The Goddess Nephthys

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Nephthys (Greek: Νέφθυς) or Nebthet or Neber-Het was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set.

Etymology

Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet (transliterated as Nebet-het, and Nebt-het, from Egyptian hieroglyphs).The origin of the goddess Nephthys is unclear but the literal translation of her name is usually given as "Lady of the House", which has caused some to mistakenly identify her with the notion of a "housewife", or as the primary lady who ruled a domestic household. This is a pervasive error repeated in many commentaries concerning this deity. Her name means quite specifically, "Lady of the [Temple] Enclosure" which associates her with the role of priestess.

This title, which may be more of an epithet describing her function than a given name, probably indicates the association of Nephthys with one particular temple or some specific aspect of the Egyptian temple ritual. Along with her sister Isis, Nephthys represented the temple pylon or trapezoidal tower gateway entrance to the temple which also displayed the flagstaff. This entrance way symbolised the horizon or akhet.

Function

At the time of the Fifth Dynasty Pyramid Texts, Nephthys appears as a goddess of the Heliopolitan Ennead. She is the sister of Isis and companion of the war-like deity, Set. As sister of Isis and especially Osiris, Nephthys is a protective goddess who symbolizes the death experience, just as Isis represented the (re)birth experience.

Nephthys was known in some ancient Egyptian temple theologies and cosmologies as the "Useful Goddess" or the "Excellent Goddess". These late Ancient Egyptian temple texts describe a goddess who represented divine assistance and protective guardianship.

Nephthys is regarded as the mother of the funerary-deity Anubis (Inpu) in some myths. Alternatively Anubis appears as the son of Bastet or Isis.

As the primary "nursing mother" of the incarnate Pharaonic-god, Horus, Nephthys also was considered to be the nurse of the reigning Pharaoh himself. Though other goddesses could assume this role, Nephthys was most usually portrayed in this function. In contrast Nephthys is sometimes featured as a rather ferocious and dangerous divinity, capable of incinerating the enemies of the Pharaoh with her fiery breath.

New Kingdom Ramesside Pharaohs, in particular, were enamored of Mother Nephthys, as is attested in various stelae and a wealth of inscriptions at Karnak and Luxor, where Nephthys was a member of that great city's Ennead and her altars were present in the massive complex.

Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set.

Less well understood than her sister Isis, Nephthys was no less important in Egyptian Religion as confirmed by the work of E. Hornung, along with the work of several noted scholars.

"Ascend and descend; descend with Nephthys, sink into darkness with the Night-bark. Ascend and descend; ascend with Isis, rise with the Day-bark."

Pyramid Text Utterance 222 line 210.

Symbolism

In the funerary role, Nephthys often was depicted as a kite, or as a woman with falcon wings, usually outstretched as a symbol of protection. Nephthys's association with the kite or the Egyptian hawk (and its piercing, mournful cries) evidently reminded the ancients of the lamentations usually offered for the dead by wailing women. In this capacity, it is easy to see how Nephthys could be associated with death and putrefaction in the Pyramid Texts. She was, almost without fail, depicted as crowned by the hieroglyphics signifying her name, which were a combination of signs for the sacred temple enclosure (hwt), along with the sign for neb, or mistress (Lady), on top of the enclosure sign.

Nephthys was clearly viewed as a morbid-but-crucial force of heavenly transition, i.e., the Pharaoh becomes strong for his journey to the afterlife through the intervention of Isis and Nephthys. The same divine power could be applied later to all of the dead, who were advised to consider Nephthys a necessary companion. According to the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys, along with Isis, was a force before whom demons trembled in fear, and whose magical spells were necessary for navigating the various levels of Duat, as the region of the afterlife was termed.

It should here be noted that Nephthys was not necessarily viewed as the polar opposite of Isis, but rather as a different reflection of the same reality: eternal life in transition. Thus, Nephthys was also seen in the Pyramid Texts as a supportive cosmic force occupying the night-bark on the journey of Ra, the majestic sun god, particularly when he entered Duat at the transitional time of dusk, or twilight. Isis was Ra's companion at the coming of dawn.

Mythology and position in the Pantheon

Nephthys and Set

Though it commonly has been assumed that Nephthys was married to Set and they have a son Anubis, recent Egyptological research has called this into question. Levai notes that while Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride mentions the deity's marriage, there is very little specifically linking Nephthys and Set in the original early Egyptian sources. She argues that the later evidence suggests that:

while Nephthys's marriage to Set was a part of Egyptian mythology, it was not a part of the myth of the murder and resurrection of Osiris. She was not paired with Set the villain, but with Set's other aspect, the benevolent figure who was the killer of Apophis. This was the aspect of Set worshiped in the western oases during the Roman period, where he is depicted with Nephthys as co-ruler.

