Religion in Old Kingdom Egypt
Religion was an integral part of life in ancient Egypt, for women as well as for men. Women of the household maintained ancestor cults and kept shrines in their homes dedicated to deities especially caring of women, such as the goddess Taweret, and the bandy-legged dwarf Bes. Both these divinities were involved in guarding the woman and child through the pregnancy and childbirth process.
Bes
In addition to the domestic observances and household shrines, many women of the elite class also participated in religious life and temple service, from the Old Kingdom onwards. The husbands of these women were often among the highest officials in the land. Women also often held jobs or had careers outside the temple, and left to do their time of service in the temple. One woman who supervised a royal weaving studio wrote in a letter how she had to leave her job to serve her month of temple duty.
Hundreds of non-royal women are known to have served as priests, or hmt-ntjr, in the cults of goddesses like Hathor and Neith. In the Old Kingdom women also served as prophets in the cults of the gods Thoth and Ptah. Wives of kings were also often priestesses in the Hathor cult.
The title priestess of Hathor remained a common one for women into the Middle Kingdom. Some priestesses of Hathor bore the title of Mrt, which is a title for women attested from earliest times. Their duty was to sing and play music to greet the king and the deity at the temple, but some Mrt priestesses apparently were responsible for managing the fields and estates, and ultimately, the financial security, of the cult center of their goddess.
The records of the province of Kusae give an idea of just how much prestige and probably wealth went along with the prophetship of the Hathor cult. Three generations of one noble family were leaders of the local temple. The governor was the overseer of priests and the women of his family were the priestesses.
It is clear that social or economic status affected a
Bes
In addition to the domestic observances and household shrines, many women of the elite class also participated in religious life and temple service, from the Old Kingdom onwards. The husbands of these women were often among the highest officials in the land. Women also often held jobs or had careers outside the temple, and left to do their time of service in the temple. One woman who supervised a royal weaving studio wrote in a letter how she had to leave her job to serve her month of temple duty.
Hundreds of non-royal women are known to have served as priests, or hmt-ntjr, in the cults of goddesses like Hathor and Neith. In the Old Kingdom women also served as prophets in the cults of the gods Thoth and Ptah. Wives of kings were also often priestesses in the Hathor cult.
The title priestess of Hathor remained a common one for women into the Middle Kingdom. Some priestesses of Hathor bore the title of Mrt, which is a title for women attested from earliest times. Their duty was to sing and play music to greet the king and the deity at the temple, but some Mrt priestesses apparently were responsible for managing the fields and estates, and ultimately, the financial security, of the cult center of their goddess.
The records of the province of Kusae give an idea of just how much prestige and probably wealth went along with the prophetship of the Hathor cult. Three generations of one noble family were leaders of the local temple. The governor was the overseer of priests and the women of his family were the priestesses.
It is clear that social or economic status affected a