Neith

Did You Know?

• Greek writers identified Neith with the goddess Athena.
• The philosopher Plato refers to this association in his dialogue Timaeus.
• Some scholars have suggested that Neith may also be connected with the “Veiled Isis” described by Plutarch.

Symbolism

Neith appears as a woman in the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, armed with a bow and arrows, marking her as a goddess of war and hunting. Her hieroglyph is two bows crossed over a shield, and this same symbol often hovers above her head in art, also serving as the emblem for the city of Sais. She frequently carries the was-sceptre for power and the ankh for life. She was sometimes linked to Mehet-Weret, the cosmic cow who birthed the sun daily, connecting Neith to the primordial waters of creation and cosmic renewal.

Attributes

Neith possessed many roles, including being described as an “Opener of the Ways”, an epithet also used for the god Wepwawet, referring to warfare and guiding souls in the afterlife. She was associated with weaving and textile production, linking her to the linen wrappings of mummies. In funerary contexts she appears alongside Isis, Nephthys, and Serket as a protector of the dead, and was later associated with protecting Duamutef. Her name is hypothesized to mean "the terrifying one."

Mythology

Neith appears in Egyptian myths as the mother of both Ra and Apep. By the New Kingdom, she was called "the Mother and Father of all things." She was also linked to the crocodile god Sobek, especially near the Nile. As a creator goddess and weaver, she was believed to reweave the world each day on her loom. At the temple of Esna, an inscription tells how Neith formed the first land from the primordial waters of Nun simply through her thoughts. Another famous inscription from her temple at Sais reads: “I am all that has been, is, and will be. No mortal has ever lifted my veil.” When the gods argued over whether Horus or Set should rule Egypt, they asked Neith for advice, and she said Horus should be king. Her annual Feast of Lamps, recorded by Herodotus, saw people lighting many lamps throughout the night.