The roles of women and families in an Egyptian and Mesopotamian culture share some similarities and differences. In both cultures, women take care of their family as the central element of the family; a mother and a wife. In contrast, Egyptian women have more authority in their role as women than Mesopotamian women. Their strict guidelines in marriages, in both cultures, are also unique and a bit disturbing. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, women were more valued and respected if they had royal blood. Women's roles differed greatly between the ancient societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, whose territories make up what is now Iraq and parts of Iran, Turkey, and Syria. . For the most part, ancient women in Egypt enjoyed more rights and privileges than their Mesopotamian counterparts in matters of marriage and property. Even though women's roles are different in the two societies, I feel they are still the same in how men view them as their property and slave. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Marriages and families were very important in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, but their way of handling marriage bothers me a lot. Young women married around the age of 12 or during puberty in both cultures. Females that age are in sixth or seventh grade and are still trying to graduate high school and go to college. Women of both cultures have never had the opportunity to make their own decisions. Marriage is considered a duty in their society. They do not consider marriage to be a holy and sacred union, but rather a union that appeals only to the flesh. The roles of Mesopotamian women are very rigid and defined. Their role as wives was always to be her father's daughter or her husband's wife. This is very common in today's society. Women could only be allowed to act as individuals unless their husbands had power and status, or she was not a royal family. In other words, if her husband had not held a position of authority and wealth, she would have been despised. I slightly disagree with this statement, men nowadays love money and will give up truth and justice for it. I believe that a woman should not be defined by a man, because there are good women without husbands, good men without wives, good husbands and wives who are married, and husbands and wives who should not be together, but they agree as they put it things in order, only if things are done well; men are the heads of families. So, in Mesopotamian society, they did not believe in a woman, without a husband, with power and status. I believe this is what defines a woman, who has a husband, who shares the same belief in doing what is right in the eyes of God. God created man and woman; for every woman there is a man made especially for her; vice versa. Buying wives from fathers was common in Mesopotamia, but this type of practice became less common after 3000 BC. In marriages, a woman living in Mesopotamia could do or go anywhere she wanted, including conducting business, if she had her husband's permission or if she was a widow. I agree with this statement to some extent. Husbands are considered the leader and protector of their wives and families, but asking for permission from the husband in everything is a bit much, in my opinion. Women of both cultures practice the same marriage philosophy. The married woman, as we see today in traditional families, becomes an integral part of the familyHusband. An interesting aspect was that if her husband died, she had to marry one of his brothers or any other close male relative of her husband in the Mesopotamian culture. How can a man or a relative of his deceased brother or relative marry a close family member? wife? In my opinion, I think this is very ungodly. This practice is also similar in ancient Egyptian culture. A female pharaoh, considered adio (divine), could not marry a mortal. As a result, pharaohs chose spouses from within the royal family. For example, Hatshepsut married her half-brother Thutmose. This kind of practice appears to be pure and holy, but I believe that a righteous person anointed by God will judge this practice as unholy. According to the code of Hammurabi, wives were bought and sold extensively. Each woman had to accept the sexual advances of a stranger in exchange for a silver coin to fulfill a duty to the goddess in Mesopotamian culture. Women are not treated like wives, I feel women have been degraded by men in this culture. Women had no rights of their own. Mesopotamian women were treated less than a wife. The groom's father wielded considerable power in Mesopotamian weddings. For example, he could give the bride to one of the groom's brothers in the event of the groom's death or dissatisfaction with the marriage. Women were raised by a train as a child to become a wife, mother and housekeeper. If they came from a family that was not run by priests or scribes, they could not attend school, because they were not considered to belong to a royal family. This is an example of what I meant; women are degraded and not treated with value. The practice of marriage in ancient Egypt makes more sense than in Mesopotamia to some extent. Even though women marry at a young age, parents choose appropriate partners for their daughter or son. It was suggested that women made more family