Daughters of Isis - Joyce Tyldesley Read online

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  DAUGHTERS OF ISIS

  Joyce Ann Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire. She gained a first-class honours degree in archaeology from Liverpool University in 1981 and a doctorate from Oxford University in 1986. She is now Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Oriental Studies at Liverpool University, and a freelance writer and lecturer on Egyptian archaeology. Her other books, which are also published in Penguin, are Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh, Nefertiti and Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh.

  DAUGHTERS OF ISIS

  WOMEN OF ANCIENT EGYPT

  JOYCE TYLDESLEY

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

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  First published by Viking 1994

  Published in Penguin Books 1995

  17

  Copyright © J. A. Tyldesley, 1994

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  ISBN: 978-0-14-194981-9

  For Steven and Philippa Anne Snape

  Contents

  List of Plates

  List of Figures

  List of Maps and Chronologies

  Acknowledgements

  Introduction: The Geographical and Historical Background

  1 Images of Women

  2 Married Bliss

  3 Mistress of the House

  4 Work and Play

  5 Good Grooming

  6 The Royal Harem

  7 Female Kings

  8 Religious Life and Death

  Notes

  Selected Bibliography

  Index

  Plates

  Objects recovered from Professor John Garstang’s Beni Hassan and Abydos excavations are here illustrated by the original excavation photographs of 1904 and 1907–9. Thanks are due to Professor Slater of Liverpool University for permission to reproduce these hitherto unpublished photographs.

  1 First Intermediate Period stela showing the Ladies Hetepi and Bebi, daughters of the Steward Sennedjsui. (Bolton Museum)

  2 The elaborate dress and coiffure of a New Kingdom lady. (Tomb of Ramose, Thebes)

  3 Old Kingdom pair-statue of a husband and wife. (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)

  4 Stela of Iteti, accompanied by his three wives and two of his daughters. (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)

  5 Middle Kingdom family stela featuring the scribal assistant Iy together with his wife, his children, and his parents. The precise role of the six ‘Ladies of the House’ shown towards the bottom of the stela is unknown. (Bolton Museum)

  6 Middle Kingdom model of a female dwarf carrying a child on her hip. (Liverpool University)

  7 The dwarf god Bes. (Graeco-Roman temple of Dendera)

  8 Fragment of an ivory ‘magic wand’ with protective deities. (Liverpool University)

  9 Wooden tomb models of two servant women, each carrying a box and two ducks. (Garstang: Beni Hassan)

  10 Cord fertility dolls of the Middle Kingdom. (Garstang: Beni Hassan)

  11 Reed brush and basket, typical household implements of the New Kingdom. (Liverpool University)

  12a and 12b Large basket containing a foldaway stool. (Garstang: Beni Hassan)

  13 New Kingdom ladies listening to a musician. (Sakkara tomb scene)

  14 Wooden model of a djeryt. (Liverpool University)

  15 The morning toilette of the early Middle Kingdom Queen Kawit, shown on her sarcophagus. (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)

  16 Bronze razor with a handle in the form of a duck’s head and neck. (Liverpool University)

  17 Bronze mirror with lotus-shaped handle. (Liverpool University)

  18 Model sandals from a Middle Kingdom tomb. (Garstang: Beni Hassan)

  19 Ivory and slate bracelet from Nagada tomb of Queen Neith-Hotep. (Liverpool University)

  20 Middle Kingdom cosmetic pots, cosmetic grinder and applicators. (Garstang: Beni Hassan)

  21 Queen Nefertari representing the goddess Hathor on the façade of her Abu Simbel temple.

  22 Queen Hatchepsut receives the royal ibs-crown from the god Amen-Re. (Scene from Hatchepsut’s ‘Red Chapel’, Karnak)

  23 The mortuary temple of Queen Hatchepsut at Deir el-Bahri, Thebes.

  24 The ‘God’s Wife of Amen’, possibly Amenirdis I. (Medinet Habu, Thebes)

  25 The goddess Hathor and the falcon-headed god Re. (Tomb of Nefertari, Valley of the Queens)

  26 The mummy of the Lady Ray. (From Elliot Smith, G. (1912), Catalogue Général des Antiquités Égyptiennes: The Royal Mummies, Institut Français d’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Plate 6)

