Domestic Life
Ashleigh Smith- September 16 & 17, 2015
Why did they only marry people of their own social class?
- Egyptians had a strong sense of family, married only people of their own social class
- No formal or legal ceremonies for marriage
- Divorce was possible; remarriage was possible
Why couldn’t women have their own social position? Why did they have to depend on their husband or father’s social status?
- A woman’s social position depended on their father or husband’s social position
- Women in upper class had very different lives from those in lower class
- An upper class woman’s responsibilities were: raising children, overseeing servants, running the household; no manual work
- Lower class woman’s responsibilities: raising children, running the household, cooking, cleaning, manual work (working in the fields), making clothes.
How were the woman’s rights different from others?
- Women of all classes had certain individual rights
- They could own or rent property and were entitled to an equal share in any inheritance left by a deceased father or husband
- Women were equal to men in laws
- They could go to court against someone and had the responsibility of answering to their own actions in court
Why did they marry at such a young age? What did they do to entertain themselves?
- Married at young ages: 12 for girls and 14 for boys
- Children that didn’t attend school participated in family activities
- They played games such as leap frog, tug of war, and a popular board game called Senet
- Adults also played Senet
- Senet rules: Players battled against the forces of evil to try and reach the underworld kingdom of a god called Osiris
- Children also played with balls, dolls and toy animals; boys would pretend to be soldiers and girls would play games involving dances
- Many Egyptians died at young ages; usually before turning five
- Kids would be accepted as full members of society when they reached puberty
- (Image) https://www.google.com/search?q=senet+ancient+egyptian+paintings&biw=1670&bih=837&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzZSViZL-xwIVAhc-Ch1Pdw9H#imgrc=Ip9r9xF1iWrQdM%3A September 16, 2015. Web.
- (Image) https://www.google.com/search?q=court+in+ancient+egypt+paintings&biw=1670&bih=837&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIpJPVhJP-xwIVgkA-Ch3M0Af3#tbm=isch&q=tomb+paintings+of+ancient+egyptian+upper+class+families&imgrc=OOsrVKLYBPa0kM%3A September 16, 2015