Antiquities Lecture: When Women Ruled The World
When Women Ruled The World
A woman’s power in the ancient world (and much of human history) was always compromised from the outset, but who were the women who once ruled the richest and most successful state of the ancient Mediterranean during the Bronze Age? Ancient Egyptian female kings, including Hatshepsut and Nefertiti, really did rule against all odds. Given this social reality in the ancient world, how then did women negotiate roles or power and authority? Addressing some of the causes of social inequality in this lecture, Prof. Kara Cooney will go beyond myth and legend to shed light on these female pharaohs and reveal their historical legacy.
Lectures are offered free with the cost of daily admission:
- Art+ Museum Members: Free
- Not-Yet-Members: $25
- College Students: Free
Kara Cooney is a professor of ancient Egyptian art and architecture and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. Specializing in social history, gender studies, and economies of the ancient world, she received her PhD in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. Her books include The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt, When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, and The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World. Her latest books include Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches, Ancient Egyptian Society: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Approaches, and Coffin Commerce.
Image Caption: Bust of Nefertiti (Plaster sculpture, replica; Egypt; Modern, 1933). On loan from the Royal Ontario Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 933.64.10