Her cult centers were Heliopolis, Senu, Hebet, Per-met, Re-nefert, and Het-sekem. The evil serpent Apophis tried every night to murder the sun god but Nephthys and Set fought the creature off so the sun could rise the next morning. Atum, alone on the hill in the midst of chaos, longed for his children and worried over their safety, and so he removed his eye and sent it out in search of them. Although Nephthys is frequently depicted as a mirror to her twin sister Isis, she had a life and status all her own which was just as worthy of veneration. The story tells of the legal battle before the Ennead of Heliopolis, a tribunal of nine gods, to decide who was the rightful king of Egypt. Elle est parfois considérée comme l'amante d'Osiris de qui elle aurait eu Anubis[1]. Nephthys was one of the original five gods of ancient Egypt born of the union of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) after the creation of the world. Even though Horus won every contest against his uncle, Atum would not be moved. https://www.ancient.eu/Nephthys/. These new fragile beings had nowhere to live, however, and so Shu and Tefnut mated and gave birth to Geb (the earth) and Nut (the sky). The realm of the afterlife was only a new land one traveled to and old friends, like Nephthys, would be waiting to offer their protection and guidance in death as they had throughout life. According to the most popular version of the Egyptian creation myth, there was once only swirling chaotic waters and darkness in the universe until, one day, a mound (known as the ben-ben) rose from the seas with the god Atum (also known as Ra) standing upon it. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Nephthys/. Written by Joshua J. Prior to the addition of the other goddesses, however, it was Nephthys and Set who kept the sun on course and she was duly honored for this. https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nephtys&oldid=174485364, Catégorie Commons avec lien local identique sur Wikidata, Portail:Mythologie égyptienne/Articles liés, licence Creative Commons attribution, partage dans les mêmes conditions, comment citer les auteurs et mentionner la licence. She gave birth a short time later to a son, the god Anubis, whom she abandoned and who was raised by Isis. She was so helpful to those in the afterlife that one of her titles was "Friend of the Dead" and she was also thought to bring news of the deceased back to their relatives on earth and comfort them in their time of mourning. As with any Egyptian deity, her temple was attended by priests and priestesses who cared for her statue and observed her holy days and festivals. He created an ornate chest to Osiris' exact measurements and then threw a party where he offered the box as a gift to whichever of his guests could best fit in it. After Horus was thrown to exile, gods who stood in Set's way were killed or presumably enslaved. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level. In some versions of the story she drugs his wine or gives him too much while, in others, he simply comes to her bed thinking she is Isis. The Complete Beginners Guide, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Egyptian Mythology: Captivating Egyptian Myths of Egyptian Gods, Goddesses... Wicca: A Year and A Day in Magick. In the end, Osiris returns to life as the poem ends with the line, "Lo! Osiris Awakeningby Jean-Pierre Dalbéra (CC BY). To be done in the third hour of the day, also in the eighth hour of the day. Isis returned to the wasteland with Osiris and hid his body in the marshes of the Nile Delta and then asked Nephthys to stand guard to protect him from Set. This papyrus was part of a copy of The Book of the Dead owned by a woman named Tentruty (also given as Teret) and is written in hieratic script (the cursive, everyday, script of the Egyptians) in five columns. Isis, meanwhile, went in search of her husband and found the casket with his body inside lodged in a tree in Byblos. Nut, however, was already pregnant by Geb and soon gave birth to five children: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus. At this point in the story the famous Osiris Myth begins when Set becomes jealous of Osiris' power and success. Participants in the ritual would then make serpents out of wax, spit on them, and destroy them in fire. Shu and Tefnut returned with the eye, having failed to create the world, and Atum was so happy to see them, he began to cry. By the time of Ramesses II (1279 - 1213 BCE) Nephthys was so popular she was given her own temple at the popular religious center of Sepermeru in the holy precinct where Set's temple was located. As one of the earliest goddesses of Egypt, she was a member of the Ennead of Heliopolis, a tribunal of nine deities of immense power. La dernière modification de cette page a été faite le 6 septembre 2020 à 16:58. Set cut off her wings and presumably killed her. This myth was important to the ancient Egyptians on many levels. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The land was barren and the desert winds blew. Nephthys is the goddess of protection and Set's former wife. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Avec Isis, qu’elle aida à reconstituer le corps démembré de son époux Osiris, elle était l'un des deux « milans » ou oiseaux hurleurs, qui semblaient émettre des lamentations funèbres. "Nephthys." Dans le temple d'Edfou, une fête, « Le cœur de Nephtys se réjouit » était célébrée le 28e jour du mois Pharmouti de la saison Peret. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When Isis returned, Nephthys tearfully told her the story and offered to help in any way she could. "Nephthys." Atum gazed out on the eternal nothingness and recognized he was lonely, and so mated with his own shadow to give birth to Shu (god of the air) and Tefnut (goddess of moisture). Elle est la fille de Geb et de Nout, sœur d'Isis, d'Osiris et de Seth dont elle est également l’épouse. Power limitation - She's unable to protect herself from her enemies, only others including gods or mortals. Mark, Joshua J. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. She is the sister of Osiris, and Isis. Elle est représentée comme une femme coiffée de deux hiéroglyphes servant à écrire son nom. The Lamentations is a long narrative poem recreating the moment Isis and Nephthys worked together to revive the god Osiris and bring him back to life. While Isis went off to find herbs to revive her husband, Set was out searching for the body and found Nephthys. Her magical skills were similar to those of Isis and some scholars see her as Isis' mirror image, Nephthys' darkness balancing Isis' light, and they are frequently pictured together as twin sisters. Osiris, of course, fit perfectly and, when he lay down in the casket, Set slammed the cover on, fastened it, and threw it into the Nile. Nephthys was so popular at this time that she is mentioned in texts without allusion to Isis or Set. His festivals, therefore, were of great importance and Nephthys regularly featured as one of the most important elements of the celebration: one of the two who called the god to join the living.