- Mut means "mother" in the ancient Egyptian language. Mut is a mother goddess, styled as "She Who Gives Birth, But Was Herself Not Born of Any."
- Originally, she was a goddess local to the Nile River delta, linked to the primeval waters of the universe, from which all things were born. When Thebes became the capital of the kingdom the local gods became national ones, and Mut became closely associated with the queens.
- Hatshepsut was one queen who helped bring Mut to prominence. She claimed she was a direct descendant of the goddess.
- She is usually pictured as a woman with wings, or a Vulture. She holds an ankh, wears the united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and a dress of bright Red or Blue. The feather of the goddess Ma'at is at her feet.
- As she evolved, however, she was also sometimes pictured as a cobra, Cat, Cow, or lioness, and in some pictures has male organs as well as female ones.
- She was the wife of Amun, replacing his original wife, Amaunet, the invisible goddess. Her offspring are Khonsu (Moon god) and Montu (war god).
- When Amun became the sun god, Ra, Mut became the Eye of Ra which protected the sun god in his journey across the Sky.
- A temple was built to Mut at Karnak is the largest preserved one in Egypt today. It was fed by an underground spring. Reliefs on the walls show queens and their priestesses in their daily devotions - it was the only place in Egypt where women worshipped without men.
- As a mother goddess, Mut was deemed to look after the young - so schools were often attached to her temples.
- On the Festival of Mut, her statue would be placed on a barque and sailed around the crescent shaped lake near her temple.
More details about my books. Follow this link if you like Superheroes, Psychics and/or quirky short stories.
I've listed the themes each novel touches on here for easy reference.
Like my author page on Facebook for news on new books and blog posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment