I friended a Shaivite-Shaktist here in contact (I’ll have to ask, otherwise there were no Shaivites and Shakta acquaintances yet! But it’s interesting to see the world through their eyes), I found a picture somewhere with him or his friends - a girl with a scarab on her forehead, in a folder Kali-Durga, and thought about which goddess in Egypt could match her. Such an option.
Egyptian goddess Nephthys
Nephthys (Nebethet) - in Egyptian mythology, the youngest of the children of Nut and Geb. She is one of the goddesses of the Heliopolis Ennead. /*By the way, it is consonant with Nekhbet and Neberger/Neberther at the same time*/
As a rule, the goddess Nephthys was depicted as a woman with a hieroglyph of her own name on her head (this hieroglyph was a house with a basket on the roof). It was believed that Nephthys is the wife of the Egyptian god Set, although according to the mythological texts, there is extremely little connection between them. The essence of Nephthys in the religious literature of Ancient Egypt is practically not disclosed.
The Egyptian goddess Nephthys was considered by some authors as the goddess of death or as the personification of Black Isis.
Sometimes Nephthys acts as the Lady of the Scrolls - it was she who was credited with the authorship of many hymns and mournful chants. In the guise of the Lady, Nephthys was very closely associated with the Egyptian goddess Seshat, the patroness of the archive in the house of the pharaoh.
A special time of day for the goddess Nephthys was considered sunset and predawn twilight. It was believed that the goddess was born in Sekhem, and therefore this city is the center of her cult.
The historian Plutarch described the Egyptian goddess Nephthys as "the mistress of everything immaterial, while the goddess Isis rules over everything material." Despite her close association with the underworld, Nephthys was considered "the goddess of creation who is in everything." In addition, she was considered the goddess of sexuality and the female personification of the ever-excited Egyptian god Min.
In Mendes, Nephthys was revered as the goddess of healing.
Quite often, Nephthys was portrayed along with Isis, as her complete opposite, acting at the same time as her complement. Such an image served as a symbol of passivity, inferiority of infertile lands. According to the Westcar papyrus, the goddess, along with Khnum, Heket and Isis, helps women during childbirth. Periodically, together with Isis, she is depicted as a falcon sitting at the head or feet of the deceased.
During the New Kingdom, Nephthys turns into one of the 4 main goddesses of the protectors of the deceased and is very often depicted on the northern wall of the sarcophagus, right at the head of the deceased.
According to legend in the Pyramid Texts, the Egyptian goddess Nephthys swims in a night barge (while Isis sails in a day barge).
Selket, Isis and Nephthys were identified with falcons and depicted on sarcophagi as winged women.
Later, Nephthys became identified with the goddess Seshat.
In myths and legends, Nephthys performs with Isis in the mysteries of the god Osiris and in funeral magical rites of any kind. Together with Isis, she mourns the dead Osiris, looks for the body, guards his mummy.
Both sisters meet the deceased near the eastern sky, and Nephthys, together with the sun god Ra, travels at night through underground waters.
Goddess of birth and death in ancient Egyptian mythology. Goddess of the Heliopolis Ennead.
Depicted as a woman with a hieroglyph of her name on her head (a house with a construction basket on top). Often, together with Isis, she was depicted as a falcon, a winged woman, sitting at the feet and head of the bed with the body of the deceased.
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, Nephthys fell in love with Osiris and, taking the form of his wife Isis, conceived from him the son of Anubis (according to other versions, Set or Ra was the father of Anubis). Fearing the wrath of Seth's wife Nephthys, she abandoned the baby in the reeds, where Isis found him with the help of dogs. Set decided to take revenge on his brother. According to an early version of the legend, he ambushed Osiris while hunting and killed him. Later versions report that Set acted in alliance with the 70 conspirators. On one of the holidays, he ordered to deliver a beautiful sarcophagus and promised to give it to someone who would fit it. As soon as Osiris lay down in the sarcophagus, the conspirators slammed the lid, nailed it and threw it into the Nile. (According to Memphis legend, the body of Osiris was thrown into the river, where he lay for three days and three nights, eaten by fish).
Hearing about the murder of her husband, Isis cut off her hair, dressed in mourning robes and went in search of Osiris. She was helped in everything by Nephthys, who fled from Seth. Having found the body of Osiris, the women hid it in the swamps near the city of Buto to mourn. But Seth found and cut his brother's body into 14 (or 16, or 18) parts, and then scattered it across the Delta.
