Family Life in Ancient Egypt

Family life in ancient Egypt bore a few resemblances to that of ours today. However, in other ways, the Egyptians were far ahead of many of today's cultures.

Family was particularly important to the Egyptian way of life, particularly among the lower and middle class. While in-fighting, treachery, and selfishness was common among the ruling class, those qualities had very little place in the life of the everyday Egyptian.

Children were held in extremely high regard. Most families averaged around four or five children in spite of the inherent dangers that childbirth carried back in those days.

Likewise, the elderly were highly revered. That might have been partly due to the fact that few men or women lived beyond the ripe old age of 40, but that wasn't the only reason. The elders of the family were respected for their wisdom and experience. It's too bad that was one of the Egyptian lessons we failed to take to heart in modern times.

Marriage almost always took place right after the onset of puberty. Girls as young as 12 and boys no older than 14 often entered into a marriage contract. Although there was no formal wedding ceremony that took place, a document was drawn up that spelled out exactly what each member of the couple brought into the marriage.

Those who wished to keep their property within the family would often introduce their children to cousins or other distant family members in hopes of a union that would keep everything in place. Unlike many other cultures of that time, however, women were not required to marry someone that was chosen for them. They were free to marry the individual of their choice.

In most cases, newly married couples lived with the husband's parents until such time as they had raised enough money to build their own home. It was not uncommon for as many as four or five families to live together under one roof at the same time.