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Per AnkhThe Temple Pages
Egyptian Gods, their main centers of worship |
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On this page:
Ma'at, Mafdet, Mehet-Weret, Meskhenet,
Meretseger,
Min, Montu, Mormyrus,
Mut
Please note - Festival days are not historically
correct but an estimation compiled from several sources.
Ma'at/Maae't
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The personification of the basic laws of all existence; the concept of
justice, truth, order and balance, without which life is impossible. She is not really a goddess/netjer but rather the principle of these factors. The Egyptians had no difficulties in personifying such things, it was their habit and way of making things understood on more than one level. Pharaoh often held a seated image of MaŽat in his hand, and offered it to the gods, which indicated Pharaoh as the representative of Divine Order. Maat was the deity who personified all the elements of cosmic harmony as established by the creator-god at the beginning of time. These included truth, justice and moral integrity, as well as established order and structure. Without Maat the whole structure of Creation would crumble and be swallowed up to the powers of Chaos. Maat is shown as a lady, who wears an ostrich feather on her head. The feather is often depicted on its own, instead of a full depiction of the goddess. The hieroglyphs of her name represent the primeval mound upon which the creator-god emerged. The origins of Maat can be traced back to the Old Kingdom where she is already an integral part of Ra and Osiris. Maat stands behind the sun-god, or in the Middle Kingdom, is described as being at the nostrils of Ra. In Dynasty XVIII, she is referred to as Ras daughter. PharaohsŽ prime task in governing, is to uphold Maat, and frequently the words "I have done Maat" are found spoken by different kings. Their reigns uphold the laws of the universe that she embodies. Amenhotep II on his stele near the Giza sphinx claims that Maat was placed on his breast by Amun himself. There are many examples of the kings being called beloved of Maat, and they are depicted in temples offering a small figure of the goddess in the palms of their hands before major deities. The ruler who forcibly emphasizes his adherence to Maat on his monuments in Akhenaten the very king whom later pharaohs considered to have deviated immensely from her laws. Many representations of Maat are depicted on funerary papyri from the New Kingdom, as the goddess essential to the deceased reaching paradise. In the Hall of the Double Truths, the heart of the deceased is weighed in balance against an image of the goddess or her feather. Here Maat symbolizes the truthful; assertions of a blameless life, given before the assessor gods. Maat is also regarded as justice administered by magistrates in the law courts. Possible the title priest of Maat refers to this function of an officials duties. According to classical sources, magistrates wore a Maat figure when giving judgements the British Museum has such a small golden Maat on a chain. In the southern sector of the precinct of Montu at Karnak, is a small
ruined temple to Maat. |
Festivals:(exact dates not historically verified) 4th April - 20th Pachons - MaŽat judges the souls before the
Netjeru 30th May - 16th Epipi - MaŽat is taken to Ra in Heliopolis 1st June - 18th Epipi - MaŽat and Ra go forth in secret 15th June - 1st Mesore MaŽat unites as one with all the Netjeru of the heavens 7th October - 21st Hethara - Feast day of MaŽat 28th November - 13 Tybi - Sekhmet; Day of prolonging life and
the goodness of MaŽat 3rd April - 19th Pachons - Day of the Counting of Tehuti(Thoth) Who heard MaŽat 4th April - 20 Pachons - MaŽat judges the souls before the
Netjeru 30th May - 16th Epipi - MaŽat is taken to Ra in Heliopolis 1st June - 18th Epipi - MaŽat and Ra Go Forth in secret 15th June - 2 Mesore - MaŽat unites as one with all the Netjeru of the heavens |
Mafdet
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'The runner', an early, violent deity in panther form, seen as a manifestation of judicial authority. A personification of the executional tool. She was one of the protective powers in the king's suite. Her claws was likened to the barbs of the king's harpoon, which he used to protect himself with in the Underworld.
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The symbols of Mafdet was the pole, rope and blade of execution, with the deity in feline form climbing up it. |
Mehet-Weret
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'The Great Flood'. Goddess of the primeval flood out of which life emerged and the sun god appeared. She was often depicted as a great cow with the sun disc between her horns, as such she was linked to Hathor and called the mother of Re.
