Incestuous and Close-Kin Marriage in Ancient Egypt and Persia ─ An Examination of the Evidence

Frandsen (cross cultural studies, University of Copenhagen, emeritus) takes on the topic of the supposedly universal taboo against incest in this study of marriage customs in Ancient Egypt and Persia. Using a wide variety of sources, he posits that marriages between close family members, even parents and children, were not unheard of in these societies, nor expressly forbidden. He was surprised to find that, although Egyptian royalty often married half brothers or sisters, the majority of the population did not until the Greco-Roman period. The Persians seem to have commonly practiced endogamous marriage with no social repercussions. Frandsen is thorough in his examination of the sources and cautious in his conclusions. However, his findings make a good case for further study on the topic. Distributed in the US by ISBS Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)