while they may have been publicly and socially viewed as inferior to men, Egyptian women enjoyed a great deal of legal and financial independence. They could buy and sell property, serve on juries, make wills and even enter into legal contracts. Unlike the women of ancient Greece, who were effectively owned by their husbands, Egyptian women also had the right to divorce and remarry. Egyptian couples were even known to negotiate an ancient prenuptial agreement. These contracts listed all the property and wealth the woman had brought into the marriage and guaranteed that she would be compensated¹ for it in the event of a divorce.

尽管埃及女性可能被公认为低于男性，但她们在法律和经济上享有极大的独立性。她们可以买卖财产，担任陪审员，立遗嘱，甚至签订法律合同。古希腊的女性属于她们的丈夫，但埃及女性则不同，她们也有离婚和再婚的权利。广为人知的是，埃及夫妇甚至会商定一份旧式的婚前协议。这些协议列出了婚前女方带来的所有财产，并保证一旦离婚，女方将得到补偿。

Gypsy is a short name for "Egyptian". Gypsies were originally thought to have come from Egypt and some of the earliest references to them in English, dating back to the 16th century, call them "Egyptians". They were accompanied by a legend that they had been expelled from Egypt for trying to hide Jesus. A genetic² analysis of 13 Gypsy groups around Europe, published in Current Biology journal, has revealed that the arrival on the continent of their forebears from northern India happened far earlier than was thought, about 1,500 years ago.

埃及人又被简称为“Gypsy”（吉普赛人）。吉普赛人最早被认为是从埃及来的，英语中一些早至十六世纪的纪录把他们称为“埃及人”。与他们一同到来的还有一个传说，说他们是因为企图藏起耶稣才被从埃及放逐的。但《当代生物学》期刊上一篇涉及13个吉普赛族群的遗传学分析则显示他们的祖先是在约1500年前从印度北部来到欧洲的，这比大家想的要早得多。