Renenutet

**Renenutet**


 * Other Names:**

Renenet, Rennut, Ernutet, Thermuthis, Thermouthis, Hermouthis, Parmutit


 * Meaning of Name:**

Renenutet’s name consists of two parts: //rnn// ("to nurse," "nourishment"), and //wtt// ("snake"), showing something of her character.


 * Hieroglyphics:**[[image:stela4-294x395hdghg.jpg align="right" caption="Stela worshipping Renenutet"]]

or


 * Titles:**

“Lady of Granaries”

"Lady of the Threshing Floor"

“She Who Rears”

“Lady of the Robes”

//Nebetheteper// (“Lady of the Field of Offerings”)


 * Fami****ly:**

Renenutet was thought be the mother-wife of Neheb-Kau, by Geb. Renenutet’s consort was sometimes considered to be Sobek or Shai, and her son Neper or Horus.

Renenutet was a deity of fertility and //Shemu// (the harvest), but she was also a protector of linen, especially bandages, and looked after children and their nourishment. Renenutet was depicted as a cobra, sometimes with wings, a woman with the head of a lioness, or as a woman with the head of a cobra.

Queens were often associated with nurturing cobra goddesses - scenes from tombs show that the queen of Egypt herself mediated at the blessing of the harvest. The queen’s role as a priestess, transmitting offerings to Renenutet in thanks for the harvest, may have been ages old. Later the king too is shown officiating at the cult of Renenutet in a 12th Dynasty temple, but, significantly, he is accompanied by his young daughter.

Renenutet was invoked as a form of a “guardian angel” upon a newborn, which was said to “have Renenutet upon his shoulder from his first day.” She also gave children their //ren// (secret name-souls) with their mother’s milk. Cobra-shaped bowls, used for holding milk, have been found. Renenutet was associated with the nourishing and healing powers of mother’s milk and with food of all kinds. People made offerings to Renenutet during harvest time, and she was especially popular with agricultural workers. She was honored in shrines that were located in harvest fields and vineyards, and grain was often stored within her temples.

Representations exist of Renenutet carrying and protecting a child, a form of the grain god, Neper. Renenutet was considered a goddess of riches and good fortune, as snakes protected the harvest from rats and mice. Cobra figurines have been found during excavations covered with cooking soot, suggesting Renenutet also provided protection for the kitchen. Offerings of the first fruits were made and hymns were sung to a statue of Renenutet when grain was brought to the granary or when wine was stored in the cellar.


 * Feast and Holy Days:**

February 1st (Month of Renenutet)


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

Hymn of Renenutet


 * Outside of Egypt:**

Like Isis, Renenutet's cult survived well past the rise of Christianity. During the Ptolemaic Period, she was renamed Thermuthis by the Greeks. Interestingly enough, according to the 1st century historian Josephus, Thermuthis is the name of Moses' Egyptian foster mother, although the Bible simply calls her the "daughter of Pharaoh."


 * Modern Influence:**

The bovine enzyme “rennet” is named after her.

Egyptian Deities - R