The savior of her brother Osiris

Nephthys plays an important role in the Osirian myth cycle.

It is Nephthys who assists Isis in gathering and mourning the dismembered portions of the body of Osiris, after his murder by the envious Set. Nephthys also serves as the nursemaid and watchful guardian of the infant Horus. The Pyramid Texts refer to Isis as the "birth-mother" and to Nephthys as the "nursing-mother" of Horus. Nephthys was attested as one of the four "Great Chiefs" ruling in the Osirian cult-center of Busiris, in the Delta and she appears to have occupied an honorary position at the holy city of Abydos. No cult is attested for her there, though she certainly figured as a goddess of great importance in the annual rites conducted, wherein two chosen females or priestesses played the roles of Isis and Nephthys and performed the elaborate 'Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys'. There, at Abydos, Nephthys joined Isis as a mourner in the shrine known as the Osireion. These "Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys" were ritual elements of many such Osirian rites in major ancient Egyptian cult-centers.

As a mortuary goddess like Isis, Neith, and Serqet, Nephthys was one of the protectresses of the Canopic jars of the Hapi. Hapi, one of the Sons of Horus, guarded the embalmed lungs. Thus we find Nephthys endowed with the epithet, "Nephthys of the Bed of Life", in direct reference to her regenerative priorities on the embalming table. In the city of Memphis, Nephthys was duly honored with the title "Queen of the Embalmer's Shop", and there associated with the jackal-headed god Anubis as patron.

Nephthys was also considered a festive deity whose rites could mandate the liberal consumption of beer. In various reliefs at Edfu, Dendera, and Behbeit, Nephthys is depicted receiving lavish beer-offerings from the Pharaoh, which she would "return", using her power as a beer-goddess "that [the pharaoh] may have joy with no hangover". Elsewhere at Edfu, for example, Nephthys is a goddess who gives the Pharaoh power to see "that which is hidden by moonlight". This fits well with more general textual themes that consider Nephthys to be a goddess whose unique domain was darkness, or the perilous edges of the desert.

Nephthys could also appear as one of the goddesses who assists at childbirth. An ancient Egyptian myth preserved in the Papyrus Westcar recounts the story of Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, and Heqet as traveling dancers in disguise, assisting the wife of a priest of Amun-Re as she prepares to bring forth sons who are destined for fame and fortune.

Nephthys's healing skills and status as direct counterpart of Isis, steeped, as her sister in "words of power", are evidenced by the abundance of faience amulets carved in her likeness, and by her presence in a variety of magical papyri that sought to summon her famously altruistic qualities to the aid of mortals.

New Kingdom cults

The Ramesside Pharaohs were particularly devoted to Set's prerogatives and, in the 19th Dynasty, a temple of Nephthys called the "House of Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun" was built or refurbished in the town of Sepermeru, midway between Oxyrhynchos and Herakleopolis, on the outskirts of the Fayyum and quite near to the modern site of Deshasheh. Here, as Papyrus Wilbour notes in its wealth of taxation records and land assessments, the temple of Nephthys was a specific foundation by Ramesses II, located in close proximity to (or within) the precinct of the enclosure of Set. To be certain, the House of Nephthys was one of fifty individual, land-owning temples delineated for this portion of the Middle Egyptian district in Papyrus Wilbour. The fields and other holdings belonging to Nephthys's temple were under the authority of two Nephthys-prophets (named Penpmer and Merybarse) and one (mentioned) wa'ab priest of the goddess.

While certainly affiliated with the "House of Set", the Nephthys temple at Sepermeru and its apportioned lands (several acres) clearly were under administration distinct from the Set institution. The Nephthys temple was a unique establishment in its own right, an independent entity. According to Papyrus Wilbour, another "House of Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun" seems to have existed to the north, in the town of Su, closer to the Fayyum region.

Another temple of Nephthys seems to have existed in the town of Punodjem. The Papyrus Bologna records a complaint lodged by a prophet of the temple of Set in that town regarding undue taxation in his regard. After making an introductory appeal to "Re-Horakhte, Set, and Nephthys" for the ultimate resolution of this issue by the royal Vizier, the prophet (named Pra'emhab) laments his workload. He notes his obvious administration of the "House of Set" and adds: "I am also responsible for the ship, and I am responsible likewise for the House of Nephthys, along with a heap of other temples."