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There was no cult especially for Mehet-Weret. |
Meskhenet
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A goddess of birth, personification of one of the 'birthing bricks' upon which ancient women used to squat when giving birth. She is often shown as either a woman with a brick as a head, or as a brick with a woman's head. Sometimes she is also shown fully human, with the image of a cow's uterus above her head. After the safe delivery, Meskhenet decided the destiny of the child, and her protective powers guarded the infant. Conversely, she also appeared in the Hall of Judgment when the heart of the deceased was to be weighed. Here she could testify to the character of the deceased, and perhaps guard the symbolic rebirth in the Afterlife. She is also found assisting Isis and Nephtys in funerary rites.
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There was no cult especially for Meskhenet. |
Meretseger/Meresger
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"She who loves silence" - local goddess of the Valley of the Kings on the Western shore of the Nile at Thebes. She was worshipped by the workmen in the necropolis especially in the form of the mountain peak known as "Lady of the Peak" that dominates the valley. Meresger is also shown sometimes as a uraeus with a womanŽs head, a woman with a snake's head or sometimes as a scorpion with a woman's head. |
Main center of worship: Valley of the Kings, Waset, 4th Nome, Upper Egypt |
Min/Menew
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His earliest form was a fetish resembling a barbed arrow. Later the
written form of his name was recognizable in the sign of the ninth nome of
Upper Egypt. Min developed from a fertility god for animals to a god of vegetation. Among his attributes were a bed of lettuce (which was considered and aphrodisiac), a round hut with bull's horns tied to a pole and a small shrine surrounded by lettuces. He was celebrated at the "festival of the staircase", when he was presented the first ear of corns from the new harvest, out of the hands of the king. |
Main center of worship: Gebtu/Koptos/Qift, 5th N, Upper Egypt Ipu/Khemmis Panopolis/Akhmin, 9th Nome, Upper Egypt For a virtual page:
Go Here Festivals: (exact dates not historically verified) 1st October - 15th Hethara - Contemplation of the fertility of
Min 10th January - 26th Mechir - Min Goes Forth to Coptos 20th February - 7th Parmutit - Min Goes Forth in festivity 18th June - 5th Mesore - Day of Appearance of Min 11th July - 28 Mesore - Feast of Min |
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Montu was the falconheaded god of war. From the beginning he was
worshipped at Hermonthis, but in the Eleventh Dynasty he was brought to
Thebes, where he soon was overtaken by Amun as the royal deity. Montu was depicted with a falconŽs head crowned with the solar disc
surrounded by two tall plumes. He fought the enemies of the gods and
defended his father Re against his enemies. His sacred animal was a white
bull with a black face, which was regarded as his manifestation and buried
with full honors at death. |
Main center of worship: Djerty/Tuphium/Tod 4th Nome, Upper Egypt Other sites: Iuny/Hermonthis/Armant 4th Nome, Upper Egypt WastDiospolis Magna/Thebes/Luxor 4th Nome, Upper Egypt Festivals: (exact dates not historically verified) 22nd August - 5th Paopi: Feast of Montu |
Mormyrus /
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Fishes were often regarded as unclean animals which were forbidden as
offerings and food to kings, gods and the priesthood. When the cult of
Osiris became popular, the fish was identified with Seth, as, according to
Plutharch people believed that the fish form lepidotus had eaten the
phallus of the dismembered Osiris. Therefore, on certain feast days fishes
were burned and trampled underfoot as an offering. The opposite also existed, fishes were regarded as sacred animals: despite the belief of the above, the oxyrinchus was considered Osirian, and said to have been created out of the god's wounds. This fish was also connected to Hathor at Esna and the Abdu or Abydos fish accompanied the solar barque and warned of the hostile Apophis serpent. |
Main center of worship: Per-Medjed (Oxyrhynchus/el-Bahnasa), 19th N, Upper Egypt. |
Mut/Mewet
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Mut is the mother of Khonsu and wife of Amun at Thebes. She can be
traced back to the Middle Kingdom, but was probably worshipped earlier.
She was depicted as a woman with a vulture skin on her head, together with
the crown of Upper Egypt. Mut became the Eye of Re when Amun was in the position of the sun-god, and she was then shown as a lioness. In the New Kingdom she acquired the position as a primeval goddess, called: "Mother of the Sun in Wom He rises". |
Main center of worship: Wast/Thebes Festivals: (exact dates not historically verified) 12 June - 29th Epipi - Festival of Mut; Feeding of the
Netjers |
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