Women in RVC’s
1) Great Death Pit - Sumar. Ur, around 2500 B.C.
The Sumerians believed their kings and
queens were divine, and that ordinary
humans were created for the service of the
gods. At the site of the ancient city-state
of Ur, archeologists uncovered sixteen
royal graves. That of Queen Shub-ad
shows her buried with a fancy headdress of gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian.
She carries an exquisite gold cup in her
hand. Buried with her were six men and sixtyeight richly adorned women - mostly ladies in waiting wearing
huge gold earrings, necklaces of precious stones. gold and
silver hair ribbons. Their sleeves, cuffs and bottom hem of
their coats were enriched with beads or rings in shell or metal.
Slaves and musicians also gave their lives in order to attend to
their divine queen after her death.
2) Enheduanna. Daughter of King Sargon of Akkad. Highpriestess of Moon-God temple. Ur. ca. 2300 B.C.
Enheduanna is the first known female poet in history. Her
poems of praise to gods and goddesses were highly popular in
her time. After her father's death, the new ruler of Ur removed
her from her position as high-priestess. She wrote of this
injustice:
"Me who once sat triumphant,
he has driven out of the sanctuary.
Like a swallow he made me fly from the window,
My life is consumed.
He stripped me of the crown appropriate for the high
priesthood.
He gave me dagger and sword - 'it becomes you,' he said to
me."
3) Prayer to Goddess Ishtar
"Gracious Ishtar, who rules over the universe, Heroic Ishtar,
who creates humankind, who walks
before the cattle, who loves the
shepherd... Without you the river will
not open the river which brings us life
will not be closed, without you the
canal will not open, the canal from
which the scattered drink will not be
closed... Where you cast your glance,
the dead awaken, the sick arise; The
bewildered, beholding your face, find
the right way...”
Goddess Ishtar, leading a king
by the hand Ca. 1700 B.C.
4) Letter from Assyrian business woman to her merchant
husband. ca. 1900 B.C.
"One heavy cloth to Ashur-Malik I gave previously for his
caravan trip. But the silver from it he has not yet brought me.
....When you send the purse, include some wool. Wool in the
city is costly."
Women in RVC’s
5) Laws in the Hammurabi Code
"If a [woman wine-seller] does not accept [grain]
according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes
money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn,
she shall be convicted and thrown into the water." (#108).
"If a married lady who is dwelling in a man's house sets
her face to go out of doors and persists in behaving herself
foolishly wasting her house and belittling her husband, they
shall convict her and, if her husband then states that he will
divorce her, he may divorce her; nothing shall be given to her
as her divorce-money on her journey." (Law #141.)
"If a married lady is caught lying with another man,
they shall bind them and cast them into the water. If her
husband wishes to let his wife live, then the king shall let his
servant live." (#129)"
"If a man wishes to divorce his first wife who has not
borne him sons, he shall give her the amount of her purchase
money and the dowry which she brought from her father's
house, and let her go." (#138)
"If a woman quarrel with her husband, and says: "You
are not congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be
presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part,
but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this
woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's
house." (#142)
6) Women’s Rights, Ancient Egypt
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Share equally with their husband any wealth both partners
acquired within their marriage.
Conduct business on their own.
Own and sell property.
Represent themselves in court.
Make a will giving their wealth to whomever they wish.
Adopt children.
Go out in public and be in mixed company with men.
7) Tomb painting of reunion of husband and wifein the
afterlife, Ancient Egypt
8) An ancient stone tablet depicting Cleopatra VII and her
son, Ptolemy XV, Alexandria, Egypt ca. 44 B.C.
Women in RVC’s
9) Ancient Indus Valley sculpture of woman
11) Sculpture of woman, Harappa
12) Queen Fu Hao, Shang Empire, ca 1200 BCE
10) Dancing Girl sculpture, Mohenjo Daro, ca 2500 B.C.
She married King Wuding, and with an army of 13,000 at her
command, she was the Shang general with the largest number
of troops during the reign of Wuding. She directed campaigns
against the Jiang, Tu, Ba and Yi peoples, with key Shang
generals reporting to her. King Wuding gave Fu Hao a fiefdom
on the borders of his empire, from which she could defend his
borders and launch assaults against foreign peoples. In
addition, Fu Hao served as a high priestess, conducting
sacrifices to appease Heaven and honor the ancestors. After Fu
Hao's death, Wuding buried his beloved queen in a grand tomb
filled with thousands of exquisite works of art.
13) Dr. Judy L. Larson, director of the National Museum of
Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, on ancient
Mesoamerican culture
"Women were not only daughters, wives, mothers, and
grandmothers, but also healers, midwives, scribes, artists, poets,
priestesses, warriors, governors, and even goddesses in preColumbian society."