems of Egypt, unlike
cooking, female servants baked breadthose of the Orient, included no eu-
and engaged in the most laborious do-nuchs or veils. Indeed, the practice
mestic activity, namely, grinding corn.known as "purdah" (a "Hindustani
This task, which was the servants' word for 'curtain,' taken from the Per-
chief responsibility in wealthy homes, sian pardah, and meaning a screen
was especially arduous and operose in hiding women from the sight of men
earlier times, when the rotary millor strangers, and the system of such
had not been invented as yet. One may seclusion"62) was absent.
also add that " los esclavos tenían al- 15. Like men, women were prom-
gunos derechos legales, tales comoised la eternal life by the religion of
propiedad de sus bienes, incluyendoEgypt. la
tierra, que podían dejar en herencia 16. Finally, a woman could share,
a sus hijos. Algunos de ellos tenían not only the same house, but also the
sus propios sirvientes y les estaba
same tomb with her husband.63
permitido casarse con personas li-Such beliefs, customs, and prac-
bres."56 tices, of course, do not mean - and this
10. In many respects, woman was must be stated most emphatically -
the mistress of her house. that women controlled Egypt almost
11. According to Will Durant, "The completely. As far as we know, genu-
love poems and letters that have comeine matriarchy never prevailed in the
down to us are generally addressed byland of the Nile. On the contrary, men
the lady to the man; she begs for as- were rather dominant in many areas.64
signations, she presses her suit direct- For instance, "not the mother, but a
ly, she formally proposes marriage."57 male relative of hers had the greatest
Numerous other authors have also authority over a youth."65 According
stated that women were permitted to "the youth looked to his ma-
to Baber,
initiate love affairs.88 In the Harris ternal grandfather, rather than to his
Papyrus, a woman expresses her sen-own father, as his most powerful pro-
timents as follows : tector and the one most vitally inter-
ested in his success."66
"I am thy first sister,
And thou art to me as the garden At any rate, "women enjoyed un-
Which I have planted with flowers usually high social status in ancient
And all sweet-smelling herbs. Egypt. But when the country began to
decline and the influence of the sur-
I directed a canal into it,
That thou mightest dip thy hand intorounding patriarchal societies became
it prevalent, the status of women also
When the north wind blows cool."59 declined."67 "Under the Ptolemies,"
for example, "the influence of the
12. In the Papyrus Prisse, which Greeks was so great that freedom of
contains two books of practical wis- divorce, claimed in earlier times by
dom, one by Kagemna and the other the wife, became the exclusive privi-
by Ptah-Hotep, a contemporary of lege of the husband," particularly
King Assa, we read: "Love thy wife among the upper classes.68 And when
and do not quarrel with her. Feed her, Emperor Augustus conquered Egypt
adornment for
(August 1, 30 B.C.), "All respect of women, who were fond
women was lost."69 of having his image carved on the han-
Before closing this section, two dles of their mirrors, rouge boxes and
more things should be added re- scent bottles.'"1
garding ancient Egyptian women. Notes
First, as myriads of tomb reliefs in
1 Proia, Epitomon Engyclopaedicon Lexicon ,
Egypt, as well as various works of artsecond edition, Athens: Proia, 1955, p. 225. Need-
in the Fourth Egyptian Room of the
less to add, this theory, like certain of the addi-
British Museum, indicate, the women
tional theories presented in this study, is not ac-
cepted by all experts. It seems unnecessary, how-
of the Nile, especially those in the
ever, to engage - in an essay such as the present
upper classes, were usually slender,
one - in interminable altercations and polemics re-
