Peseshet
Encyclopedia
Peseshet, who lived under the Fourth Dynasty
, is often credited with being the earliest known female physician
in ancient Egypt
, though another, Merit Ptah
lived earlier. Her title was "lady overseer of the female physicians," but whether she was a physician herself is uncertain. She had a son, Akhethetep
, in whose mastaba
at Giza her personal stela was found.
She may have graduated midwives at an ancient Egyptian medical school in Sais
; midwifery must have existed, even though no ancient Egyptian term for it is known. The Hebrew Bible
– while not a proven source for historical events prior to the 7th century BCE – refers to midwives in Exodus 1,16:
Peseshet's history plays a key role in the 2009 novel Storm Cycle by Roy and Iris Johansen
, which tells the story of an archaeologist seeking to obtain and sell cures and treatments that the novel's Peseshet is said to have discovered, and of a researcher whose only hope of saving her sister may lie in one of those cures.
Fourth dynasty of Egypt
The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...
, is often credited with being the earliest known female physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, though another, Merit Ptah
Merit Ptah
Merit Ptah was an early physician in ancient Egypt. She is most notable for being the first woman known by name in the history of the field of medicine, and possibly the first named woman in all of science as well. Her picture can be seen on a tomb in the necropolis near the step pyramid of Saqqara...
lived earlier. Her title was "lady overseer of the female physicians," but whether she was a physician herself is uncertain. She had a son, Akhethetep
Akhethetep
Akhethetep was a high dignitary of Ancient Egypt who lived during the Fifth Dynasty around 2400 BC. He was a son of Peseshet...
, in whose mastaba
Mastaba
A mastaba, or "pr-djt" , is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period...
at Giza her personal stela was found.
She may have graduated midwives at an ancient Egyptian medical school in Sais
SAIS
SAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
; midwifery must have existed, even though no ancient Egyptian term for it is known. The Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
– while not a proven source for historical events prior to the 7th century BCE – refers to midwives in Exodus 1,16:
- And he (i.e. the king of Egypt) said: When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see them upon the stools...
Peseshet's history plays a key role in the 2009 novel Storm Cycle by Roy and Iris Johansen
Iris Johansen
Iris Johansen is an American author of crime fiction and romance novels.-Biography:Johansen began writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels,...
, which tells the story of an archaeologist seeking to obtain and sell cures and treatments that the novel's Peseshet is said to have discovered, and of a researcher whose only hope of saving her sister may lie in one of those cures.