Sopdet

**Sopdet**


 * Other Names:**

Sothis, Sopdu, Sept


 * Meaning of Name:**

“She Who is Sharp” (a reference to the brightness of Sirius, which is the brightest star in the night sky.)

or
 * Hieroglyphics:**


 * Titles:**

“Bringer of the New Year”

“She Who Rises With the Waters”

“Lady of the Constellations”

“She Who Shines into Her Temple on New Year’s Day”


 * Family:**

The daughter of Osiris, Sopdet's son was thought to be Sopedu.

To the ancient Egyptians, the star Sirius (they called it the Eye of the Great Dog and the Arrow-Head Star) was thought to be a goddess. The Egyptian New Year and //Akhet// (the annual flooding of the Nile) corresponded with the rise of this star. Not just a goddess of the waters of the inundation, Sopdet had another link with water - she was believed to cleanse the bodies of the dead to purify them before entering Sehet Aaru.

It is interesting to note that the embalming of the dead took seventy days - the same amount of time that Sirius was not seen in the sky, before its yearly rising. The Pyramid Texts say that the spirit of the pharaoh unites with the goddess Sopdet, who gives birth to the morning star. Sopdet was pictured as a cow seated on a barque, with three stars along her back, holding a papyrus plant between her horns. She was also shown as a woman wearing a White Crown topped with a star, or as a woman riding on a large dog. In rare instances, Sopdet was pictured as male and was associated with Horus.

**Outside of Egypt:**

As the personification of the most important star of ancient Egypt, Sopdet was so popular that her worship lasted throughout all of Egyptian history, from Predynastic times to the Graeco-Roman Period. Her image has been found on coins minted at Alexandria during Roman times.

The Hebrews called the star Sirius "Ephraim," or the Star of Jacob.

Egyptian Deities - S