by Joshua J. Mark (one of the sources for my "Women in the Ancient World" presentation)
19 October 2016
"Hatshepsut (r. 1479-1458 BCE) was the first female ruler of ancient Egypt to reign as a male with the full authority of #pharaoh. Her name means 'Foremost of Noble Women' or 'She is First Among Noble Women'. She began her reign as regent to her stepson Thutmose III (r. 1458-1425 BCE) who would succeed her.
"Initially, she ruled as a woman as depicted in statuary but, at around the seventh year of her reign, she chose to be depicted as a #MalePharaoh in statuary and reliefs though still referring to herself as female in her inscriptions. She was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty during the period known as the New Kingdom (c. 1570 to c. 1069 BCE) and regarded as one of the most #prosperous and the era of the Egyptian Empire.
"Although she is sometimes cited as the first female ruler of Egypt, or the only one, there were women who reigned before her such as #Merneith (r. c. 3000 BCE) in the Early Dynastic Period (probably as regent) and #Sobeknefru (r. c. 1807-1802 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom and #Twosret (r. 1191-1190 BCE) after her toward the end of the 19th Dynasty. Hatshepsut, though not the first or last, is undoubtedly the best-known female ruler of ancient Egypt after #Cleopatra VII (r. c. 69-30 BCE) and one of the most successful monarchs in Egyptian history."
So, I had to talk about #Sparta! A warrior society focused on war, women had more rights than their #Athenian counterparts -- and were encouraged to be physically fit and prepared to fight to defend their homeland.
Sparta
Unlike their Greek counterparts, the women of Sparta had a lot more freedom and status. They were educated, since they would be in charge of keeping the homeland running smoothly while the men were at war – but they were also strong and able to defend themselves and their homeland.
Spartan men and women lived in separate quarters – even while married. Married couples would leave their respective quarters to procreate, and Spartan wives were required to have short hair and sometimes wore men’s clothing.
Amongst married couples, the Spartans were relatively #polyamorous, and women were not punished for infidelity.
Getting late. I'll finish up tomorrow morning with "Women's Occupations", "Notable Roman Women", "Priestesshood," and, of course, the Bibliography! #AncientWomen#AncientHistory
While a married #Roman woman was focused on the “functioning of complex Roman households” (Nagle, 103), women who had achieved independence could own and manage their own “property just like males” (Rawson, 84).
Women could also “apprentice” (Lefkowitz, 208) in certain occupations, become entertainers or prostitutes, or serve as priestesses – however, “lucrative trades (armaments, books, animals)” (Lefkowitz, 219) were dominated by men.
“Sacred service roles” (Connelly, 31) such as Cult #Priestesses a way for a woman to be something other than just a wife and mother, but those positions were usually reserved for those from “prominent families” (Connelly, 31).
Young women could become #Vestals, married women could be priestesses (though those positions were usually inherited – Connelly 42), and #postmenopausal women also held positions of prominence (Connelly, 43).
An ancient priesthood of #Hera at Olympia involved “sixteen elderly women” (Connelly, 45), based on a “board of #FemaleElders once chosen from sixteen cities” (Connelly, 45) who negotiated “#peace between two cities’ (Connelly, 45) who had been at war.
“Priestesses seem to have initiated and negotiated #laws, #amendments, and penalties for transgressions” (Connelly, 214). Some priestesses wielded enormous influence: the Pythia of Delphi “could move scores of people to action” (Connelly, 219), and a #Pythia “is credited with having provided #Lykourgos with the #Spartan system of government”.