Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Satis/Satet

"Queen of Elephantine", who was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians on that island in the Nile. Her primary role was that of a guardian of Egypt's southern (Nubian) frontier, killing enemies of the pharaoh with her arrows. Satis was also associated with the annual inundation of the Nile. With the god Chnum and the goddess Anuket she forms, what is occasinally referred to as, the 'Elephantine triad'. On her head she wears the crown of Upper Egypt, flanked by the gazelle horns, and in her hands she holds a sceptre and the ankh.

From: here
In Egyptian mythology, Satis (also spelt Satjit, Sates, Satet, and Sati) was the deification of the floods of the Nile River, and her cult originated in the ancient city of Swenet, now called Aswan on the southern edge of Egypt. Her name means she who shoots forth referring to the annual flooding of the river. She was an early war, hunting, and fertility deity who was seen as the mother of the Nile River, Anuket, and a protector of southern Egypt.

One of her titles was She Who Runs Like an Arrow, which is thought to refer to the river current, and her symbols became the arrow and the running river. Satis was pictured as a woman wearing the conical crown of Upper Egypt, the Hedjet, with gazelle or antelope horns, or as an antelope, a fast moving creature living near the banks of the river in the southern portion of Ancient Egypt. She also was depicted with a bow and arrows.

Other interpretations say her primary role was that of the war goddess, a guardian of Egypt's southern (Nubian) frontier and killing the enemies of the Pharaoh with her arrows.

She usually is depicted as holding an ankh also, due to her association with the life giving flooding of the Nile. Consequently, it is true that Satis acted as a fertility goddess, thus granting the wishes of those who sought love. Satis is also described as offering jars of purifying water.
The Wedjat - later called The Eye of Horus and the Eye of Ra

Later she became regarded as one of the consorts of Khnum, the god identified as the guardian of the source of the Nile, with whom she was worshipped at Elephantine (the First nome of Egypt), indeed the centre of her cult was nearby, at Sahal, another island of the Nile. Since she was most dominant at the southern end of Egypt, she became regarded as the guard of Egypt's southern border with Nubia.

Satis's child was Anuket, goddess of the Nile River herself, who formed the third part of the Elephantine triad of deities when formed.

After Khnum became considered a form of Ra, Satis became known as the Eye of Ra. This eye had begun as the wedjat, advanced to being called the Eye of Horus, and finally being called the Eye of Ra as the importance of the cults changed the nature of the pantheon during the long history of Ancient Egypt.

From: Wiki
Satet (Setet, Sathit, Satit, Sati, Setis, Satis) was the archer-goddess of the Nile cataracts, her name linking her to Setet Island (Sehel Island) and the area around it. She was also a fertility goddess, due to her aspect as a water goddess and a goddess of the inundation, and a goddess who purified the dead with her water. She was a goddess of the hunt who protected Egypt and the pharaoh with her bow and arrows.

Depicted as a woman, Satet was often shown wearing the crown of the south - Upper Egypt - and a pair of long antelope horns. She was originally worshiped as an antelope goddess. She was sometimes shown carrying a bow and arrows. More often she was shown carrying a sceptre and the ankh symbol.

As a goddess of the hunt, she was also believed to be a protector of Egypt and of the pharaoh. It was her arrows that protected the southern border, keeping the enemies at bay. Yet she was more closely linked to water than to the bow and arrow. There may be a connection between water and the bow and arrows she sometimes was shown to wield:

A Broken Image of Satet, from her Temple on Setet Island (Sehel Island)The name probably means 'to pour out' or 'to scatter abroad', so that it might signify a goddess who wielded the powers of rain. She carries in her hands a bow and arrows, as did Neith, typical of the rain or thunderbolt.
-- Egypt, Myths and Legends, Lewis Spence

(snip)

For the rest of the article:
Satet, Archer-Goddess of the Inundation and the Nile Cataracts
Satet
(Sati, Satis)

Cult Center: Elephantine

Satet was the principal female counterpart of Khnemu and was worshipped with him at Elephantine (Abu). She was the mother of the goddess, Anqet.

Her name comes from the root, sat (to shoot, to eject, to pour out, to throw). With her arrows, she protected the pharaoh. Further, in the Pyramid Texts, Satet is described as cleansing the king with four jars of water from Elephantine.

Satet was the goddess of the inundation (yearly flooding of the Nile) and of fertility. She was also connected with the star "Sept" whose return to the night sky marked the beginning of the flood season.

Satet's temple in Elephantine was one of the principal holy places in Egypt. The center of her worship was in the island of Sahal, two miles south of Elephantine.

From: here
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