When Anubis created a mummy from the members of Osiris gathered together, Nephthys stood at the head, and then, together with Isis, met the deceased on the eastern horizon. Nephthys looked after and protected the little Horus. In the Pyramid Texts, Isis is called the "mother who gave birth" and Nephthys the "nursing mother" of Horus.
Nephthys was the companion of Ra during his nightly navigation through the underground waters. According to the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys swims in the boat of eternity at night, Isis during the day. Plutarch described Nephthys as "the mistress of everything unmanifest and immaterial, while Isis rules over everything manifest and material." Nephthys was considered by some authors [ what?] as the goddess of death, but by others [ what?] - as an aspect of Black Isis. Often Nephthys was depicted together with Isis as her opposite and at the same time as her complement, symbolizing inferiority, passivity, barren lands.
Nephthys- sister of Osiris, Isis and Set. Her image in mythology is not developed, the functions are unclear. There is an assumption that she was artificially invented as a mate for Seth.
Goddess Nephthys
Nephthys, the sister of Isis and Osiris, was rarely depicted alone, without a brother or sister. Indeed, the image of this goddess is inextricably linked with the difficult history of her family.
Usually Nephthys appears when there is a need to protect the deceased, and, of course, she kept vigil over the body of her brother Osiris. The goddess renders the same service to all mortals, starting with the pharaoh himself, when their turn comes.
Her image
Nephthys appears before us in two guises. Most often, she appears in the form of a woman with a headdress in the form of hieroglyphs denoting her name Nebetkhet (Greek - Nephthys), a house with a construction basket at the top. As a rule, next to the portrait of Nephthys, we can expect to see her sister Isis. Because of the role of these goddesses in funeral rites, their images are often found in objects of funerary art: the decor of tombs, sarcophagi, paintings and bas-reliefs ... Also, Nephthys could take the form of a bird of prey - a kite. However, in this case, she did not lose touch with her sister. Nephthys the kite usually guarded the deceased, whether it be Osiris (with whose cult she is inextricably linked) or the pharaoh. And, finally, there are images that combine both guises of the goddess: women with kite wings behind their backs. This is how she appears before us on the magnificent pectoral decoration of Tutankhamun; along with her sister, Nephthys guards the column of djed (a symbol of permanence). Similar images adorn the monumental stone containers of sarcophagi that belonged to the pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The tomb of Thutmose IV is especially famous.
Nephthys, as the patroness and protector of the dead, is often depicted with her arms outstretched in a protective gesture.
Myths about Nephthys
Talking about Nephthys, it is impossible not to mention her family. Her beloved Osiris, husband Set and sister Isis involved Nephthys in the cycle of the most incredible events. However, this cold-blooded, secretive and cautious goddess never let herself be deceived.
Nephthys appears as a person who is quite capable of independently managing her life. And the terrible events that shook her family did not affect her ambitions. However, Nephthys was destined to always remain in the shadow of her illustrious sister Isis. Their relationship must have been somewhat poisoned by envy, but still not enough to separate them. This is why the ancient Egyptians rarely depicted Nephthys alone and didn't even mention her without her sister!
Fifth child in a difficult family
Nephthys was the youngest of five children born from the union of Geb and Nut. The union, which, we recall, at one time aroused the wrath of the solar god Ra. So, as a result of the love relationship of the earth (Gebe) and heaven (Nut), Isis and Nephthys, Osiris, Set and Horus Ancient were born. And this happened not on one of the three hundred and sixty days of the ancient calendar, but on five additional (or epagomenal) days, which Thoth, the god of time, cunningly won the senet from the Moon in the game. An extraordinary event that happened against the will of Ra! I must say, Ra knowingly treated these restless offspring with great suspicion! After all, they constantly caused him considerable trouble. Especially revealing is the story of the dispute between two brothers who became sworn enemies - Osiris and Set.
Of the five, Nephthys seemed to be the most balanced.
In the legend of Osiris, she takes the place of a witness rather than a participant. The goddess showed enviable restraint in these circumstances, because she was both the sister and wife of Set, the sister and lover of Osiris, the sister and girlfriend of Isis, who was the wife of Osiris!
Isis and Nephthys - inseparable sisters
Isis and Nephthys, out of love for Osiris, were always on the side of their brother in the fight for his cause. A matter that can be described with just one word - legality. The legitimacy of the power of Osiris as the heir to Geb on the Egyptian throne. The legitimacy that Seth tried so crudely to challenge. And this struggle eventually led to murder: the jealous Set brutally dealt with his brother and rival. Nephthys immediately hurried to Isis, the inconsolable widow, and from that time the two goddesses almost never parted. Together they guarded the deceased brother: Seth did not want even dust to remain from him. Together they searched for parts of the body of Osiris, which the killer cut and scattered throughout Egypt. Together, the goddesses managed to put these parts together. And again they guarded the remains day and night...