  27 Tomb of a rich New Kingdom lady. (Garstang: Abydos)

  Figures

  1 Lady carrying goods (after Wild, H., 1953, Le Tombeau de Ti, II, Institut Français d’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Plate 105)

  2 Queen Meresankh boating in the marshes with her mother, Queen Hetepheres (after Dunham, D. and Simpson, W.K., 1974, The Mastaba of Queen Merysankh III, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Fig. 4)

  3 Women fighting in the streets (after Petrie, W.M.F., 1898, Deshasheh, Egypt Exploration Society, London, Plate 4)

  4 Husband and wife statue (after Hornemann, B., 1951–69, Types of Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1191)

  5 Stela of the child Mery-Sekhmet shown in the arms of his unnamed mother (after Hieroglyphic Texts from Egyptian Stelae etc. in the British Museum, 1914, British Museum Publications, Plate 50)

  6 Foreign women and their children (after Bouriant, V., 1893, Le Tombeau de Harmhabi, Mémoires Mission Archéologique Français au Caire, Leroux, Paris, Plate 4)

  7 Pottery fertility figurine (after Hornemann, B., 1951–69, Types of Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 11836)

  8 A prostitute enjoying sex with a client (after Omlin, J.A., 1973, Der Papyrus 55001, Edizioni d’Arte Fratelli, Turin, Plate 13)

  9 A prostitute painting her lips (after Omlin, J.A., 1973, Der Papyrus 55001, Edizioni d’Arte Fratelli, Turin, Plate 13)

  10 The goddess Taweret (after Hornemann, B., 1951–69, Types of Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 929)

  11 The goddess Hekat (after Naville, E., 1896, The Temple of Deir el-Bahari, Egypt Exploration Society, London, Plate 48)

  12 Cross-section and plan of a typical Deir el-Medina house (after James, T.G.H., 1984, Pharaoh’s People, Oxford University Press, Fig. 24)

  13 Woman carrying domestic provisions (after Wild, H., 1953, Le Tombeau de Ti, II, Institut Français d’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Plate
50)

  14 Woman baking (after Hornemann, B., 1951–69, Types of Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1011)

  15 Two New Kingdom ladies attended by a servant at a banquet (after Davies, N. de G., 1963, Private Tombs at Thebes: scenes from some Theban tombs, Vol 4, Oxford University Press, Plate 6)

  16 Lady vomiting at a banquet (after Wilkinson, J. G., 1878, The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, revised edition, Vol 1, William Clowes and Sons, No. 167)

  17 The goddess Seshat (after Bonnet, H., 1952, Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Walter de Gruyter & Co, Berlin, Fig. 399)

  18 Primitive hieroglyphs from Deir el-Medina (after Bruyère, B., 1937, Rapport sur les Fouilles de Deir el-Medineh, Institut Français d’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Fig. 32)

  19 All-female dinner band (after Davies, N. de G., 1963), Private Tombs at Thebes: scenes from some Theban tombs, Vol 4, Oxford University Press, Plate 6)

  20 Female percussion group (after Davies, N. de G., 1933, The Tomb of Neferhotep at Thebes, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Plate 18)

  21 Mourning women from the tomb of Neferhotep (after Davies, N. de G., 1933, The Tomb of Neferhotep at Thebes, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Plate 22)

  22 Trading in the marketplace (after Scheil, V., 1894, Tombeaux Thébains; Le Tombeau d’Apoui, Leroux, Paris, Plate 2)

  23 Trained security monkey arresting a thief (after Moussa, A.M. and Altenmuller, H., 1977, Das Grab des Nianchchnum und Chnumhotep, P. von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, Abb. 10)

