Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt - Hardcover

Tyldesley, Joyce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670848387 ISBN 13: 9780670848386

Publisher: Viking, 1994

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

During the dynastic period (3000 BC - 332 BC), as the Greek historian Herodotus was intrigued to observe, Egyptian women enjoyed a legal, social and sexual independence unrivalled by their Greek or Roman sisters, unrivalled, indeed, by women in Europe until the late nineteenth century. They could own and trade in property, work outside the home, marry foreigners and even live alone without the protection of a male guardian. Furthermore, women fortunate enough to be members of the royal harem were vastly influential, as were those rare women who rose to rule Egypt as 'female kings'. Joyce Tyldesley draws upon archaeological, historical and ethnographical evidence to piece together a vivid picture of daily life in Egypt - marriage and the home, work and play, grooming, religion - all viewed from a female perspective. She has an engaging eye for incidental detail and draws fascinating parallels and contrasts between the ancient and our modern world.

About the Author:

Joyce Tyldesley, holder of a doctorate from Oxford University, is Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Oriental Studies at Liverpool University, England. She is the author of Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh and Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Eygpt.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0670848387
• ISBN 13: 9780670848386
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336