This epic, in which the goddesses were inseparable, explains why the Egyptians always portrayed Nephthys along with Isis. "I am, like Isis, the mourner of Osiris." Nephthys could not have better expressed the support she gave her sister and the love she had for her late brother. By the way, because of this love, the goddess “sinned” more than once ...
Lots of illegitimate children!
For a goddess who was reputed to be barren, Nephthys seduced many and gave birth to many children! In addition to the son she bore to her husband Set, and Anubis, whom she bore to her lover Osiris, Nephthys had two or three more offspring of divine origin: for example, a certain Anubis-Sothis, the fruit of the connection between the goddess and her ancestor Ra! And she also had a daughter, born, according to legend, from the falcon god Hemen.
Seth's wife...
The ancient Egyptians gave Nephthys the brothers and husbands of the god Set. But further evidence diverges. Some texts hint at the barrenness of the goddess, because of which she could not give her husband children. Others, on the contrary, focus on her motherhood. Allegedly, Nephthys gave birth to a son from Seth, whom she abandoned so that he would not harm the son of Osiris, Horus! In any case, it seems that the goddess was not too happy in her marriage. At least her husband's homosexual inclinations suggest it. In addition, according to legend, Nephthys had a secret passion for Osiris.
...and the mistress of Osiris
Although it may seem strange to us today, if not shocking, but the incestuous relationship between Nephthys and Osiris did not in the least reduce the goddess's affection for her sister Isis. Apparently, the gods, like people, sometimes transfer their feelings to another object! From this connection, an illegitimate child was born, who was named ... Anubis! We now understand why the latter embalmed and mummified the body of Osiris with such care when it was discovered. In addition, Nephthys always protected her nephew, the child whom Isis bore from her late husband Horus. “He is Horus; his mother Isis brought him into the world, and his aunt Nephthys nursed him." She surrounded the boy with all the worries, especially since Horus really needed it: we recall that he was a very sickly child. To make compresses for her nephew to treat wounds and other diseases, Nephthys had to spin and weave like a mere mortal. However, soon the good god Thoth, struck by such selflessness, sent the weavers of the goddess Neith to help her.
Search for the body of Osiris
After Set killed his brother, dismembered his body and scattered the pieces across Egyptian soil, our goddesses had only one goal left: to restore the body of their beloved and protect him from new assassination attempts. They crossed all of Egypt and, one by one, found all the pieces that the insidious Seth had hidden: “My sister,” says Isis to Nephthys, “this is our brother. Let's go and raise his head. Let's go and collect his bones! Let's go and collect all the parts of his body in the right order! Let's go and build a dam next to it. May it not remain lifeless under our supervision! Flows, lymph, emanating from this blessed one! Fill the canals, create the names of the rivers! Osiris, live, Osiris!"
The return of Osiris or a vain hope
This terrible story shocked all the gods without exception. And although the outcome was predetermined, everyone hoped to the last that reconciliation was possible. Everything, starting with Nephthys herself, who, as the wife of one and the lover of the other, found herself between the two heroes of a monstrous drama, as if between two fires. However, nothing could prevent the murder of Osiris and the grief of women. In this regard, the texts are unanimous, describing the all-consuming passion that both sisters had for their brother, lover and husband: “Thanks to us, you have forgotten grief. We will collect your members for you and figure out how to protect your body. Come back to us so that we can forget about your enemy. Return in the same guise that you had on this earth. Leave your anger and show us your mercy, O Lord! Sit again on the throne of the Two Lands, for you are the only god whose plans are favorable for the deities ... Return without fear to your abode. But Osiris remained deaf to this call. Never again will he return to the living. From now on, he will be the lord of the Kingdom of the Dead and the supreme judge of our world.
Taste for power
In Nephthys as much from the shadow as in Isis - from the light. This explains why she got Set as her wife: a darker and more suspicious character is hard to find. If we talk about the actual side of the matter, of course, it was easier for Nephthys than for Isis to get in touch with the deceased Osiris. Indeed, this goddess traveled through the gloomy Realm of the Dead with ease. It is said that episodic love encounters with Osiris gave her self-confidence, and Nephthys tried to use this connection to become the ruler of the dead, reigning next to her deceased lover. However, all her efforts were in vain. Osiris will single-handedly and undividedly rule the underworld.
