Written by: Remoon Gorkhali - 24004, Grade X
Posted on: 23 February, 2022
Neith was an early Egyptian deity who was said to be the prime creator of the universe and said to govern all that is within it. She was also the goddess of cosmos, fate, wisdom, water, rivers, mothers, childbirth, hunting, weaving, and war. Neith was the patron deity of Sais (an ancient city in Egypt) where her cult was centered in the western Nile Delta of Lower Egypt she was also one of the three tutelary deities of the southern city of Latopolis. Neith was generally depicted as a fierce looking woman who wore the red cron and had or used a bow in some and an arrow in others. Neith was a goddess of war and of hunting so her symbolic representation was that of a shield with two arrows crossed over it. The city of Sais is identified as her symbol which was displayed on top of her head in Egyptian art. It is said she is the goddess of war, she is said to make weapons for warriors and it is also said that she protected the souls of the dead warriors. In some myths Neith is said to be the mother of Ra and Apep. After she was identified as a water goddess in a myth she was thought to be the mother of Sobek, the crocodile. After this she was also associated with a god who was believed to be the source of the Nile and the creator of bodies. As the goddess of creation and weaving she was said to reweave the world on her loom daily. Neith was a deity with many roles she was also once called the opeaner of the ways which may have been related to her roles in war, hunting, protecting the souls of the dead on the way to the underworld etc.even in ancient egyptian terms Neith was considered an ancient goddess so she was said to be the oldest among all the other egyptian gods and goddesses. As Neith was considered to be the goddess of war she was also associated with death and she was said to protect the dead by shooting at their heads, she was also represented as a snake in the tome of king tut. She is also said to be the protector of the four sons of Horus which represented different parts of the body during mummification. She was said to be especially protective of Duamutef who was the personification of the abdomen as it was the most vulnerable part of the body during war. The different symbols used to represent her were the bow, shield, crossed arrows, ankh, loom, mummy cloth.
