PDF Women of Jeme: Lives in a Coptic Town in Late Antique Egypt (New Texts from Ancient Cultures) by Terry Wilfong in History

Review

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. A useful and much needed addition to women's studiesBy hapixiiThis is a well-written book about women in Egypt from the late Byzantine to the early Arab rule of Egypt; or 6th-8th centuries AD. The book is based on the author's research using textual; archaeological and iconographic documentation excavated from the ruins of a Christian-Egyptian; Coptic; village; called Jeme. The primary audience of this book would include students and researchers of Egyptology; Coptology and Women `s studies; however the book would be of interest to a wider circle of readers. This book is a good addition to several previously published books about women in Egypt e.g. Gay Robbins about women in ancient Egypt; Sarah Pomeroy and Jane Rowlandson about women in Hellenic and Roman Egypt. It extends the study of women in Egypt to late antiquity.The prevailing culture of ancient Egypt accorded women an equal status with men; with major emphasis on the family. Records from ancient Egyptian mythology and history include many independent and highly-respected women e.g. Isis an ancient Egyptian goddess whose worship expanded beyond Egypt to major cities in the Roman empire; and several capable rulers including Nitocris; Nefertiti; Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. Ordinary women were no less independent or capable. They engaged in trade; farming; and various crafts. They owned property and were full partners to their husbands in religious and social lives. The ancient Egyptian legal system recognized the equality of men and women. Though Greeks and Romans considered the status of women in ancient Egyptian to have been somewhat strange; women in Egypt continued to enjoy equality in the Hellenic and Roman eras. It is interesting to note that women; including those from Hellenic and/or Roman origin; preferred Egyptian courts; as they were culturally attuned to equality between men and women. But whereas a woman could represent herself in an Egyptian court; she needed a male representative "Kirios" to represent her in a Roman court.The book shows that many Coptic women in Jeme took advantage of the relative mobility and independence available to them and acted outside the family and home as well as in it. Women were deeply involved in the economic; social and religious life of the town. However omens of a much diminished status for women after the Arabs conquest were on the horizon; as women shied away from pursuing legal proceedings in courts presided by Arab rulers or their assistants; and preferred instead to resort to proceedings in their local Coptic communities.The book reviewed writing by one of the local bishops Pisentius 599-632 AD to illustrate what the expectations and ideals may have been for women's lives in that time. Pisentius writing emphasizes chastity; marriage and avoidance of divorce. Pisentius's writing led the author to conclude that the bishop and like-minded writers may have considered women as secondary derivations from men and hence inferior. This conclusion in our view may not be justified. Pesentius exhortations in the 6th century AD are not that much different from Protestant and Catholic preachers exhortations in the 21ist century. Contemporary American preachers also exhort men and women to pursue a life of virtue; get married; raise families and be responsible parents. This is not considered to delegate women to a secondary or inferior status. The book however indicates that Coptic women seemed to occupy a strikingly visible and active position in Jeme documentation was in contrast to the rather vague notions the author had about women's status after the coming of Christianity. The author further adds that these vague notions are hardly accurate.The book' s review for the lives of women in Jeme further focuses its intensive scrutiny on a few well-documented individuals to enable the assessment of broader trends in that era. The book reconstructs the lives of several women such as Elizabeth and her niece Abigaia; and Koloje who took a very active role in the economic life of Jeme and environs.The author concludes her book by exploring how did Jeme come to an end. After 785 AD the documentation breaks off abruptly and the inhabitants of Jeme disappear. One plausible explanation given for the disappearance of Jeme may have been the struggle for power between the Arabic Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties.This is a well-written book that aficionados of Egyptology; Coptology and women's studies would find to be both informative and entertaining.