Among the stars
Unable to become the queen of the dead, Nephthys found a place for herself in heaven, among the stars! Appearing above the horizon and disappearing in their rhythm, the stars divided the sky into thirty-six parts (or decans). This division was invented by the ancient priests-astronomers. Be that as it may, these thirty-six decans formed a belt that closed the universe, and in a year Ra, traveling through it, made a full circle. And in each of the decans that Ra crossed, one of the gods or goddesses stayed for ten days. Nephthys also had its place among the stars. In addition, she owned one of the eleven extra days resulting from the discrepancy between the calendar year and the astronomical year. So, both on earth and in heaven, Nephthys was, like her brothers and sisters, a particle of the universe!
kite-nephthys
The Pyramid Texts is the first source that tells us about the appearance that Nephthys assumed during the search for the body of Osiris: “Isis set off, and Nephthys set off, one to the west, the other to the east, one in the guise of a falcon, the other a female kite. And both found Osiris ... ". Or "The falcon flies, the female kite flies, Isis and Nephthys go in search of their brother, Osiris." In the tomb of Nefertari, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1290-1224 BC), a magnificent image of these birds of prey was found. They can be recognized by the hieroglyphs above their heads. The falcon of Isis is placed on the right, and the kite of Nephthys is on the left. Both birds guard a small arbor, in which a sarcophagus with the remains of Osiris rests on an ebony bed.
Nephthys in the service of Ra
However, the fact that Nephthys was in one of the heavenly decans means that she, despite the long-standing anger of Ra, was the protector of the sun god (even Set guarded him along with the rest of the gods). Indeed, the Pyramid Texts identify Isis and Nephthys (as always, inseparable) with two solar boats: day and night, respectively. Also, the goddesses turned into snakes, guarding the last gates to the underworld of the Duat. It was through this gate that the sun passed every evening, setting off on its night journey. And finally, they were two pylons that marked and guarded the entrance to the greatest temples of Ancient Egypt.
However, Nephthys rendered Ra another, much more unusual service. Papyrus Westcar tells us about this, an amazing document of the 18th dynasty, in which historical truth is closely intertwined with mythology.
Nephthys, or the divine pylon
We already know that Nephthys, like Isis, was identified with two pylons, which in the religious architecture of Ancient Egypt marked and guarded the entrance to the greatest temples. Jewelry art gave us magnificent images - royal pectorals, on which the images of Isis and Nephthys are enclosed in a figure resembling a pylon. The most famous decoration belonged to Tutankhamun (Egyptian Museum in Cairo). On it, in a pylon of gold and precious stones, Isis and Nephthys guard a djed column (which is associated with Osiris). And on the breastplate of Pharaoh Psusennes (XXI dynasty), also kept in the Cairo Museum, two goddesses guard the scarab Khepri, the morning face of solar Ra. A short phrase engraved in front of Nephthys recalls the mission of the sisters: "We have come to be your protection."
Pharaohs born under the care of Nephthys
So, let's move to the middle of the third millennium BC. At that time, the great Ra had only one desire: to put an end to the rulers of the IV dynasty. It was then that he secretly married Redjedet, the wife of the high priest Rauser. And a mere mortal carried three children in her womb. Ra wished that they be protected with all possible care. Five gods and goddesses went in human form to the house of the woman in labor. These gods were Khnum, Isis, her sister Nephthys, Meskhenet and Heket. They "knew how to assist in childbirth." And now the hour came when Redgedet was to be relieved of her burden. Four goddesses surrounded the woman: “Isis stood in front of her, and Nephthys behind her; Heket also helped her in childbirth. Redjedet gave birth to Userkaf. In the same work, we find an amazing description of the baby pharaoh: “It was a cubit-high child with strong bones. His limbs were covered with gold, and his headdress was made of lapis lazuli ... "Here is the king who will rule all this country!" Meskhenet proclaimed loudly. The other two babies were just as beautiful and strong. They were named Sahura and Neferirikara. And it so happened that three brothers founded the 5th dynasty and, one after the other, ruled the kingdom of Egypt with brilliance.
Cult of Nephthys
Inseparable in the mythological texts, Isis and Nephthys were inseparable in the religion of Ancient Egypt. From the temple where they were worshiped, to the sarcophagi that they protected together... And it seems that nothing could separate them.
