Comparing Ancient Egyptian Women to Ancient Greek Women

Comparing Ancient Egyptian Women to Ancient Greek Women
Introduction
Discussions about women’s right are common in the modern world. Today, most
discussions focus on the evolution of feminism in the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries with regards
to the emphasis on women’s suffrage. Notably, feminism occurs as a belief in the cultural,
economic and political equality of women in the society. Feminism is split into three main
waves: first feminism wave, focusing on voting and property rights; the second wave, focusing
on anti-discrimination and equality; and the third wave, focusing on masculinity, femininity,
sexuality, beauty, and womanhood. Feminists express their commitment to eradicating the
conventional patriarchal societal system that regards men as superior to their women
counterparts in society. Feminists strive to transform the conventional power structures to ensure
equality of all people irrespective of their races and genders. Feminists believe that the power
structure transformation would enable all people in the society to enjoy free and dignified life,
equal values and opportunities, and unrestricted participation in community processes. However,
archeology and ancient literature indicate that women empowerment movements emerged in the
ancient human civilizations like ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations. Specifically, women
empowerment programs achieved great success in the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations
by increasing women’s influence in the fields of politics, property ownership, legal processes,
culture and religion, and occupations. The significance of women empowerment movement in
the ancient civilizations will be explored by comparing the experiences of ancient Egyptian
women and ancient Greek women in their respective societies.
Position in the Society

Historical inscriptions and art indicate that women in ancient Egyptian civilization
enjoyed almost the same economic and legal rights as men. Gender equality in the ancient
Egyptian civilizations is associated with the theoretical purpose of Egyptian kingship at that
time. Arguably, pharaoh (ancient Egyptian king) existed as a personification of the ancient
Egyptian empire hence shaping perception regarding the relationship between men and women
in the society. The pharaoh symbolized the corporate identity of the Egyptian society, which
means that gender relationship was viewed from the royal center perspective (Graves-Brown).
The argument implies that gender relationships in ancient Egyptian society differed from the
familiar perspectives in most modern societies. Considering that all people in ancient Egyptian
society shared a common relationship with the pharaoh, then men and women had equal rights.
The argument also shows that men and women had the same right to the throne. Cleopatra VII
(69 BC – 30 BC) ruled Egypt as a pharaoh in the Ptolemaic Period. Although she was a
descendant of key Ptolemaic decision-makers, she focused on uniting the local Egyptian
population. Other ancient Egyptian women that served as pharaohs include Nefertiti (1370 BC -
1330 BC) and Hatshepsut (1507 BC – 1458 BC).
Social dignity in ancient Egypt was determined by an individual’s social status but not
gender. The social classes also significantly influenced legal processes in the ancient Egyptian
empire as opposed to other societies of the time. Although gender equality was accepted in
society, social classes created disparities in the inhabitants’ rights and privileges (Herodotus).
Therefore, women were seen as a part of the stratified Egyptian society based on social classes.
Unlike other societies of the time, ancient Egyptian women enjoyed a high degree of freedom
and opportunities. Gender equality allowed ancient Egyptian women to hold influential and
crucial positions in the kingdom. Women in the ancient Egyptian empire had the rights to obtains

legal contracts like jobs, property, marriage, and separation. A Greek historian called Herodotus
(484 BC – 425 BC) observed that ancient Egyptian women experienced exceptional equality and
fairness in society compared to other ancient societies like Greece and Roman societies.
Herodotus also observed that ancient Egyptian women did not experience “oriental exclusion.
The ancient Greek society, on the other hand, was based on a patriarchal societal system.
Ancient Greek men dominated their female counterparts in the society in the fields of religion,
politics, law, education and commerce (Mann). Ancient Greek paintings, sculptures, and
literature associated the male dominance over women in the society to the religion. Although
ancient Greeks worshipped male and female deities, they assigned supreme ones a masculine
identity. Greeks believed that the goddess of wisdom named Athena originated from a superior
male god. The religion hence portrayed women as inferior to their male counterparts in society.
Additionally, women were expected to perform domestic chores and display submission to their
husbands. Men, on the other hand, were supposed to assume the role of providers and protectors
for their female counterparts. Furthermore, some societies in ancient Greece emphasized the
separation of women from the larger society to boost their productivity in domestic chores. In
Athens, women were expected to live in gynaeceum or gynaikonitis, which were women’s
quarters designed to facilitate monitoring of domestic activities while maintaining minimal
contact with men.
However, not all ancient Greek women were socially excluded. Archeologists have
discovered vases depicting intellectual ancient Greek women, which vases dated between 460
BC and 420 BC. Ancient Greek women from high social classes received benefits like freedom
of interaction with other members of society and education. Women from high social classes
enjoyed some mobility and participated in religious activities alongside men. The rights were

unavailable for lower social class ancient Greek women, including prostitutes, financially
unstable, and slaves. The ancient Greek society hence did not exclude women from religious and
cultural affairs. The pursuit of formal education in ancient Greek society was viewed as an
empowerment strategy. Ancient Greek women’s power and privilege increased with the increase
in the contact between ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. In 332 BC, for instance, a Greek ruler
named Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC) conquered ancient Egypt hence creating an
opportunity for the coexistence of Greeks and Egyptians. Alexander adored the ancient
Egyptians’ social and legal traditions, thus focused on its preservation. Alexander even borrowed
the Egyptians’ legal framework in handling the issues of gender disparity in ancient Greek
society.
Legal Rights
Property Rights
The rights of ancient Egyptian women extended to all the legally defined parts of society.
Legal documents of the ancient Egyptian kingdom indicate that women had legal rights to
purchase, manage, and sell private property. Properties covered by these legal documents are
money, livestock, servants, slaves, and goods. In most cases, women acquired properties through
inheritance from parents or gifts from their husbands. According to the ancient Egyptian property
law, women in the society had claim to a third to family properties, which included wealth
accumulated by her husband during the period of their marriage (Khalil). Notably, women were
allowed to maintain ownership of the properties they brought into the marriage. Women
normally purchased properties using savings accumulated from formal employments. Husbands
were expected to return properties that were legally claimed by their wives after the completion
of a divorce settlement. Women also inherited a third of their husband’s total wealth after their