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embalming was already practised, though in a comparatively rude fashion. We are also informed that by a decree of King Bai-en-neter of the second dynasty, women were declared capable of succeeding to the crown—a statement which is only in harmony with all that we know of the position of women in ancient Egypt.[1]
One remarkable monument of these early dynasties remains.
The Libyan hills, running from north to south, form the western boundary of the Nile valley. Along their base there is a rocky platform of considerable breadth, at a height of some 90 or 100 feet above the plain. This vast platform was used as the necropolis of Memphis—Ank-ta, 'Land of life,' they called it. For the space of twenty miles in the neighbourhood of the city,
- ↑ That position was in remarkable contrast to the subjection and seclusion of the Asiatic harem, and was superior to that assigned to women in the domestic and social life of Greece itself. The Egyptian was the husband of one wife, and she was regarded as the honoured mistress of the household; the companion, not the slave or inferior, of the man. In sculptures and paintings she is constantly seen sitting by his side; she joins him in receiving and welcoming guests, and freely takes her part in the occupations and enjoyments of social life. In the tombs and memorial chambers of the dead, husband and wife are still represented side by side.
