Ancient Egyptian Secular Poetry Essay:
Nicholas Freitas
Group C 10-13-15
The lives of the ancient Egyptians were dictated by vast and complex social and religious
traditions. Archeological evidence suggests that men and women were viewed very differently in
ancient Egyptian society: while men were regarded strong, dominant, and powerful, women were
viewed as weak, subordinate, and ineffectual. These views arose in part from the religious idea
of maat: the force of balance, truth, and justice. Maat established women as having a
supplementary role to men. Despite this, the secular poems recovered from the site of Deir elMedina demonstrate that women had a complementary role to men, and that each woman was
vitally important to her male counterpart. These poems provide a perspective of balance between
the societal importance, physical capability, and religious significance of men and women, which
contrasts traditional beliefs of Egyptian society and the religious concept of maat.
These secular poems contrast the idea that men were regarded as having greater importance
than women in ancient Egyptian society. Traditionally in the lower social classes, women tended
the home and children whereas men had occupations that provided money for the family. In the
upper social classes, such as those in the government, women were supposed to provide silent
support for their husband and act as a figurehead for the family. Across the society, they were
seen as supplements to the power of their husbands. However, the authors of Deir El-Medina
give modern readers a deeper insight into how women were actually regarded. The poems’
personal qualities allowed the authors to express their true feelings about other people, separate
from societal norms. The male and female authors regard their respective love interests very
similarly, despite their gender differences. For example, one male author referred to a woman as
“the sister without peer.” Similarly, a female author referred to a man as “youth who has no
peer.” The poem “I Wish I Were Her Laundryman” shows how some men could regard women
as even more important than themselves, despite the common view of men being superior. The
author stated that he wished he could get close to the woman he loved, even if it meant he had to
become her laundryman. This woman was regarded so highly that the author was willing to
lower his societal position to be closer to her. Collectively, the poems show that men and women
were treated with equal importance in ancient Egyptian society.
Although conventional beliefs regarded women being as physically inferior to men in ancient
Egypt, the poems of Deir El-Medina show a perspective of equality between them. In many
illustrations men were depicted as much larger than women, emphasizing their superiority.
However, these poems indicate that men and women considered each other as physical equals. In
several poems, the author experienced pain and sickness without his or her lover. The author of
“Sickness Invaded Me” described how his limbs became heavy and his body weak when his
lover left him. This contrasts the typical view of the vitality and resilience of men. Similarly, the
author of “My Brother Overwhelms My Heart” is effected by sickness without her lover. These
poems also show that strength can be restored through the union of lovers; in “It Is Her Love that
Gives Me Strength,” the narrator had the power to cross the Nile during flood time to be reunited
with his lover. The common theme in these poems of men and women becoming ill and only
being remedied by their love demonstrates the view of physical equality of men and women in
ancient Egypt.
Contrasting with the ancient religious view of maat, women were considered religious equals
of men by the authors at Deir El-Medina. Maat was the force of order and truth, and dictated
specific societal positions between men and women. Under the religious code of ancient Egypt,
men were supposed to have vitality and dominance whereas women were supposed to show
timidity and inferiority. However, the poems show no clear distinction between the “dominant”
qualities of men or women. In “How Well She Casts the Noose” the narrator compared his love
with a woman to a noose around his neck, leading him on. This imagery depicts the man as being
submissive and the woman as dominant, which is contrary to the period’s societal beliefs.
Additionally, these poems show that women were held in higher religious esteem than maat
would traditionally dictate. The author of “The Sister without Peer” even compared his lover to
the sun, a profoundly important religious symbol. Maat dictated that women should be
supplementary to the role of men, but these poems show the perspective that men could not
survive without women; in this way men and women were equal. As demonstrated by their
religious importance and their lack of subordination to men, women were religious equals to men
in ancient Egypt.
Although traditional ancient Egyptian societal and religious beliefs considered women
inferior to men, these poems provide a perspective that shows equal societal importance,
physical capability, and religious significance between men and women. The educated authors of
Deir El-Medina wrote poems that expressed their personal views, which were separate from
officially held social or religious notions of the period, such as the concept of maat. Because of
this, these poems provide modern readers a perspective which will most likely lead to a more
accurate understanding of the mindset of ancient Egyptians than other works of Egyptian
literature, such records or propaganda produced by the Egyptian government. The gender
equality expressed in these poems demonstrates a disparity between the official beliefs of ancient
Egypt and the beliefs actually held by the general populace.