graceful, and broad-shouldered. It garding the accuracy of the various sources con-
sulted. It is equally unnecessary to introduce com-
was this type that influenced the art
plex analyses and wearisomely protracted explana-
of Crete Island, where Egyptian tions of "inconsistencies," since these are not
genuine, in view of ancient Egypťs extremely
ideals were half-Hellenized, and thatlong history and institutional heterogeneity, as
later led to the esthetic bisexuality ofwell as of myriad social changes from millennium
the Greeks. Of course, as the famousto millennium. Besides, does the reader have to
be reminded of various 20th century social insti-
Queen of Punt and, particularly, her tutions and great (?) statesmen, regarding which
young daughter in Cairo's Egyptianand whom modern experts (?) are indefatigably
Museum (formerly reliefs in Hatshep- and prolifically producing books and articles that
are replete with incredible inconsistencies and
sut's temple at Deir el-Bahari) evince,diametrical opposites? Moreover, is it necessary to
at least a few women were exceeding-add that analogous problems are also typical of
the natural sciences? Perhaps someday, some-
ly corpulent and steatopygous. where, someone will discover a mysterious socio-
Second, to beautify themselves, be-psychological unit, invent a wondrously objective
sides employing mirrors and red-and absolutely exact system of quantification and
measurement, and thus create a Utopian social sci-
ocher rouge for the lips, women usedence. Until then, let us be patient, kind, under-
"cosmetic devices such as eye and standing, generous, and charitable!
face pigments, perfumes, hair dye,New*J. B. Bury, The Ancient Greek Historians,
York: Dover, 1958, p. 50.
wigs, cleansing unguents and elaborate * " L'Égypte ," in Pierre Ďeffontaines, Géographie
make-up kits."70 ín the Papyrus ofUniverselle Larousse , Paris: Larousse, 1959, Vol-
Ani, when Ani speaks to Osiris in theumeVirtually
2, p. 54.
all passages from ancient works in-
Hall of Maat, he mentions the use of cluded in this study have been translated by the
myrrh by women (CXXV, 16). In hispresent author.
5 G. S. Ghurye, Cities and Civilization , Bom-
Ďeipnosophists, Athenaeus also statesbay: Popular Prakashan, 1962, p. 126.
that there were many kinds of wine in 6 Proia, loc. cit.
'See, also, Ray Erwin Baber, "Marriage and
the valley of the Nile, adding the fol-Family Life in Ancient Egypt," Social Forces,
lowing: "Superior to these is that of March 1935, p. 409. For two brief articles on the
Antylla, a town not far from Alexan-same subject, see Panos D. Bardis, "The Ancient
Egyptian Family," Indian Sociological Bulletin,
dria, the taxes from which were given in press; "Marriage and the Family Among the
by the Egyptian kings of that time . . . Ancient Egyptians," Revista del Instituto de
to their wives in order to buy girdles" Ciencias Sociales, in press.
8 James Henry Breasted, The Dawn of Con-
(33f). Ancient sources further inform science , New York: Scribner. 1947, p. 118.
us that wigs, which were made of •Concerning various funerary practices among
sheep's wool or human hair, were sel-the ancient Egyptians, see a scholarly and fas-
cinating essay by Dr. G. S. Ghurye, one of Indiai
dom worn at home, since they weregreatest social scientists, in his Anthropo-Sociologi-
enormous and elaborate, and since thecal Papers, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1963,
climate was extremely warm. Finally,pp. 080-94.
S. E. Frost, Jr., Essentials of History of Edu-
it is interesting that Bes, the gro-cation, Great Neck, New York: Barron's, 1947,
p. 7.
tesque, malformed, hirsute, and ridic- 11 E. A. Wallis Budge, Osiris, New Hyde Park,
ulously grinning god of childbirth, New York: University Books, 1961, Volume 2,
"also presided over the toilet andpp. 160-161.
"Paul Christian, The History and Practice of

