Nephthys

**Nephthys**


 * Other Names:**

Nebet-Het


 * Meaning of Name:**

“Mistress of the Beautiful House” (the booth of embalming)


 * Hieroglyphics:**

or


 * Titles:**

"Lady of Heaven"

"Sister of the Dark"

“The Revealer”

“Lady of the Palace”

"Terrible One"

"Mistress of the Gods" "Sorrowing One"

//Hnwt jmnt// ("Lady of the West")

"Great of Magic"

"Pure One"

“The Screecher”

"Devourer"

“Friend of the Dead”


 * Family:**

Nephthys was thought to be the daughter of Nut and Geb, the sister of Osiris and Isis, the sister-wife of Set, the mother of Anubis (by Osiris). Occasionally her husband was thought to be Sokar.

One of the Ennead, the goddess of twilight and the funerary arts. Nephthys protected coffins and canopic jars and appears in statuary as a guide of the deceased through the Duat. In funerary literature Nephthys was seen as riding the “Barque of the Night” of the Duat, meeting the deceased king's spirit and accompanying him into “Lightland.” Her hair is metaphorically compared to the strips of cloth which shroud the bodies of the dead. Nephthys was depicted crowned by the hieroglyphic of her name, a basket (//neb//), placed on the sign for a palace (//het//).

Nephthys was described as the head of the household of the gods, and was thought to extend her protection to the head female of every household. Because of this, the oldest female in the house was given the honorary title of //Nbt-hwt// (Nephthys.) Nephthys was associated with twilight, while her sister Isis was associated with the dawn. She was the goddess who gave the pharaoh power to see “that which is hidden by moonlight.” According to myths, Nephthys was born with a caul over her face, which gave her the power of prophecy. Nephthys was a ferocious protector, capable of incinerating the enemies of the pharaoh with her fiery breath. Demons of the Duat were said to tremble in fear when she walked past.

Nephthys was thought to protect the god Hapy. In ancient Egypt, women were hired to accompany or greet the coffins of the decreased at funerals (professional mourners). These women tore their hair, beat their breasts, covered themselves in dust, and wailed songs for the dead. They were referred to as the “Kites of Nephthys.”

Nephthys was frequently represented on coffins and shrines for the dead, usually at the deceased’s feet (Isis was pictured at the head). Nephthys was the one who was thought to comfort the deceased’s living relatives, as well as mourn the dead. Nephthys is not exactly the personification of death, but she is the closest thing to it in ancient Egyptian belief. Amulets of Nephthys, made of gold, faience, silver, or lapis lazuli, were buried with the dead. After the 26th Dynasty, amulets of this goddess are found on almost every mummy.

Nephthys was pictured as a mourning woman, a cobra, a kite, or as a woman with winged arms outstretched in protection. The particularly shrill, piercing cry of the kite is thought to have been suggestive of the cries of wailing women in mourning. The two chief women mourners at funerals – called the “Great Kite” and the “Little Kite” – represented Isis and Nephthys. She was popular throughout the Greco-Roman Period.


 * Feast and Holy Days:**

October 3rd (Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys)

July 18 (Birthday of Nephthys)


 * Quotes from the Book of the Dead and other sources:**

Hymns of Nephthys

Egyptian Deities - N