Women had more freedom than their counter parts in Mesopotamia, for instance, but never as much as Paris Hilton and pals. Egyptians married young, very young indeed, and, in royal families, between themselves. Childbirth was dangerous but encouraged in ancient Egypt - prosperity was a goal for everyone and that included having a big family.
The love and sex lives of the Egyptians were as complicated as they are today. Turin's famous Erotic Papyrus assures us that the Egyptians were sexually adventurous, with a penchant for naked belly-dancing, and collections of love poetry from the Amarna era reveal that they were also big romantics.
According to Angelina Jolie in recent news “fidelity is not essential in her relationship with Brad Pitt”, but adultery is one of the oldest reasons for divorce, death and depression - the 3 D’s - and in ancient Egypt as in most of the modern world, women often still file for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Divorce was legal and the problems arising from it were usually when it involved property that had to be divided. The bigger the stake - the bigger the battle, as the recent multi-million divorce case between ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Heather Mills clearly illustrates.
The love and sex lives of the rich and famous captivated the less fortunate in ancient Egypt just as the romances of Jordan and Peter Andre or 'Bradjelina' do today. The alleged affair between Hatshepsut and Senenmut clearly occupied the minds of workers at Deir el-Medina - one of them drew a caricature of their love affair in an ostracon. Then, as now, there would always be somebody who didn't approve!
