Nephthys - Lady of the House
Although Nephthys is part of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis and part of one of the greatest myths in ancient Egyptian history, she herself does not have a separate role or worship from her brothers and sisters. She is in fact only seen as a counterpart to her famous sister Isis. Although she is the wife of Seth, she didn't take his side in the great war between him and Horus. And on top of that, she actually helped her sister locate the different parts of Osiris's body after Seth had hacked him into pieces. And here's a funny story... Although she was thought to have been the mistress of Osiris and their love affair spawning the God Anubis, that is not the reason Seth was jealous of his brother! And not just that, it seems like it didn't have a negative effect on her relationship with her sister Isis who is the wife of Osiris. Still, in ancient Egypt, female deities were seen as opposites - and so while Isis was the goddess of light and life, she was associated with darkness and death. But not in a bad way! In fact, they just complimented each other.
She was depicted as a woman, and nothing about her form really stands out. The only thing that shows who she is is that she wears her name's hieroglyph on top of her head! It kind of looks like a bowl or a cup.Her name by the way means "The Lady of the House". If the pronunciation wasn't so difficult I think I would have liked to name my mother that :-) She had no cult or temple dedicated to her, but she is shown on tomb and temple walls, usually alongside her sister Isis. One of her only known functions is that of protector of the deceased's organs. She watched over the
Canopic Jars
that contained them and also the coffin that had the body. She is one of the Canopic Jars of Tutankhamun in fact, as seen in the Egyptian Museum.
Return from Nephthys to Egyptian Gods
Return from Nephthys to the Experience Ancient Egypt Home Page
|