Nephthys, who lived so long near Isis, became systematically identified with her as a result, so that she did not have her own temples. Since ancient times, this goddess has always been associated with the cult of her elder sister. And, as a rule, the latter willingly accepted the younger sister in her sanctuaries.
minor cult
The cult of Nephthys has always been associated with cults of other gods or goddesses. In addition to the more than once mentioned Isis, worshiping which, people naturally remembered her sister, among them was (in the Late Period) Anuket, the goddess of the island of Sehel, located near Elephantine. Of course, Nephthys was worshiped in the sanctuaries of her quick-tempered and treacherous husband Seth. Especially in Ombos, in Upper Egypt. We know that the rulers of the Ramesses Dynasty (i.e., XX Dynasty) especially honored this divine couple. A couple that all of Egypt has long been treated with some distrust due to the difficult nature of the god and goddess.
Holidays of Nephthys
The goddess Nephthys was dedicated to at least two holidays. The first, more significant, was celebrated in the temple of the god Horus, located in Edfu. In this place intended for celebrations and pilgrimages, on the twenty-eighth day of the month of Farmuti (February-March), the Egyptians celebrated an event known as "The Heart of Nephthys rejoices." It seems that this jubilation should be associated with Horus himself ... Perhaps with his final victory over Set? After all, we remember the dual position that Nephthys occupied between her husband and nephew, who were always at enmity.
A less joyful event was the "Day of Lamentation of Isis and Nephthys", celebrated in the same season of peret (from November to March in the Gregorian calendar). The connection of this holiday (about which we know little about the celebration and rituals) and the cult of Osiris is obvious. This is hinted at by its name, in which the name of Nephthys is again placed next to the name of her sister.
From the 22nd to the 26th day of the month of Hoyak (October to November according to our calendar), the time of sobs again came. The Egyptians, in mournful voices, echoed by professional mourners, prayed for the resurrection of earthen statuettes (or images) of two gods: Osiris and Sokar. It was believed that Nephthys performed this cry together with Isis, and it was a testament to their grief and a prayer for rebirth. Mournful, but imbued with endless hope holidays!
One of the most frequently depicted goddesses
It is paradoxical that, despite the absence of sanctuaries, Nephthys was one of the most frequently depicted goddesses of ancient Egypt. However, this is explained by its role in funeral rites. Therefore, the most likely to meet the goddess in the tombs. In particular, in the tombs of Khaemuas (XX dynasty) and Nefertari (XIX dynasty), located in the Valley of the Queens.
Sarcophagi under the protection of Nephthys
It would be surprising if Nephthys, a protector by nature, did not belong to the deities guarding sarcophagi and canopic vessels. That is why ancient artists and sculptors depicted her at the head of the magnificent royal sarcophagi. The most famous of them, dated 1391 BC. e., contained the mummy of Thutmose IV and is still kept in the Valley of the Kings. On its outer walls we can see the goddess standing with her hands raised in a gesture of worship (and protection). She is the patroness of the pharaoh who became the sun (hence the hands of Nephthys raised to the sky). A later but no less elegant pink granite sarcophagus discovered in the tomb of Ramesses III (1198-1166) is on display today in the Louvre in Paris. At the head of this coffin, carved from a single block of stone, the slender figure of Nephthys is also engraved. However, this time the goddess is on her knees. She does not raise her hands to the sky, but stretches them forward, as if surrounding the sarcophagus with her protection. Behind Nephthys, the wings of a kite flaunt, as in the images that have come down to us from some texts dedicated to the goddess.
Amulets with the image of Nephthys
It is logical to assume that among the protective amulets placed on embalmed and mummified bodies, there should be items with images of Nephthys. However, oddly enough, only two or three copies have come down to us, dating, at the earliest, to the XXII dynasty. And only during the XXVI dynasty, amulets with the image of Nephthys became widespread. In the tombs of the XXXth dynasty, discovered during excavations in Abydos (the city of Osiris), the most beautiful items of this kind were found in abundance, made of frit, covered with traditional blue enamel. A significant part can be seen today in Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. And all of them were found among other objects of the funeral environment, next to the amulets ... who would you think? Of course, Isis!
Late belief
Apparently, the Egyptians believed for a very long time in the patronage that Isis and her sister Nephthys provided to the dead. This is evidenced by the catacombs of Komel-Shukaf. Here, frescoes were found depicting two women in mourning, standing on both sides of the coffin. We would never have known who it was if two birds of prey had not flaunted on one stele behind them: the falcon of Isis and the kite of Nephthys.
canopy
According to legend, Nephthys guarded one of the four canopic canopies. These vessels, in which the internal organs removed from the body before embalming, were placed, were placed at the time of burial by the Egyptians at the corners of the sarcophagus. And each canopy was guarded by some deity. Moreover, each vessel was associated with a particular cardinal direction, as the table below shows. So, Nephthys guarded the Lungs, and her side was the north.