decisions and controlled the home more than usual. The husband did not have total control over his wife's property. Women may have been more independent in ancient Egypt. Women were more respected and appreciated than the women of ancient Mesopotamia. Egyptian wives were more recognized and respected. Egyptian law recognized women's right to initiate and execute divorces. Women retained ownership of their property when they entered into marriage. In Mesopotamia, women would not inherit their husband's estate if there were eligible male heirs. In the 18th century, the Code of Hammurabi granted women the ability to divorce and own property under certain circumstances, although the code also treated women as property. Women also shared the same equality as men in ancient Egypt. In many ancient Egyptian artistic approaches, we see women supporting or embracing their husbands, perhaps even protecting them. So, in a sense, the woman could be the protector, probably associated with the patron goddess. Women in ancient Egypt also contributed their skills to society, including helping with the harvest, as professional musicians, dancers, temple staff members, and festival guests. There are scenes of women in weaving workshops and tomb inscriptions about women's professional involvement. Women worked in political, religious, and funerary settings. As described, women were more independent and share the same equality as men. Women were not slaves to their husbands nor did they have to ask their husband for permission to do or go anywhere compared to Mesopotamian women. Women were not treated as individuals if their husband did not have high position and status. Women gave honor and respect to men in Egyptcompared to the women of Mesopotamia. The Egyptians preferred to be ruled by a woman with royal blood (being divine according to mythology) rather than by a man who had no royal blood. This makes a lot of sense. A person with royal blood is said to be anointed or chosen by God. This person is also considered a servant of God. Another name for a person with royal blood in Egyptian society is called pharaoh. Furthermore, in ancient Egypt, a woman's daily routine in taking care of her family was, starting at dawn, having to wake up her husband and children. for work and school, maintain the family altar, prepare breakfast, clean up afterward, tidy up the house, make sure the house is free from pests and rodents, bring water from the well, ensure grain supplies and other supplies are safe from contamination or parasites, take care of children if they were young, provide for the needs of other members of the extended family if they were elderly and pets; make sure they are healthy, take care of her personal garden, prepare the afternoon and evening meals, take care of weaving and sewing clothes, do the laundry, greet her husband and children when they come home from school and work, serve dinner , after cleaning, feeding pets, putting small children to sleep and getting ready for bed. Some women even choose to work from home despite the overload of work they have in their daily routine. Therefore, Egyptian women are highly respected, because they show the character of a real woman at its best. They've also proven they can do just about anything; in maintaining a home and providing for one's family. Most young women in both cultures were trained from childhood to be good wives, mothers, and housekeepers. This was the only role they played in society. I think it was very brilliant to train them at an early age, make them become more independent and responsible, and most importantly, a great wife. This was a good habit that was passed down from generation to generation; be trained to become a wife and mother. I respect and honor them for showing and sharing the role of a woman with other cultures or societies. There was a special woman in Egypt who was successful, among many others. During the New Kingdom period, the most famous of God's wives was Pharaoh Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE). She was the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Egypt, ruling for 20 years in the 15th century BC. She is considered one of the most successful Egyptian pharaohs. The strange thing about Hatshepsut is that she chose to rule as a man and consistently presents herself as male for much of her reign. I guess because men were in control and are considered the leader, Hatshepsut respects this fact. Women in Mesopotamia, as a polytheistic religion, are called priestesses, some of them are powerful. Some families even sell their daughter to the temple, in exchange for a priestess in the family. Families could also sell their daughter into prostitution or slavery. At that time the Mesopotamians did not consider this practice something wrong or degrading. They called it sacred prostitution along with secular prostitution, which takes place in their temple. In Egypt, there is a difference in the role of women compared to Mesopotamia. An important position a woman can hold in their religion, was God's wife of Amun. There were many "God's wives". God's Wife was a special name given to women, who belonged to the upper class, who assisted the high priest in ceremonies and took care of the god's nature. As time passed, their position increased, during the Third Intermediate Period (1069 – 525.