As "Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun", the goddess and her shrines were under the particular endorsement of Ramesses II. The foundations of the Set and Nephthys temples at Sepermeru finally were discovered and identified in the 1980s, and the Nephthys temple was a self-sustaining temple complex within the Set enclosure.

There can be little doubt that a cult of Nephthys existed in the temple and great town of Herakleopolis, north of Sepermeru. A near life-sized statue of Nephthys (currently housed in the Louvre) boasts a curiously altered inscription. The basalt image originally was stationed at Medinet-Habu, as part of the cultic celebration of the Pharaonic "Sed-Festival", but was transferred at some point to Herakleopolis and the temple of Herishef. The cult-image's inscription originally pertained to "Nephthys, Foremost of the Sed [Festival] in the Booth of Annals" (at Medinet-Habu), but was re-inscribed or re-dedicated to "Nephthys, Foremost of the [Booths of] Herakleopolis". A "prophet of Nephthys" is indeed attested for the town of Herakleopolis in the 30th Dynasty.

Chief goddess of Nome VII

Nephthys was considered the unique protectress of the Sacred Phoenix, or the Bennu Bird. This role may have stemmed from an early association in her native Heliopolis, which was renowned for its "House of the Bennu" temple. In this role, Nephthys was given the name "Nephthys-Kheresket", and a wealth of temple texts from Edfu, Dendera, Philae, Kom Ombo, El Qa'la, Esna, and others corroborate the late identification of Nephthys as the supreme goddess of Upper Egyptian Nome VII, where another shrine existed in honor of the Bennu. Nephthys also was the goddess of the "Mansion of the Sistrum" in Hwt-Sekhem (Gr. Diospolis Parva), the chief city of Nome VII. There, Nephthys was the primary protectress of the resident Osirian relic, of the Bennu Bird, and of the local Horus/Osiris manifestation, the god Neferhotep.

Nephthys was most widely and usually worshipped in ancient Egypt as part of a consortium of temple deities. Therefore, it should not surprise us that her cult images could likely be found as part of the divine entourage in temples at Kharga, Kellis, Deir el-Hagar, Koptos, Dendera, Philae, Sebennytos, Busiris, Shenhur, El Qa'la, Letopolis, Heliopolis, Abydos, Thebes, Dakleh Oasis, and indeed throughout Egypt. In most cases, Nephthys found her typical place as part of a triad alongside Osiris and Isis, or Isis and Horus, or Isis and Min, or as part of a quartet of deities. It is perhaps in this way that Nephthys best fulfilled her role as an important national deity whose ideal function was to provide powerful assistance to her associates in a great variety of temple cults—a truly "Useful" and "Excellent" goddess, as her primary epithets reflect.

The History of Anpu (Anubis) part I

(Apnu) Anubis on the left Nephthys (Nebet-Het) right

Nephthys gave birth to a son called Anpu (Inpu), or Anubis, and that his father was, according to some, Set; from another point of view he was the son of Ra. 

The animal which was at once the type and symbol of the god was the jackal, and this fact seems to prove that in primitive times Anubis was merely the jackal god, and that he was associated with the dead because the jackal was generally seen prowling about the tombs. 

His worship is very ancient, and there is no doubt that even the earliest times his cult was general in Egypt; it is probable that it is older than that of Osiris. 

In the text of Unas {line 70 he is associated with the Eye of Horus, and his duty as the guide of the dead in the Underworld on their way to Osiris was well defined, even at the remote period when this composition was written, from we read, Unas stands with the Spirits, get thee on wards, Anubis, into "Amenti {the Underworld, on wards, on wards to Osiris." In the lines that follow we see that Anubis is mentioned in connection with Horus, Set, Thoth, Sep, and Khent-an-maati. 

From another passage of the same text we find {line 207 ff that the hand, arms, belly, and legs of the deceased are identified with Temu, but his face is said to be in the form of that of Anubis. 

The localities in which Anubis was especially worshiped are Abt, the Papyrus Swamps, Sep, Re-au, Heru-ti, Ta-hetchet, Saint, {Lycopolis, Sekhem, {Letopolis, etc. 

In the Theban Recesion of the Book of the Dead he plays some very prominent parts, the most important of all being those which are connected with the judgment and the embalmed the body of Osiris, and that he swathed it in the linen swathing which were woven by Isis and Nepthys, that it resisted the influences of time and deacy. 

