Tattoos and Ancient Egypt
Analysis of the Fundamental Usage of Tattoos in Ancient Egypt Compared with that of Ancient Greece and Rome
Getting a tattoo inked upon one’s body is an extremely popular practice in today’s world. This form of bodily artwork symbolizes multiple aspects: a sort of coming of age right, rebellion against society, and, most pointedly, a clear form of individual expression. While tattooing is well practiced in the modern era, it actually has its roots in ancient culture. Ancient civilizations practiced the art of tattooing liberally and for different social and political reasons. Tattoos were an important form of cultural expression to both the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptians, however, the meaning behind this artwork varied between the two societies.
The Function of Tattooing in Ancient Egypt: According to research done by the Smithsonian Institute of Philadelphia, the practice of tattooing was almost exclusively female. There have been long standing assumptions that tattoos were decorated upon the bodies of women who have been described of “dubious character”, such as prostitutes, dancing girls, and concubines; and were apparently meant to protect these women from sexually transmitted diseases (Lineberry). Cate Lineberry, a Smithsonian historian, disregards that assumption and claims that Ancient Egyptian women tattooed themselves during pregnancy for therapeutic measures due to the intense, unequivocal pain that childbirth during that time period. Lineberry’s reasoning is that there are multiple cases of tattooed tributes to Bes, an Egyptian goddess who was a protector of women in labor, and of net-like designs around the abdomen, which expanded in a protective fashion as a woman went into labor similarly to how bead nets were placed over a mummy to protect the woman and to, as Lineberry describes, “keep everything in”. The reasoning for an individual to get a tattoo in Ancient Egypt was a rather profound and serious decision, and the main reasons
Getting a tattoo inked upon one’s body is an extremely popular practice in today’s world. This form of bodily artwork symbolizes multiple aspects: a sort of coming of age right, rebellion against society, and, most pointedly, a clear form of individual expression. While tattooing is well practiced in the modern era, it actually has its roots in ancient culture. Ancient civilizations practiced the art of tattooing liberally and for different social and political reasons. Tattoos were an important form of cultural expression to both the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptians, however, the meaning behind this artwork varied between the two societies.
The Function of Tattooing in Ancient Egypt: According to research done by the Smithsonian Institute of Philadelphia, the practice of tattooing was almost exclusively female. There have been long standing assumptions that tattoos were decorated upon the bodies of women who have been described of “dubious character”, such as prostitutes, dancing girls, and concubines; and were apparently meant to protect these women from sexually transmitted diseases (Lineberry). Cate Lineberry, a Smithsonian historian, disregards that assumption and claims that Ancient Egyptian women tattooed themselves during pregnancy for therapeutic measures due to the intense, unequivocal pain that childbirth during that time period. Lineberry’s reasoning is that there are multiple cases of tattooed tributes to Bes, an Egyptian goddess who was a protector of women in labor, and of net-like designs around the abdomen, which expanded in a protective fashion as a woman went into labor similarly to how bead nets were placed over a mummy to protect the woman and to, as Lineberry describes, “keep everything in”. The reasoning for an individual to get a tattoo in Ancient Egypt was a rather profound and serious decision, and the main reasons
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