| The women in ancient Egypt
were treated better than any other major civilizations
in the ancient world. Home and family were of
great importance to the ancient Egyptians. Love
and emotional support were important parts of
marriage, so women were respected greatly.
Women were regarded as totally
equal to men as far as the law was concerned.
They could sign contracts, own property, have
employees or borrow money.
Unlike the modern western world,
women's clothing in Ancient Egypt tended to
be more conservative than that of men. A simple
sheath dress held up by two shoulder straps
was the normal dress for women in this time.
The most important of all the fashion accessories
was the wig. Egyptians were proud of their wigs,
because they could keep their hair short and
use their wigs to help keep them protected outdoors,
and help keep lice away. Eye makeup was regularly
used to provide protection from the glare of
the sun and from disease bearing insects. Red
ocher was applied to the lips and cheeks for
the same reason women use makeup today.
The Mistress of the House
was in charge of running the home, and among
the well-to-do that would have been quite a
responsibility. It involved the management of
many servants and an extensive inventory of
supplies. The largest estates would have had
a male scribe on staff to record detailed inventory,
and it is quite possible the mistress kept track
of everything else in her head.
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