In the vignette of the Funeral Procession the mummy is received by Anubis, who stands by the Book of the Dead the god is seen standing by the side of the mummy as it lies on its bier, and he lays his protecting hands upon it. In the speech which is put into the mouth of Anubis, he says, "I have come to protect Osiris." In the text of Unas {line 219 the nose of the deceased declares, My lips are the lips of Anpu." From various passages it is clear that one part of Egypt at least Anubis was the great god of the Underworld, and his rank and importance seem to have been as great as those of Osiris. {See Chapter liii.

In the Judgment Scene Anubis appears to act for Osiris, with whom he is intimately connected, for it is he whose duty it is to examine the tongue of the Great Balance, and to take care that the beam is exactly horizontal. Thoth acts on behalf of the Great company of the gods, and Anubis not only produces the heart of the deceased in the act of receiving a necklace and pectoral from Anubis, who stands by grasping his scepter; in the vignette of the Chapter on the Papyrus of Nebseni Anubis is seen presenting the heart itself to the deceased, and in the text below Nebseni prays, saying, "May Anubis make my thighs firm so that I may stand upon them." In allusion to his connection with the embalmment of Osiris the god Anubis is called Am Ut, i.e., "Dweller in the chamber of embalmment;" as the watcher in the place of purification wherein rested the chest containing the remains of Osiris he was called Khent Sehet, i.e., "Governor of the Hall of the god;" and one of his names as the god of the funeral mountain was "Tep-Tu-f," i.e., "he who is upon his hill." In the cxlvth Chapter of the Book of the Dead the deceased says, "I have washed myself in the water wherein the god Anpu washed when he had performed the office of the embalmer and bandager; and elsewhere the deceased is told that "Anpu, who is upon his hill, hath set thee in order, and he hath fastened for thee thy swathings, thy throat is the throat of Anubis {clxxii. 22 and thy face is like that of Anubis" {clxxxi. 9.

DUTIES OF ANUBIS

The duty of guiding the souls of the dead round about the Underworld and into the kingdom of Osiris was shared by Anubis with another god whose type and symbol was a jackal, and whose name was Ap-uat, i.e., the "Opener of the ways;" formerly Anubis and Ap-uat were considered to be two names of one and the same god, but there is no longer any reason for holding this view. In the vignette to the cxxxviiith Chapter of the Book of the Dead we find represented the scene of setting up the standard which supports the box that held the head of Osiris at Abydos. On each side of it are a standard with a figure of a jackal upon it and a pylon, on top of which lies a jackal; and as it is quite clear from the groups of objects on each side of the standard that we are dealing with symbols either of the South and North, or the East and the West, we are justified in thinking that one jackal represents Ap-uat and the other Anubis. Moreover, from the cxlvth Chapter we find that the xxist Pylon of the House of Osiris was presided over by seven gods, among whom were An-uat and Anpu, and as in the xviiith Chapter {F.,G. we have both gods mentioned, and each is predicated in the form of a jackal-headed man, we may conclude that each was a distinct god of the dead, although their identities are sometimes confused in the texts. The function of each god was to "open the ways," and therefore each might be called Ap-uat, but, strictly speaking, Anubis was the opener of the roads of the North, and Ap-uat the opener of the roads of the South' in fact, Anubis was the personification of the Summer Solstice, and Ap-uat of the Winter Solstice.

• In very ancient history Anubis was known to be the absolute ruler of the underworld (called Duat). Later theories indicate that this role was taken over by Osiris.
• The Guardian of the Scales: one of his many roles surrounding the dead included the Guardian of Scales where he dictated the fate of souls. As depicted in the Book of the Dead, Anubis weighs the decedent’s heart against the weight of a feather. The feather represents “Ma’at” or truth. If the scale of justice tipped toward the heart, the dead person would be consumed by Ammit, a female demon the ancient Egyptian people dubbed “devourer of the dead.” If the scale of justice tipped toward the feather, Anubis would lead the decedent to Osiris so he could ascend to a worthy existence in heaven.
• The God of embalming and mummification: Anubis held the important role of overseeing the embalming and mummification of the dead. The daughter of Anubis (Kebechet), is frequently seen as his assistant in the mummification process of the dead. Ancient Egyptians believed that Anubis sniffed the bodies of the dead, so they preserved them with sweet smelling herbs and plants. Anubis also assisted in the “opening of the mouth” ritual to ensure a good burial. This ritual was performed so the dead person could eat and speak in the afterlife.
• Protector of Tombs: as the Egyptian god responsible for protecting the dead, many prayers to Anubis were carved into their tombs. Anubis held this role until Osiris gained popularity and took it over.

