Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. The word polygamy consists of two sections: polys “many” and gamos “marriage” Polygamy literally means “often married” in Late Greek.
Polygamy in ancient Egypt was not common; however there was no restriction in the ancient Egyptian religion or law obliged monogamy. In normal conditions the ancient Egyptian man had only one wife, but sometimes with the agreement of the wife he could take another one.
The control of polygamy was economic wise that was the main reason of not being common in the lower class of the Egyptians. The second marriage needed some financial abilities, as there was a gift of marriage, as well as a compensation given to the first wife for being married to another wife after her, plus the expenses of the second family; so polygamy was mainly found among the elite class of the community.
Many ancient Egyptian scenes and texts show that royalty and high officials could have secondary wives. The harem of the king might have reached several hundreds. For example, king Amenophis III had his wife Queen Tye and he was given his secondary wife the Mitannian princess Tadukhepa coming with her as a gift for the king about 317 beautiful ladies. King Ramsiss II had many …show more content…
The maximum number known was six wives. This was the case of Mry aA (Mayor, from the 6th dynasty). The common number of wives was two wives. Diodorus of Sicily stated that the ancient Egyptian priests could only have one wife, while others could have more than one wife. This is not totally accepted as some cases were found where the men with multi wives, held several priestly positions like: the wab- Priest, such as the wab-priest Dwamnw of the 5th dynasty; the Lector Priest, such as the lector priest Mry aA of the 6th dynasty; the sm Priest, as Djhotmosi of the 18th dynasty; and the High Priest as Mryre of the 7th
Polygamy in ancient Egypt was not common; however there was no restriction in the ancient Egyptian religion or law obliged monogamy. In normal conditions the ancient Egyptian man had only one wife, but sometimes with the agreement of the wife he could take another one.
The control of polygamy was economic wise that was the main reason of not being common in the lower class of the Egyptians. The second marriage needed some financial abilities, as there was a gift of marriage, as well as a compensation given to the first wife for being married to another wife after her, plus the expenses of the second family; so polygamy was mainly found among the elite class of the community.
Many ancient Egyptian scenes and texts show that royalty and high officials could have secondary wives. The harem of the king might have reached several hundreds. For example, king Amenophis III had his wife Queen Tye and he was given his secondary wife the Mitannian princess Tadukhepa coming with her as a gift for the king about 317 beautiful ladies. King Ramsiss II had many …show more content…
The maximum number known was six wives. This was the case of Mry aA (Mayor, from the 6th dynasty). The common number of wives was two wives. Diodorus of Sicily stated that the ancient Egyptian priests could only have one wife, while others could have more than one wife. This is not totally accepted as some cases were found where the men with multi wives, held several priestly positions like: the wab- Priest, such as the wab-priest Dwamnw of the 5th dynasty; the Lector Priest, such as the lector priest Mry aA of the 6th dynasty; the sm Priest, as Djhotmosi of the 18th dynasty; and the High Priest as Mryre of the 7th