The topic

In every age and culture, motherhood has been a fundamentally important stage of life. It is desired for various reasons, such as the pleasure of raising children, the importance of having heirs and being fully integrated into society, and the assurance of adhering to one’s obligation toward that society. But it is also a fraught condition, for reasons of comfort and health as well as less obvious or professional considerations.

The first part of this talk will introduce ancient Egyptians' concerns regarding the desire for children, and the fear of infertility. The next will examine pregnancy and birth, both placed under the protection of many apotropaic deities. Finally, the session will conclude with a section on early childhood and adults' perceptions of this initial period of life.

Email us at arce.dc.news at gmail dot com for a link to register for this event.

Our events typically last an hour—50 minutes for the lecture, 10 minutes for Q+A.

Alert: We do not allow recording or imaging of our presentations in any way.

The speaker

French Egyptologist Amandine Marshall is a research associate with the French Archaeological Mission of Thebes West, a scientific advisor for French television, and the director of two bilingual Egyptological channels on YouTube, ToutankaTube (for adults) and NefertiTube (for children and teachers).

She earned her PhD in 2013, researching the topic of childhood in ancient Egypt. She is the author of 29 books, three of which have been published in English: Motherhood and Early Childhood in Ancient Egypt, Childhood in Ancient Egypt, and The Tomb of Tutankhamun, the Other Side of the Story.