5. Merit Ptah Was a Physician to the Pharaoh
In Ancient Egypt, women were not always treated as second-class citizens. In fact, during the second dynasty of the third millennium BCE, Merit Ptah was a female scientist who served as a physician in the royal court. Inscriptions bearing her name in the Valley of the Kings indicate that she actually attended to the pharaoh himself. During this period, women frequently were able to hold positions in the healthcare field, not only as midwives (an occupation that was traditionally only held by women) but also as physicians. In fact, some medical schools were exclusively for women!
Together with her contemporary, Peseshet, Merit Ptah is considered to be the first female physician and possibly one of the earliest identified female scientists of all time. Few details are known about Merit Ptah’s life, but she is known to have had a son, who became a high priest; this fact indicates that she was from a wealthier family. It is unclear whether or not she made any discoveries or contributions unique to the field of health care, but her position as a doctor in the pharaoh’s court, being a female, is in itself a contribution to the part of women in science. There is a picture of her in the Valley of the Kings, which ascribes to her the prestigious role of “Chief Physician.” Today, a crater on the planet Venus is named in her honor.