  24 Old Kingdom queen wearing a striking red and yellow wig and perhaps the earliest shoulder-pads in the world (after Dunham, D. and Simpson, W.K., 1974, The Mastaba of Queen Merysankh III, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Fig. 7)

  25 Girl wearing a fish ornament in her hair (after Blackman, A.M. and Apted, R.M., 1953, The Rock Tombs of Meir, VI, Egypt Exploration Society, London, Plate 14)

  26 Old Kingdom sheath dress (after Wild, H., 1953, Le Tombeau de Ti, II, Institut Français d’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Plate 39)

  27 New Kingdom fashion

  28 Bronze mirror (after Hornemann, B., 1951–69, Types of Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 963)

  29 Sculptor working on a statue of Queen Meresankh (after Dunham, D. and Simpson, W.K., 1974, The Mastaba of Queen Merysankh III, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Fig. 8)

  30 The pyramid-complex of Senwosret I (after Edwards, I.E.S., 1947, The Pyramids of Egypt, Penguin, London, Fig. 44)

  31 The goddess Maat (after Montet, P. et al., 1947, Les Constructions et le Tombeau d’Osorkon II à Tanis, Paris, Plate 24)

  32 Cartouche of Queen Nitocris

  33 Cartouche of Queen Sobeknofru

  34 Cartouche of Queen Hatchepsut

  35 Hatchepsut as a man (after Naville, E., 1908, The Temple of Deir el-Bahari, Egypt Exploration Society, London, Plate 157)

  36 Hatchepsut being suckled by the goddess Hathor (after Naville, E. and Carter, H., 1906, The Tomb of Hatshopsitu, Constable, London, Plate 58)

  37 Hatchepsut (now erased) with Tuthmosis I (after Naville, E. and Carter, H., 1906, The Tomb of Hatshopsitu, Constable, London, Plate 9)

  38 Cartouche of Queen Nefertiti

  39 Queen Nefertiti (after Bourriant, U. et al., 1903, Monuments pour Servir à l’Étude du Culte d’Atonou en Égypte 1, Institut Français de l’Archéologie Oriental, Cairo, Plate 1)

  40 Cartouche of Smenkhare

  41 Cartouche of Queen Twosret

  42 Woman praying (after Bonnet, H., 1952, Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, Fig. 59)

  43 The sky goddess Nut (after Bonnet, H., 1952, Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, Fig. 133)

  44 Isis (after Bonnet, H., 1952, Reallexikon der Agyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, Fig. 83)

  45 The cobra goddess Renenutet (after Davies N. and N. de G., 1930, The Tomb of Ken-Amun at Thebes, New York)

  46 The two forms of Meskhenet (after Bonnet, H., 1952, Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, Figs 113 and 114)

  Maps and Chronologies

  Maps

  Chronologies

  The Royal Succession: Tuthmosis I to Tutankamen

  Historical Events

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to express my gratitude to all those whose contribution has made this book possible. Paul Bahn, Eleo Gordon and Sheila Watson gave me both encouragement and practical advice whenever necessary. Angela Thomas and the staff of the Bolton Museum cheerfully provided photographic prints, while the members of the Liverpool University S.E.S. photography department, Ian Qualtrough and Suzanne Yee, were unfailingly helpful at all times. Thanks are due to Professor Elizabeth Slater of Liverpool University for permission to photograph some of the previously unpublished objects in the University archaeological collection. Above all, Steven Snape has been a remarkably patient husband, never doubting that this book, started in 1986, would eventually be finished.

  Where possible, this book has included quotations from contemporary documents which give the Egyptians the opportunity to speak for themselves. Those familiar with published Egyptian literature will immediately recognize the immense debt owed to the translation work of Miriam Lichtheim, which has been used as the basis of many of the quotations given.

  The line drawings included in the text have been redrawn by the author from published sources; full acknowledgement of the sources of these drawings is provided in the list of illustrations given on pages xi–xiv.

