It is quite hard to imagine, but human civilizations along with the development of human culture already exist for thousands of years. Many things have changed with the course of time and many civilizations simply died out, leaving after themselves numerous open questions and riddles for historians and anthropologists. One of the most interesting ancient civilizations with outstanding culture was Egypt. Among all its cultural peculiarities the idea of woman and her role in society seems to resemble the modern one in many aspects.
The life of Egyptians was closely connected with their gods and cults of them. Every god had its own unique sphere of influence. Gods were both male and female, that was the first sign of gender equality. Moreover, the list of goddesses was quite numerous and some of them were playing major roles in deterring fates of the ancient Egyptians.
• Neith was associated with the primordial waters of newly created Egyptian world and her character symbolized the balance of feminine and masculine, the absolute harmony.
• Isis taught people agriculture and gods worship. She was the most worshipped goddess in the Ancient Egypt.
• Hathor was believed to be a goddess of fertility and it was her duty to find a husband for unmarried girls.
• Ma’at symbolized justice and order. She was also responsible for relationships between people and their connection with gods.
Joshua J. Mark also described some of the minor goddesses: “Tenenet was the goddess of beer,
Hatshepsut had to overcome many challenges in order to maintain control over the Egyptian region. This included shattering traditional stereotypes through the utilisation of propaganda. As Hatshepsut consolidated power in a society were females were inferior to men it proved a great challenge. Along with this belief the Egyptians believed that the ideal pharaoh was an image of the god Horus. Scholar Kate Narev affirms, the pharaoh was believed to be the living embodiment of the male god Horus (Narev, 2014).
She has been revered as a god since the Second Dynasty, primarily in Lower Egypt. Over time, her appearance and abilities
Some of them was Inti and he was the most important to the Inca. Mama Quilla and she was the goddess of the moon. Pachamama and when was goddess of earth and she was responsible for farming and harvest. Viracocha and this was the first god who created the Earth. Supay was the god of death.
How Plutarch Represents Isis as the Model of an Ideal Woman Introduction Isis is an Egyptian goddess who is portrayed in the form of a woman who wears a throne that is headdress shaped and holds in her hand an Ankh. On the other hand, Osiris is the husband to Isis who is also a god in the ancient Egypt. Plutarch through her representation of Isis as the ideal woman believes in a woman’s education that she considers a recognizable goal. She directly tells Clea out rightly not to believe in the myths of Isiac since they do not represent the truth.
In ancient Egypt all women were considered house wives. Their main roles in society were to bare sons and take care of the household. Even though women’s jobs seem unimportant, men and women were both considered as equals in ancient Egyptian culture. In history, a few women were considered above men and had large impacts on Egyptian society. Why is this?
Isis was another goddess that the ancient Egyptians believed in. She was the patron of health, marriage, magic, commoners, nature, and wisdom to the ancient Egyptians. Her affiliation with these aspects of life, especially magic and health, made Isis pivotal to the ancient Egyptian religion and the ancient Egyptian culture. Isis is described as a woman who adorns a headdress shaped like a throne who holds a Ankh in her hand. An Ankh is an object which resembles a cross but having a loop at the top.
Back then in 3000 B.C.E., there were people who worked for a special kind of kings, and those kings were honored as much as gods were. The kings (also known as pharaohs) were known for many accomplishments which explains why they were important. The pharaohs made a difference to Egypt; whether it will be a female pharaoh, which was Hatshepsut, or a pharaoh that was a master builder, which was Ramses II. The pharaohs of Egypt (including Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Pharaoh Ramses II) accomplished many achievements. One important pharaoh was Pharaoh Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh that achieved a few achievements.
For instance Lady Reason states, “Believe me, despite what you’ve read in books,you’ve never seen such a thing, because it’s all pack of outrageous lies” (785). Lady Justice is presented with a container of gold given for rewards to those who have remained loyal, and righteous. Not to mention, Lady Rectitude who holds the rule that separates right from wrong, in other words good from evil. Each tool is used to represent what was expected of women as well as to help build the kingdom of women. In the same manner, The goddess are the personification of wisdom, morality, and good behavior.
Women continued to play a large role in Judaism and their role actually increased over time as people began to accept their importance and significance. Without women, Judaism truly would not be what it is today and would be without many of its core values simply due to being without women. It is because of this that the role women play in Judaism is so important. People need not solely look at men to see the true accomplishments of Judaism, but look at both men and women. The two are capable of different things, and they are both fully necessary to the religion, its prospering, and its foundation of
Lastly is Demeter. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, harvest and fertility. She's the daughter of persephone whom Hades took away to the underworld because he was madly in love with. She is known for her symbols of bread, wheat, the cornucopia, and the torch. These three gods are very powerful but often
(“Greek Mythology: Demeter”) Demeter was basically the goddess of famine and hunger. Like most of the Greek gods, she represented a force of nature, which means she could bring either blessing or curse. It has been said Demeter taught the art of agriculture to Triptolemus, who then spread this knowledge to the rest of mankind. (“Greek Mythology: Demeter”) (“Facts About Demeter the Greek Goddess”) (“Goddess of Agriculture & Horticulture”)
In Egypt, Isis was essentially the mother goddess who used magic spells to protect her son, Horus, while Osiris was the god of the dead, as well as ruler of the Underworld. In Egypt, Isis was worshipped simply for her magical powers which protected Horus, because people sought to use similar powers for themselves. “Soon the force of ‘magic’ comes to serve highly egoistic and aggressive purposes, especially in love charms, and the magician thinks nothing of threatening the
Demeter is a revered character in Greek mythology and one to be taken seriously as a character in mythology. Myths about Demeter explain the reasons for winter and why nothing grows. She is highly respected for making sure that crops are growing so people would not starve. If she did not do her job humans would die of hunger. She is also important because she taught Triptolemus the art of agriculture and how to cultivate crops.
The civilizations in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient China all displayed diverse roles of women in their society but among these civilizations, I believe living in Ancient Egypt is the most suitable civilization living as a woman.
2. Economic and legal standing Both the Roman and Egyptian societies in the ancient world were predominately ruled by the male gender, men were the rulers and lawmakers, in ancient Egypt, however, women were their own mistress and were accorded the same legal rights as men from the same social class. When it came to property and locus standi, women in Egypt enjoyed similar freedom in performing legal acts as women do in today’s modern society. All landed property was passed down through the female line, from mother to daughter. Egyptian women, irrespective of their marital status, could inherit, buy, and sell property.