Satet

Satis being worshiped by the pharaoh Sobekhotep III of the thirteenth dynasty, a portion of her conical crown, the Hedjet, adorned with antelope horns shows in the fragment - c. 1760 B.C. - Brooklyn Museum

In Egyptian mythology, Satet (also spelt Satis, Satjit, Sates, and Sati) was the deification of the floods of the Nile River. Her cult originated in the ancient city of Swenet, now called Aswan on the southern edge of Egypt. Her name means she who shoots forth referring to the annual flooding of the river. She was an early war, hunting, and fertility deity who was seen as the mother of the goddess Anuket and a protector of southern Egypt.

One of her titles was She Who Runs Like an Arrow, which is thought to refer to the flowing river current, and her symbols became the sharp arrow and the running river. Satet was pictured as a woman wearing the conical crown of Upper Egypt, the Hedjet, with gazelle or antelope horns, or as an antelope, a fast moving creature living near the banks of the river in the southern portion of Ancient Egypt. She also was depicted with a bow and arrows.

Other interpretations say her primary role was that of the war goddess, a guardian of Egypt's southern (Nubian) frontier and killing the enemies of the Pharaoh with her sharp arrows.

She usually is depicted as holding an ankh also, due to her association with the life giving flooding of the Nile. Consequently, Satet acted as a fertility goddess, thus granting the wishes of those who sought love. Satet is also described as offering jars of purifying water.

Later she became regarded as one of the consorts of Khnum, the god identified as the guardian of the source of the Nile, with whom she was worshipped at Elephantine (the First nome of Egypt). Here she had a temple. However, the centre of her cult was nearby, at Sahal, another island of the Nile. Since she was most dominant at the southern end of Egypt, she became regarded as the guard of Egypt's southern border with Nubia.

Satet's child was Anuket, goddess of the Nile River herself, who formed the third part of the Elephantine triad of deities when formed.

Satet was also connected with the Eye of Ra.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Pinch, Geraldine (2004) Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. pp. 186–187

Further reading

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