rich Wrote:
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> Quote:Neith is often referred to in Egyptian texts
> as the "eldest," and even as the "first" deity.
> She is reputed, especially in the Late Period, to
> be the great creator of the world, and is often
> called by some scholars the equivalent of the
> creator gods such as Atum and Ptah [14]."
> ...
> "None ever uplifted my garment." ... "None ever
> uplifted my veil."
> ...
> "no male deity is consistently identified with her
> as a consort."
> **********
> An outstanding article. Who were the male deities
> who were inconsistantly identified as her
> consorts?

As pertains to consorts per se (that is, creating by sexual generation), Neith has no consort at all. The very nature of creators/creatrices in Egyptian religion is that each is the sole divinity in the universe who creates all other deities as they create the universe.

However, this doesn't mean that in syncretisation of deities that relationships of sorts don't occur. El-Sayed noted (1982, I: 125) that in Esnan theology, Khnum would form each person as a potter forms a pot on a wheel, but it was Neith who inaugurated the specific act of birth. During the Ptolemaic period, Neith was identified with Amenet, and thus served as the consort of Amun (el-Sayed, 1982, I: 128). Yet, as I noted before, none of these relationships are of ancient origin, although Neith's cult is known to the pro-dynastic (if not predynastic) period of Egypt. This is why she is referred to, particularly in the Contendings of Horus and Seth, as the "eldest of the gods" since her cult is very ancient.

As Barbara Lesko noted in her study of Neith,

However, Neith is no virgin goddess like Athena even if a husband is not associated with her. Her motherhood is clearly stated, and her priesthood was originally mainly, if not exclusively, female. (Lesko 1999: 58)

That said, her motherhood is usually part of her creatrix powers, as she is claimed to be the mother of the creator gods Re, Atum, Nun, Shu, Thoth, Ptah, etc. in the Esna theology. In this theology, her status as an androgynous and parthenogenic creatrix is definitively stated at the Temple at Esna, where she is referred to as

"Lady of Sais...whose two-thirds are masculine and one-third is feminine
Unique Goddess, mysterious and great
Who came to be in the beginning and caused everything to come to be...
The divine mother of Re, who shines in the horizon,
The mysterious one who radiates in her brightness. (Lesko 1999: 61)

Her ability is to create ex nihilo, simply as radiant light moving over the waters of Nun. By this light and her will, Neith created the primordial mound from which the remainder of creation was formed by her words. Because of this, as creatrix, Neith is referred to at Esna as the

"Father of the fathers and Mother of the mothers, the divinity who came into being in the midst of the primeval waters having appeared out of herself while the land was in twilight and no land had yet come forth and no plant had grown..." (Lesko 1999: 61)

> Since Ptah was also viewed as a Creator
> God... was he ever linked to Neith as a consort?
> Or is it that Creator gods don't need a consort,
> so these 2 have never be linked in such a manner?

Neith is specifically linked to a earth/fertility god version of Ptah called Tatanen, but it is she who creates him (el-Sayed, I, 1982: 122), so he is her son, not a consort.

Reference:

el-Sayed, R. 1982. La Déesse Neith de Saïs: Importance et Rayonnement de son Culte. 2 Vols. Bibliothèque d'Étude 76. Cairo: IFAO.

Lesko, B. S. 1999. The Great Goddesses of Egypt. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

HTH.

Katherine Griffis-Greenberg

Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2007 10:17PM by Katherine Griffis-Greenberg.