Earthly and Divine Mothers in Ancient Egypt

Abstract

The pictorial and textual record of ancient Egypt (ca. 3000 B.C.–A.D. 200) is rich with documentation about motherhood. This chapter discusses the reality of being a mother, how mothers were regarded by society, their expected roles and duties, fertility and family size, bareness and the tradition of adoption, and family planning including pregnancy tests and contraceptives. Aspects of civil law will also be examined, especially the care of children following divorce, and annuity contracts (a form of alimony to financially provide for a divorced woman and her children).

Mythical motherhoods include a discussion of the role of the goddesses Mut (whose name literally means “mother”), Isis and Hathor, male mothers and male creator gods, and the concept of children born of an androgynous parent.