In ancient Egypt a woman’s role in life was to be a wife and mother. Women probably married in their early teens. They were expected to run the household and bring up the children. Many died young as a result of problems during pregnancy and childbirth.

Wife

A married woman was referred to as ‘Lady of the House’. This title occurs on stelae (inscribed slabs of stone or wood) and in documents. Women from richer families had servants. In poorer families women would do all the work. The poorest women probably worked outside the home as well as looking after the family.

A rich family might have furniture such as a table and beds in their home. Poor families did without. Probably the women made their own household goods like cleaning brushes and storage baskets, or traded for them at a market.

Mother

The ancient Egyptians believed that some of the gods looked after women especially, so women would wear amulets (protective charms) of those gods for protection. The hippopotamus goddess Taweret, the dwarf god Bes and the frog goddess Heket were thought to help women in childbirth. Women also probably offered small clay fertility figures to the gods, to ensure that they had children. The relationship between mothers and sons was often strong. Men would make offerings of statues, for example, for their mother’s protection.