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ikhet_sekhmetIn his article on Neith, C.J. Bleeker discusses a reference to the goddess and her temple in Plutarch's Isis and Osiris: "In Saïs the statue of Athena, whom they believe to be Isis, bore the inscription: 'I am all that has been, and is, and shall be, and my robe no mortal has yet uncovered.'" Bleeker points out that Neith is the goddess of weaving, and that the last part of the inscription would be better rendered: "no mortal has ever unriddled my web" - that is, "nobody has ever guessed the nature of the goddess Neith".
Sadly, all Neith's temples are now lost, with the exception of Esna. She was probably worshipped since prehistoric times, with Saïs the centre of her cult. Bleeker remarks that "the cult of Neith flourished in several periods which are far apart" - the earliest pharaohs, the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (the Saïtes), and Ptolemaic times.
Bleeker gives a handy list of the gods worshipped at Esna; Khnum, his consorts Nebtu and Menhyt, and his son Heqa; Neith and her sons Tutu and Shema Nefer; and Osiris and Isis. Bleeker emphases the equality of the temples' chief deities, Khnum and Neith, who divided it between them (Neith had the northern part); both were identified with Tatanen (and Neith with Renenutet). He also points out that Neith has children but no consort, as befits an androgynous creatrix.
Discussing Neith's association with weaponry, Bleeker suggests her symbol "represents a case in which two bows are kept", and speculates that the female ka symbol, two crossed arrows in front of a shield, could represent her protection of women. Her arrows could hold off demons. Her bow was carried in ritual procession; another ceremony involved arrows being shot in the four cardinal directions, symbolising her universal victory.
Neith appears in the Am Duat, generally wearing the red crown but without weapons, in the fourth, tenth, and eleventh hours. In the latter, she's shown with four forms (the first two with the white crown): Neith the child, Neith the queen of Upper Egypt, Neith the queen of Lower Egypt, and "Neith fecondée" - Neith the pregnant!
"As Neith also acts as mother of Sebek... it is not surprising that she is represented suckling two crocodiles." Man! I have to find a picture of that. ETA: Ermagherd! (Shades of the Mesopotamia lamashtu, shown suckling a dog and a pig. Also like the antimatter version of Horus on the crocodiles.)
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C.J. Bleeker. "The Egyptian Goddess Neith". in The Rainbow: a collection of studies in the science of religion (Studies in the history of religions 30). Leiden: Brill, 1975.
Sadly, all Neith's temples are now lost, with the exception of Esna. She was probably worshipped since prehistoric times, with Saïs the centre of her cult. Bleeker remarks that "the cult of Neith flourished in several periods which are far apart" - the earliest pharaohs, the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (the Saïtes), and Ptolemaic times.
Bleeker gives a handy list of the gods worshipped at Esna; Khnum, his consorts Nebtu and Menhyt, and his son Heqa; Neith and her sons Tutu and Shema Nefer; and Osiris and Isis. Bleeker emphases the equality of the temples' chief deities, Khnum and Neith, who divided it between them (Neith had the northern part); both were identified with Tatanen (and Neith with Renenutet). He also points out that Neith has children but no consort, as befits an androgynous creatrix.
Discussing Neith's association with weaponry, Bleeker suggests her symbol "represents a case in which two bows are kept", and speculates that the female ka symbol, two crossed arrows in front of a shield, could represent her protection of women. Her arrows could hold off demons. Her bow was carried in ritual procession; another ceremony involved arrows being shot in the four cardinal directions, symbolising her universal victory.
Neith appears in the Am Duat, generally wearing the red crown but without weapons, in the fourth, tenth, and eleventh hours. In the latter, she's shown with four forms (the first two with the white crown): Neith the child, Neith the queen of Upper Egypt, Neith the queen of Lower Egypt, and "Neith fecondée" - Neith the pregnant!
"As Neith also acts as mother of Sebek... it is not surprising that she is represented suckling two crocodiles." Man! I have to find a picture of that. ETA: Ermagherd! (Shades of the Mesopotamia lamashtu, shown suckling a dog and a pig. Also like the antimatter version of Horus on the crocodiles.)
__
C.J. Bleeker. "The Egyptian Goddess Neith". in The Rainbow: a collection of studies in the science of religion (Studies in the history of religions 30). Leiden: Brill, 1975.
