The nuclear family was the core of Egyptian society and many of the gods were even arranged into such groupings. There was tremendous pride in one's family, and lineage was traced through both the mother's and father's lines.

The Egyptian system was family centered, and the terminology for marriage and divorce was the same for both sexes; adultery was defined in family terms and condemned for both men and women, and sex by unmarried individuals seems not to have been a major concern.

Astronomy, medicine, geography, agriculture, art, and civil law--virtually every aspect of Egyptian culture and civilization--were manifestations of religious beliefs. Most aspects of Egyptian religion can be traced to the people's observation of the environment.

A historical perspective is especially useful in thinking about the family and the moral values that contribute to our ideals of family life. In ideas about the sad state of the contemporary family, there is almost always some explicit or implicit historical narrative.

Woman on a bed Baked clay, pigment Third Intermediate Period, Dynasties 21-22, ca. 1070-715 B.C. Luxor, Medinet Habu, excavated by the Oriental Institute