april2017

exuality in ancient Egypt was open, untainted

by guilt. Sex was an important part of life - from birth

to death and rebirth. Singles and married couples

made love. The gods themselves were earthy enough

to copulate. The Egyptians even believed in sex in

the afterlife. Sex was not taboo. Even the Egyptian

religion was filled with tales of adultery, incest, homo-

sexuality and masturbation... with hints of necrophilia!

Masculinity and femininity itself were strongly linked

with the ability to conceive and bear children.

...Revel in pleasure while your life

endures

And deck your head with myrrh. Be

richly clad

In white and perfumed linen; like the

gods

Anointed be; and never weary grow

In eager quest of what your heart

desires -

Do as it prompts you...

Lay of the Harpist

Marriage

To the ancient Egyptians, the most attractive wom-

en tended to be the fertile ones. A women who had

children was seen to be more fortunate than ones

without. Taking after Isis, the mother goddess of

Horus, Egyptian women strove to be intelligent,

wise, mystical and mothers. Where her twin sis-

ter Nephthys was barren, Isis was fertile.

In the Egyptian community, men had to prove their

masculinity by fathering children, while the women

had to be able to bear these sons and daughters. Be-

ing a mother meant being able to keep her marriage

secure and to gain a better position in society.

But an Egyptian family was not just a status

symbol - the Egyptians loved their children and

were not afraid to show it. But there were some

advice to parents, written by scribes:

Do not prefer one of your children

above the others; after all, you never

know which one of them will be kind to

you.

-- Tyldesley, J.A. 1995,

Daughters of

Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt

, p. 68

Adultery in Egypt was wrong. Women got the

worst punishment for adultery - a man might

just be forced into a divorce, but a women

could conceivably be killed for that crime. In

the

Tale of Two Brothers

, the adulterous wife

was found out, murdered and her body was

thrown to the dogs.

Unmarried women, on the other hand, seem

to be free to choose partners as they so

desire, and enjoy their love life to its fullest.

Itinerant Performers and ‘Prostitutes’

The Egyptian sacred ‘prostitute’ (who was

probably a highly regarded as a member

of Egyptian society because of her as-

SEXY GLAM

MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2018