Vessel with a head... | patron deity | Internal organs | Side of the world |
Baboon (Hapy) | |||
Jackal (Duamutefa) | |||
Human (Amset) | |||
Falcon (Kebeksenufa) | Intestines |
Nephthys(Greek), Nebetkhet(ancient Egyptian. “Lady of the monastery”) - in Egyptian mythology, the youngest of the children of Geb and Nut, was born on the last day of the year. Goddess of the Heliopolis Ennead.
Depicted as a woman with a hieroglyph of her name on her head (a house with a construction basket on top). She was considered and revered as the wife of Seth, but, judging by the texts, she has very little connection with him. Its essence in Egyptian religious literature is almost not disclosed. In mythological texts, however, Nephthys appears with her sister Isis in the mysteries of Osiris and in all funeral magical rites. She, along with Isis, mourns Osiris, participates in the search for his body, guards his mummy, standing at the head of his bed. Both sisters at the eastern sky meet the deceased. Nephthys was the companion of Ra during his nightly navigation through the underground waters.
Nephthys, whose name is pronounced Nebetkhet in Egyptian, has been regarded by some authors as the goddess of death, and by others as an aspect of Black Isis. Nephthys was also sometimes called the Lady of the Scrolls and attributed to her the authorship of mournful chants and other hymns. In this guise, she was closely associated with Seshat, the patron goddess of the archive of the reigning house of the pharaohs, who determines the duration of their reign.
A special time of day for Nephthys was pre-dawn and sunset twilight. It was believed that she was born in Sekhem, which was the center of her cult. Plutarch described Nephthys as "the mistress of everything unmanifest and immaterial, while Isis rules over everything manifest and material."
Despite her connection with the Lower World, Nephthys bore the title of "Goddess of Creation who lives in everything." She was also considered the goddess of sexuality and the female counterpart of the ever-excited god Ming. In Mendes, in the region of the Nile Delta, she was revered as the goddess of healing.
Often Nephthys was depicted together with Isis as her opposite and at the same time as her complement, symbolizing inferiority, passivity, barren lands. According to the tales of the Westkar papyrus, Nephthys, together with Isis, Khnum and Heket, helps the woman in labor. Sometimes, together with Isis, she appears in the guise of one of the falcons sitting at the feet and head of the bed with the body of the deceased. In the era of the New Kingdom, Nephthys, as one of the four great goddesses-protectors of the deceased, was often depicted on the royal sarcophagi, on the northern wall, directly next to the head of the deceased.
According to the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys sails in a night barque (Isis in a day barge). Nephthys, Isis and Selket were identified with falconers, so they are often depicted on sarcophagi as winged women, as protectors of the dead. Seshat often acted as the hypostasis of Nephthys.
The asteroid (287) Nephthys, discovered in 1889, is named after Nephthys.
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Literature
- Solkin V.V. Ancient Egypt. Encyclopedia. - Art - Rodnik, 2005. - 480 p. 239 p.
- Di Trachi Regula. CHAPTER 12 Isis and other deities. Isis and Nephthys // Mysteries of Isis. - California. - 94 p. 95 p.
- Ian Begga. Cult of the Black Madonna. - New York, 1989.
Links
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
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An excerpt characterizing Nephthys
Then he turned away with a heart to his weakness and began to report to him on the state of affairs. Everything valuable and expensive was taken to Bogucharovo. Bread, up to a hundred quarters, was also exported; hay and spring, unusual, as Alpatych said, this year's green harvest was taken and mowed - by the troops. The peasants are ruined, some have also gone to Bogucharovo, a small part remains.Prince Andrei, without listening to the end, asked when his father and sister left, meaning when they left for Moscow. Alpatych answered, believing that they were asking about leaving for Bogucharovo, that they had left on the seventh, and again spread about the farm's shares, asking for permission.
- Will you order the oats to be released on receipt to the teams? We still have six hundred quarters left,” Alpatych asked.
“What to answer him? thought Prince Andrei, looking at the old man's bald head, shining in the sun, and in his expression reading the consciousness that he himself understood the untimeliness of these questions, but asked only in such a way as to drown out his grief.
“Yes, let go,” he said.
“If they deigned to notice the unrest in the garden,” Alpatych said, “then it was impossible to prevent: three regiments passed and spent the night, especially dragoons. I wrote out the rank and rank of commander for filing a petition.
- Well, what are you going to do? Will you stay if the enemy takes? Prince Andrew asked him.