Marriage , New York: Macmillan, 1903, p. 122.
Magic , New York: Citadel. 1963, Volume 1, p. 82. 40 Bardis, op. cit.
"For further comments regarding Min, see 41 Vern L. Bullough, The History of Prostitu-
Ghurye, Cities and Civilization , op. cit., pp. 123-tion, New Hyde Park, New York: University
126. Books, 1964, p. 24.
"Robert Briffault, The Mothers, New York: 42 Bardis, op. cit.
Macmillan, 1927. Volume 2, p. 74. 48 Rene A. Wormser, The Story of the Law,
"Ray E. Baber, Marriage and the Family, New New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962, p. 9.
York: McGraw-Hill, 1939, p. 87. 44 Bullough. op. cit., p. 23.
"W. F. Edgerton, Notes on Egyptian Mar- 45 Geoffrey Parsons, The Stream of History, re-
riage, Chiefly in the Ptolemaic Period, Chicago: vised edition, New York: Scribner, 1933, p. 247.
University of Chicago. 1931. 46 See Bardis, op. cit.
"Baldwin H. Ward, editor, Pictorial History 4T Margaret A. Murray, The Splendor That Was
of the World, revised edition, New York: Year, Egypt, revised edition, New York: Hawthorn,
no date, p. 40. 1963, p. 303.
"Emory S. Bogardus, The Development of 48 Dunan, loc. cit. See, also, Richard N. Frye,
Social Thought, fourth edition, New York: Long- The Heritage of Persia, New York: New Ameri-
mans, Green, 1960, p. 29. can Library, 1963, pp. 56, 79, 121.
"James H. Breasted, A History of Egypt, sec- 0. R. Gurney, The Hittites, Baltimore: Pen-
ond edition, New York: Scribner, 1959, p. 85. guin, 1964, p. 31.
20 William C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt, 50 Bardis, op. cit.
Cambridge: Harvard University, 1953-1959, Vol- 81 Bullough, loc. cit.
ume 1. p. 219. 52 Sait, op. cit., p. 139.
21 Felix Marti-Ibañez, editor, The Epic of Medi- 68 Bardis, op. cit.
cine, New York: Potter, 1962. p. 47. "George A. Dorsey, The Story of Civilization,
* Émile Littré, editor, Oeuvres completes ď New York: Halcyon, 1931, p. 574.
Hippocrate, Paris: Baillière, 1839-1861, Volume 8, Palmer D. Edmunds, Law and Civilization,
p. 415.
Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1959,
"Warren R. Dawson, "Early Ideas Concerning p. 26.
Conception and Contraception," in Medical Help Panos D. Bardis, "Abraham Lincoln y su
on Birth Control, London: Putnam. 1928, p. 197.
24 Bardis, "The Ancient Egyptian Family," op. filosofía sociopolitica relacionada^ con la esclavi-
cit. tud: Un ensayo histórico Revista del Instituto
de Ciencias Sociales , No. 6, 1965, p. 311. See, also,
25 Una Bernard Sait, New Horizons for the F am- Archie J. Bahm, The World's Living Religions,
ily, New York: Macmillan, 1938, p. 173. New York: Dell, 1964, p. 238.
"Ibid., pp. 173-174.
27 Bardis, op. cit. "Durant, The Story of Civilization, New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1942, Volume 1, p. 166.
"Elmer Ď. Johnson, Communication, New 58 For instance, John A. Wilson, The Culture
York: Scarecrow. 1960, p. 22.
29See Isaac Asimov, The Intelligent Man's of Ancient Egypt, Chicago : University of Chicago,
Guide to the Biological Sciences, New York: 1951, pp. 201-203, 214; W. M. Flinders Petrie,
Pocket Books, 1964, p. 281. Social Life in Ancient Egypt, New York: Hough-
ton Mifflin, 1923, pp. 110-120.
80 Howard Becker and Harry Elmer Barnes, So-
cial Thought from Lore to Science , third edition, op. 59 See Bardis, "The Ancient Egyptian Family,"
cit.
New York: Dover, 1961, Volume 1, p. 102. See, 60 Ibid.
also, Panos D. Bardis, "Hero, the Da Vinci of
Alexandria: His Aeolosphaera and Other Inven- 61 Ibid.
tions," School Science and Mathematics, June 62 Panos D. Bardis, "The Family in India,"
1965, pp. 535-542. Archive of Economic and Social Sciences, Janu-
81 Panos D. Bardis, "Evolution of Pi: An Essay ary-March 1958, p. 74, note 2.
in Mathematical Progress from the Great Pyramid Cf. Panos D. Bardis, Main Features of the
to Eniac." ibid.. Januarv 1960. nn. 73-78. Ancient Hebrew Family," Social Science, June
82 Panos D. Bardis, "Symmetrical Consonance 1963,ofpp. 168-183; "Family Forms and Variations
Play, Rhythm, and Harmony: An Essay of Historically
Plato's Considered," in Harold T. Christen-
Mathematics," ibid., January 1963, pp. 52-67. sen, editor, Handbook of Marriage and the Fam-
ily . Chicago: Rand McNallv. 1964. nn. 403-461.
D. E. Smith, History of Mathematics, New
York: Dover. 1951. Volume 1. d. 49. 64 S. R. K. Granville, Daily Life in Ancient
Egypt, London: Routledge, 1930, pp. 15-17.
84 Barnes, An Intellectual and Cultural History
of the Western World, third edition, New York:Bardis, The Ancient Egyptian Family," op.
cit.
Dover, 1965, Volume 1, p. 74. See, also, A. T.
66 :Baber, op. cit.. p. 84.
Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire, Chicago
University of Chicago. 1959, pp. 8-9. 67 Bardis. op. cit.
Dunan, Histoire Universelle, Paris: Larousse,
88 Durant, loc. cit.
1960, Volume 1, p. 27. 99 S. Rappoport, History of Egypt, London:
86 Keith Gordon Irwin, The Romance of Writ-
Grolier Societv. 1904. Volume 1 n äftß
ing, New York: Viking, 1956, p. 14. /° Glenn Sonneďecker, Kremers and Urdang's
87 Bardis, "The Ancient Egyptian Family,"History
op. of Pharmacy, third edition, Philadelphia:
cit. Lippincott, 1963, p. 7.
"Ibid.
"Paul Hamlyn, Egyptian Mythology, London:
89 Edward Westermarck, The History of Human
Hamlyn, 1965, p. 114.

Marriage and Family

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Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences

Marriage and Family Customs in Ancient Egypt: An Interdisciplinary Study: Part I

"Hail, Usekh-nemmet, who comest C. Mathematics and the Whole That

the groom by the father of Aegyptiaca

first, inexpensive stews could besuddenly se- appear in pools of water

other words, a woman daily watered

ents. On the contrary, many duties

A. General Features of Education view of the strong relationship be-

on potshards, namely, bits of broken

Unfortunately, the people of thecity

be obtained by one of thewhich spousesexisted

the high status of womenshe is found

"Paul Christian, The History and Practice of

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