Saturday, December 19, 2015

Anuket/Anqet/Anukis




In Egyptian mythology, Anuket (also spelt Anqet, and in Greek, Anukis) was originally the personification and goddess of the Nile river, in areas such as Elephantine, at the start of the Nile's journey through Egypt, and in nearby regions of Nubia.

Anuket was part of a triad with the god Khnum, and the goddess Satis. It is possible that Anuket was considered the daughter of Khnum and Satis in this triad, or she may have been a junior consort to Khnum instead. [1] Anuket was depicted as a woman with a headdress of feathers [1] (thought by most Egyptologists to be a detail deriving from Nubia). Her sacred animal was the gazelle.

During the New Kingdom, Anuket’s cult at Elephantine included a river procession of the goddess during the first month of Shemu. Inscriptions mention the processional festival of Khnum and Anuket during this time period. [3]

Ceremonially, when the Nile started its annual flood, the Festival of Anuket began. People threw coins, gold, jewelry, and precious gifts into the river, in thanks for the life-giving water and returning benefits derived from the wealth provided by her fertility to the goddess. The taboo held in several parts of Egypt, against eating certain fish which were considered sacred, was lifted during this time, suggesting that a fish species of the Nile was a totem for Anuket and that they were consumed as part of the ritual of her major religious festival.

From: Wikipedia
Her name means "Embracing Lady", and like most ancient Egyptian concepts this could be understood in two senses; either the protective embrace or the life-quenching strangling one.


She was probably of Nubian origin though it is believed that she encompasses the Egyptian idea of a deity existing beyond the southern border. She was worshipped in the 1st cataract area, especially at the islands of Elephantine and Sehel, where she goes back to the Old Kingdom Period, and when she was regarded as the daughter of the sun-god Ra. The name of Anuket has been found together with Satet on a great number of inscriptions from quarry expeditions in that area.


In the New Kingdom Period she was included in the Elephantine triad as the daughter or consort of Khnum and his consort Satet. Together they protected the waters of the Nile in the cataract area.


Anuket is depicted as a woman wearing a tall feather crown, some say of ostrich plumes, others say of reed. She sometimes holds a papyrus sceptre. Thre is an ostracon on which she is depicted in the form of a gazelle and called 'lady of heaven' and 'mistress of the gods', though she is mostly shown in human form. Her image can be seen in the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and at other Nubian temples.



Main center of worship:


Abu/Elephantine, 1st Nome, Upper Egypt.
Kom Meir, near Esna, 1st Nome, Upper Egypt.


Festival Days: (dates not historically verified)
End of July - Beginning of August Thuthi - Feast of Anuket: Welcoming the rising of the Nile

From: Here
An(u)ket (GR Anukis) - "Embracing Lady," consort (or alternately, daughter) to Khnum, Anuket is depicted as a woman wearing an unusual tall crown of ostrich feathers, probably a Nubian headdress. She is, along with Khnum and Satet, one of the three Names worshipped at Abu (Elephantine) in Upper Kemet, and can be seen on the walls of the temple of Ramses II at modern-day Abu Simbel, as well as in other Nubian temples. As a Name of Netjer associated with Elephantine and Sehel Island, in the area considered by Kemetics to be the source of the Nile, Anuket is a protectress of the mighty river (see Hapi). In earliest times She is also called a daughter of Ra.

From: House of Netjer
The ancient Egyptian Goddess Anuket (also known as Anket, Anqet, Anjet or Anukis) was a personification of the Nile as "Nourisher of the Fields". She was also a goddess of the hunt and was worshipped as a protective deity during childbirth.


She was associated with the lower cataracts (near Aswan) and probably originated in Nubia or Sudan. Specifically, she was associated with Setet Island (Sehel island) and Abu (Elephantine) 1st nome of Upper Egypt, and was goddess of everything south of the Egyptian border. She was widely worshipped in Nubia, and given the title "Mistress of Nubia". In southern Nubia, Khnum merged with the ram-headed Amun, so Anuket and Satet (Satis) in some places also appear as wives of Amun.


She was originally the daughter of Ra, but seems to have been associated with Satet since ancient times. In fact both these goddesses were called the "Eye of Ra" (along with Sekhmet , Bast and Hathor, amongst others). Similarly, both Anuket and Satet were linked to the Ureas (the royal cobra on the god's crown). During the New Kingdom she was placed in the Abu triad with Khnum and Satet. These three water deities protected the Nile cataracts and the area the Egyptians believed to be the source of the Nile. In later times she was identified with Nephthys at the temple "Per-Mer" due to Satet's links with the goddess Isis and Khnum's link with Osiris. However both Satet and Anuket are closely linked to Isis, who took on the attributes of the fertile waters of the Nile as well as being a form of the star Sirius.


Anuket was generally depicted as a woman wearing a tall headdress made either of reeds or of ostrich feathers, often holding a sceptre and the ankh symbol, but was occasionally shown in the form of a gazelle.


Her name means "embrace" and may have originally referred the embrace of the waters of the inundation. She was also depicted suckling the pharaoh during the New Kingdom, and became a goddess of lust during later periods. In this form, she gained association with cowrie shells, which resemble the vagina. The Festival of Anuket was held when the innundation began. People threw coins, gold, jewelry, and precious gifts into the Nile to please the goddess.

From: Here
Other Names: Anket, Anqet, Anukis.

Patron of: the Nile and its inundation.


Appearance: a woman wearing a crown of reeds and ostrich feathers, often accompanied by a gazelle.

Description: Anuket was most likely an imported goddess from Nubia, and was worshiped as the "nourisher of the fields," referring to the annual inundation of the Nile that deposited a layer of rich silt on the agricultural areas. She formed a triad with Khenmu and Satis, and in later times was identified with Nephthys. Her name means "embrace" and may refer to the banks of the Nile which yearly would embrace the fields to bring fertility to the land.

Worship: Worshiped throughout Nubia, her Egyptian cult center was at Elephantine.

From: Here

Also see:
Anqet, The Embracer, Goddess of Fertility and the Nile at Aswan by Caroline Seawright
Anuket article, has info
Anqet - "Embracing Lady"
Cult Center: Elephantine
Wiki - Elephantine

On MW:
Other members of the Abu/Elephantine triad--
Khnum {God of the Week}
Satis/Satet {Goddess of the Week}

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