Alpatych, turning his face to Prince Andrei, looked at him; and suddenly raised his hand in a solemn gesture.
“He is my patron, may his will be done!” he said.
A crowd of peasants and servants walked across the meadow, with open heads, approaching Prince Andrei.
- Well, goodbye! - said Prince Andrei, bending over to Alpatych. - Leave yourself, take away what you can, and the people were told to leave for Ryazanskaya or Moscow Region. - Alpatych clung to his leg and sobbed. Prince Andrei carefully pushed him aside and, touching his horse, galloped down the alley.
At the exhibition, still as indifferent as a fly on the face of a dear dead man, the old man sat and tapped on a block of bast shoes, and two girls with plums in their skirts, which they picked from greenhouse trees, fled from there and stumbled upon Prince Andrei. Seeing the young master, the older girl, with fright expressed on her face, grabbed her smaller companion by the hand and hid behind a birch together with her, not having time to pick up the scattered green plums.
Prince Andrei hastily turned away from them in fright, afraid to let them notice that he had seen them. He felt sorry for this pretty, frightened girl. He was afraid to look at her, but at the same time he had an irresistible desire to do so. A new, gratifying and reassuring feeling came over him when, looking at these girls, he realized the existence of other, completely alien to him and just as legitimate human interests as those that occupied him. These girls, obviously, passionately desired one thing - to carry away and finish eating these green plums and not be caught, and Prince Andrei together with them wished the success of their enterprise. He couldn't help but look at them again. Thinking they were already safe, they jumped out of the ambush and, holding their skirts in thin voices, merrily and quickly ran across the grass of the meadow with their tanned bare legs.
Prince Andrei refreshed himself a little, having left the dusty area of the high road along which the troops were moving. But not far beyond the Bald Mountains, he again drove onto the road and caught up with his regiment at a halt, by the dam of a small pond. It was the second hour after noon. The sun, a red ball in the dust, was unbearably hot and burned his back through his black coat. The dust, still the same, stood motionless over the voice of the humming, halted troops. There was no wind. In the passage along the dam, Prince Andrei smelled of the mud and freshness of the pond. He wanted to get into the water, no matter how dirty it was. He looked back at the pond, from which cries and laughter were coming. A small muddy pond with greenery, apparently, rose a quarter by two, flooding the dam, because it was full of human, soldier, naked white bodies floundering in it, with brick-red hands, faces and necks. All this naked, white human meat, with laughter and a boom, floundered in this dirty puddle, like crucian carp stuffed into a watering can. This floundering echoed with merriment, and therefore it was especially sad.
Nephthys (Nebethet) - Ancient Egyptian Goddess. Her name (Nebetkhet) translates as "Mistress of the House". The ancient Greeks called her Nephthys, and it was this name that was most widely used in scientific and popular literature. AT Ennead of Heliopolis(the nine most important gods of the city of Heliopolis) Nephthys was the youngest daughter of the earth god Hebe and sky goddesses chickpeas. She was a sister Osiris, Isis and Seta.
In many texts, she is also considered the wife of Set (for the ancient Egyptians, there was nothing reprehensible in this - the moral norms of ancient society considered such a marriage normal and acceptable). However, the marriage union of Set and Nephthys was not prosperous. In one of the chapters Pyramid texts» Nephthys is called “a woman who does not have a vagina”, either because she herself could not have children, or because Set was barren (although in the mythological stories associated with the seduction of Osiris by Nephthys and the birth of her son Anubis, is not mentioned).
The husband of Nephthys - Seth - is a very controversial figure in the ancient Egyptian pantheon of gods. On the one hand, he protects the solar god Ra during his night swimming along the underground river from a terrible snake Apopa, on the other hand, he treacherously and cruelly killed his brother Osiris, he wanted to kill the son of Osiris - Mountain and gain dominion over all of Egypt. 
Nephthys unambiguously takes the side of not her husband and brother, but the side of her other brother - Osiris and his wife - her sister Isis (that is, Isis was also in a related marriage). Moreover, one mythological tradition considers Nephthys the mother of the jackal-headed god of embalming and mummification Anubis, and his father - the god Osiris, whom she seduced by deception - according to one version, having drunk him with something, according to another - taking the form of her sister Isis, who was the wife Osiris. Other sources say that the god Ra was the father of Anubis-Sopdu.
The functions of Nephthys are still not completely clear, despite the abundance of references to this goddess in ancient sources. There is no exact information about any specific cult centers or temples dedicated specifically to Nephthys, although the names of several priests have come down to us. She was usually worshiped in temples dedicated to other gods - Set, Isis, Osiris, etc.