  Introduction: The Geographical and Historical Background

  Not only is the Egyptian climate peculiar to that country and the Nile different in behaviour to other rivers, but the Egyptians themselves, in most of their manners and customs, exactly reverse the common practices of mankind. For example, the women attend the markets and trade, while the men sit at home and weave at the loom… The women likewise carry burdens upon their shoulders while the men carry them upon their heads… Sons need not support their parents unless they chose, but daughters must, whether they chose to or not.

  Herodotus tells of the wonders of Egypt

  When the Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt at the very end of the dynastic period, he was struck by the topsy-turvy nature of both the land and its people. There was no question about it, Egypt was a very peculiar country. The climate could only be described as unusual, the River Nile behaved like no other river in the classical world, and the relations between the sexes were simply extraordinary. Herodotus had never before encountered women who appeared to be as free as their menfolk, and he was intrigued by their behaviour. As he travelled around the country he made detailed notes of all that he observed, taking every opportunity to participate in local customs and chatting to the locals wherever possible. On his return to Greece he recorded his experiences in a combined travel-guide and history of Egypt; the first book to introduce the exotic and mysterious land of the pharaohs to European readers.1

  Herodotus was quite correct to single out the long thin geography of Egypt as a crucial factor in the development of her people. The River Nile, flowing north through a narrow strip of cultivated land to branch into the separate streams of the Delta, dominated every aspect of Dynastic life, and it would be impossible to gain any insight into the thoughts and deeds of the ancient Egyptians without an understanding of the land in which they lived. As Herodotus himself remarked, in an often-repeated phrase, ‘Egypt is the gift of the Nile.’

  Egypt is an African Mediterranean country with close geographical links with Palestine and the Near East. The first cataract of the Nile, just to the south of the modern town of Aswan, marks the traditional southern boundary of Egypt, although at times of imperial expansion this border was pushed further south into Nubia. Conventionally, this southern region is known as ‘Upper Egypt’ while the northern area including the Nile Delta is known as ‘Lower Egypt’. To t
he north, Egypt is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea. During the Dynastic period the narrowness of the fertile land effectively restricted expansion to the east and west of the Nile, though the deserts were exploited for natural resources as and when required. Egypt maintained fluctuating economic ties with her immediate neighbours – Nubia to the south and Syria and Palestine to the east – while contact with the more distant lands of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Crete led to Mediterranean and Near Eastern influences being absorbed into Egyptian society. However, thanks to her abundant natural resources and her geographical near-isolation, Egypt was able to remain a basically independent and self-sufficient country throughout her long history.

  The Egyptians themselves knew their country as the ‘Black Land’, referring to the all-important ribbon of highly fertile soil which lined the banks of the Nile. The cultivated Black Land was in turn enclosed by the ‘Red Land’, the barren desert and cliffs which were only suitable for the construction of burial grounds and royal tombs. The difference between the fertile Black Land and the infertile Red Land has always been both clear and extreme, and many visitors to Egypt have noted how it is literally possible to stand with one foot in the desert sand and one foot on the green cultivation. This perpetual reminder of the stark contrast between the living and the dead, the fertile and the infertile, left an indelible mark on secular and religious thought, and the constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth became an endlessly repeated theme of Egyptian life.

  All hail the god Hapy who springs out of the earth to water the land!

  You of the secret ways, darkness in daylight, to whom your worshippers sing.

  You flood the fields which Re has made, and give drink to all who thirst.

  Middle Kingdom hymn to Hapy, god of the Nile inundation

  The River Nile allowed the first Egyptians to settle successfully in an otherwise arid part of North Africa by providing a dependable source of water for drinking, cooking, washing and waste disposal. In the absence of major roads and wheeled vehicles the Nile served as the major transport route linking the towns and cities and, as the stream flowed from south to north while the prevailing wind blew from north to south, movement both up and down the country was made very easy for any boat equipped with both an oar and a sail. However, it was the annual Nile inundation or flooding which had a profound effect on the development of Egyptian culture.