her’s death. Iris as a wife and mother devoted her time to raise a child who would understand the importance of the family, and he would fight back against those who took his away. The primary purpose of marriage in ancient Egyptian society was to build a family. The family was the center of the Egyptian society, and it was the woman’s, wife and mother, role to keep it a keel, so that new generations could be born. The father was the head of the family, but the wife had a good deal of power too, the home was her domain. The success of a home was the wife’s responsibility. Husbands and wives yearned for children. Children both brought them the simple joys of parenting, but in the ancient Egyptian culture, children also provided security for their elderly parents. The eldest son was born into the position of being his parents’ caretaker, and he would inherit his fathers business. Also children increased a woman’s status in society, she was seen as succeeding at her job.The Egyptian children were the link to future generations, but they were also expected to reciprocate the care their parents gave them, especially to their mothers. Children were to carry out the primary roles in the funeral. Children were charged with the responsibility of caring for their dead ancestors. They brought offerings to the tombs of their ancestors at special times of the year; it was their duty to make sure that they were taken care of in the afterlife.There was no limit to how many children a family could or would have. The society saw that a family should have as many children as possible, a large family was looked upon as a blessing both of good fortune, but it also meant that there would more people to care for the tombs of the dead relatives. If a family was unable to have children, the Egyptians had adoption, adopted children were taken in with no hesitation, and they were a vital part of the family.Although wome...