Fragment of the Book of the Dead. The deceased (in white robes) greets (from left to right) Nephthys, Isis, Osiris and Horus. Papyrus. Copy. Louvre Museum.
In myths, she usually appears as a friend and assistant to her sister Isis, while remaining rather colorless. She is a kind of shadow of Isis. Together, Isis and Nephthys personified day and night, life and death, growth and decay. Interestingly, in most myths, no negative reaction of Isis to the actual seduction of her husband Osiris by Nephthys is noted. Moreover, Isis, having learned that Nephthys left the recently born Anubis in the swamps of the Delta without protection, rushed to look for and protect him.
In general, it should be noted that the myths that tell about Nephthys, Isis, Set, Osiris and Horus are full of all sorts of contradictions and mutually exclusive moments from the point of view of logic. However, the mythological consciousness is syncretic, the ancient Egyptians never sought to present their myths logically consistent. 
For them, the multilayeredness, ambiguity, fluidity, variability and illogicality of mythological plots were a primordial reality. The ancient Greeks tried to present the ancient Egyptian myths in a more “logical way” for the Egyptians. Ancient Greek historian and priest Plutarch in the 1st century AD compared the god Osiris with the full-flowing Nile, which brings life; Isis - with fertile lands irrigated by the Nile, and Nephthys - with a rocky and lifeless desert.
However, Plutarch became acquainted with the ancient Egyptian myths when the cult of these gods existed in Egypt for more than 2 thousand years (Nefthys is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts dating back to the 3rd millennium BC). Plutarch wrote when the first Christian communities had already appeared, and he himself was a staunch supporter of Greek polytheism, from the angle of which he considered all other religions, including ancient Egyptian.
Egyptologists consider Nephthys one of the most ancient goddesses of the country of the pharaohs and pyramids, ideas about which have undergone drastic changes over time history of ancient egypt(however, this can be said about almost any ancient Egyptian god or goddess). According to the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys accompanies the god Ra in his night voyage (Isis in the daytime). Researchers (at least some) also believe that the not very clear and detailed marital relationship between Nephthys and Set was only a manifestation of the Egyptians' peculiar craving for pairing - Set had to have a wife, Isis had a partner.
Since Nephthys took an active part (along with Isis) in the search for the body of the murdered Osiris and in all the magical rites for his resurrection, over time she became an indispensable participant in the funeral magical rites of the ancient Egyptians. Of course, this was also facilitated by the fact that she began to be considered the mother of the god of embalming Anubis. She often appears in images near the deceased as a mourning woman. Sometimes she is depicted with wings (like Isis), sometimes in the form of a bird - a falcon.
Having wings is a certain magical necessity. By flapping their wings, Isis and Nephthys create the "wind of life", which allows the deceased to inhale (resurrect). Moreover, it should be noted that, as a rule, Isis is depicted at the feet of the deceased, and Nephthys at the head. However, there are rare exceptions when the sisters are depicted in reverse, that is, Nephthys at the feet, and Isis at the head (one of these images is shown on the right).
At least since the 4th c. BC. in the temples of Ancient Egypt, rituals were performed when two young virgin priestesses, with carefully shaved heads and bodies, in wigs and appropriate clothes, depicted Isis and Nephthys, turning to Osiris and calling him to resurrect. By that time, every dead Egyptian was personified with Osiris, in contrast to earlier times, when at first only the pharaoh had the right to do so, and later this was extended only to high-ranking dignitaries.
The sister goddesses are also often depicted together in the scene of the weighing of the heart in " Book of the Dead". Nephthys was the protector and patroness of one of the four sons of the god Horus - Hapi, 
which ensured the safety of the lungs of the deceased, placed in a special vessel - canopic, which was given the appearance of a baboon - Hapi.
As one of the weaving goddesses, Nephthys was especially associated with the linen strips of cloth used to wrap the mummy. These strips of cloth were sometimes referred to as the "locks of Nephthys".
Interestingly, Nephthys was a goddess who was not only addressed during funerals - she was also a goddess who was called for help during childbirth. That is, Nephthys met the first breath of a new man, she also accompanied him on his last journey on earth, and she also met the deceased near the eastern sky after his death.
In the last period of the history of Ancient Egypt in the south of the country, Nephthys was worshiped together with the goddess Anuket .
The most common image of Nephthys in ancient Egyptian iconography is the image of a woman with a headdress in the form of a hieroglyphic sign, consisting of a construction basket placed on the wall of the house. This hieroglyphic sign means "house", "palace", "building".
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