ANUBIS

Anubis is called in the texts Sekhem Em Pet, and is said to be the son of Osiris, and Ap-uat bore the title Sekhem Taui, and was a form of Osiris himself. When, therefore, we find the two jackals upon sepulchral stelae, we must understand that they appear there in character of openers of the ways of the deceased in the kingdom of Osiris, and that they assure to the deceased the services of guides in the northern and southern parts of heaven; when they appear with the two Utchats thus, they symbolize the four quarters of heaven and of earth, and the four seasons of the year. On the subject of Anubis Plutarch reports {44, 61 some interesting beliefs. After referring to the view that Anubis was born of Nephthys, although Isis was his reputed mother, he goes on to say, "By Anubis they understand the horizontal circle, which divides the invisible, to which they give the name of Isis; and this circle equally touches upon the confines of both light and darkness, it may be looked upon as common to them both--and from this circumstance arose that resemblance, which they imagine between Anubis and the Dog, it being observed of this animal, that he is equally watchful as well by day as night. In short, the Egyptian Anubis and the Dog, it being observed of this animal, that he is watchful as well by day as night. In short, the Egyptian Anubis seems to be of much the same power and nature as the Grecian Hecate, a deity common both to the celestial and infernal regions. Theirs again are of opinion that by Anubis is meant Time, and that his denomination of Kuon does not so much allude to any likeness, which he has to the dog, though this be the general rendering of the word, as to that other signification of the term taken from breeding; because Time begets all things out of it self, bearing them within itself, as it were in a womb. But this is one of those who are initiated into the worship of Anubis. This much, however, is certain, that in ancient times the Egyptians paid the greatest reverence and honor to the Dog, though by reason of its devouring the Apis after Cambyses had slain him and thrown him out, when no animal would taste or so much as come near him, he then lost the first rank among the sacred animals which he had hitherto possessed." Referring to Osiris as the "common Reason which pervades both the superior and the inferior regions of the universe," he says that it is, moreover, called "Anubis, and sometimes likewise Hermanubis {i.e., Heru-em-Anpu; the first of these names expressing the relation it has to be superior, as the latter, to the inferior world. And for this reason it is, they sacrifice to him two Cocks, the white one,as a proper emblem of the purity and brightness of things above, the other of a saffron color, expressive of that mixture and variety which is to be found in these lower regions."

Strictly speaking, Anubis should be reckoned as the last member of the Great Company of the gods of Heliopolis, but as a matter fact his place is usually taken by Horus, the son of Isis and of Osiris, who generally completes the divine part; it is probable that the fusion of Horus, with Anubis was a political expedient on the part of the priesthood who, finding no room in their system for the old god of the dead, identified him with a form of Horus, just as they had done with his father Set, and the double god possessed two district and opposite aspects; as the guide of heaven and the leader of souls to Osiris he was a beneficent god, but as the personification of death and deacy he was a being who inspired terror. From an interesting passage in the "Golden Ass" of Apeleius {Book xi. we find that the double character of Anubis was maintained by his votaries in Rome even in the second century of our era, and in describing the Procession of Isis he says, Immediately after these came the Deities, condescending to walk upon human feet, the foremost among them rearing terrifically on high his dog's head and neck----that messenger between heaven and hell displaying alternately a face black as night waving aloft the green palm branch. His steps were closely followed by a cow, raised into an upright posture----the cow being the fruitful emblem of the Universal Parent, the goddess herself, which one of the happy train carried with majestic steps, supported on his shoulders. By another was borne the coffin containing the sacred things, and closely concealing the deep secrets of the holy religion."

This extract shows that even in the second century at Rome the principal actors in the old Egyptian Osiris ceremonial's were represented with scrupulous care, and that its chief characteristics were preserved. The cow was, of course, nothing less than the symbol of Isis, "the mother of the god," and the coffin containing the "sacred things" was the symbol of the sarcophagus of Osiris which contained his relics. Before these marched Anubis in his two-fold character, and thus we have types of Osiris and his mysteries, and of Isis who revivified him, and of Anubis who embalmed him. Had Apuleus understood the old Egyptian ceremonies connected with the Osiris legend and had he been able to identify all the characters who passed before him in the Isis procession, he would probably have seen that Nephthys and Horus and several other gods of the funeral company of Osiris were duly represented therein. On the alleged connection of Anubis with Christ in the Gnostic system the reader is referred to the interesting work of Mr. C.W. King, Gnostics and their Remains, Second Edition, London, 1887 {pp. 230,279